Page 12 - GLL test

12 Great Lakes Logging • Expo Edition 2025
Smith & Sons Lumber Co.
draws from rich history
By R. R. Branstrom
Great Lakes Logging Magazine
Five years ago, Jack and Becki Smith took over a
business in Rapid River, Mich. that had been oper-
ating under the same name and one family for over
a century. The location of the building supply store
used to be the home of a sawmill; for generations
after it was Anderson Lumber Co.; now, it’s Smith
& Sons Lumber Co.
In the late 1800s, when logging abounded in
much of the Upper Peninsula, the head of Little
Bay de Noc and its tributary rivers were key to
the industry. When ice broke up in the spring, logs
that had been harvested in the winter would be sent
down the Whitefish, Tacoosh and Rapid Rivers.
One place they stopped was the mill pond behind
what is now Smith & Sons. A concrete building
that served as a finishing shop still stands on the
property, and current co-owner Jack Smith said the
remains of the sawmill sit closer to the waterfront.
The Jerry Madden Shingle Co. operated in Rapid
River from 1897 until 1917. They first worked
exclusively with cedar, manufacturing shingles
Continued from page 9
R. R. Branstrom | Great Lakes Logging
In the company lumberyard at the south end of Main Street in Rapid River, Smith & Sons
Lumber Co. co-owner Jack Smith lowers a bunk of lumber onto a truck bed using a forklift.
W3894 U.S. Highway 2 West
Powers MI 49874
Mark Gudwer Jr. Owner
906-497-5509
www.moraskasaw.com
Moraskasawinc@gmail.com
COMPLETE SAW MILL
SAW & KNIFE REPAIRS • SUPPLIES