Chapter Three pg 2 The
Beginning?
So what/whom started this business about the
Christmas Tree Ship anyhow?
Many historical accounts of the region conclude
that the transportation of lumber was shifting towards the new steamships and
the expanding railroad system in the country.
Scow Schooners were the primary carrier of lumber
in the mid-late 1800's, until the advent of steamships and the expansion of the
railroads into the "wilderness" territories of the Great Lakes Region.
I read one report where barges pushed/pulled by
tugboats were successfully hauling lumber down Lake Michigan. In
Isaac Stephenson's Autobiography he reported that he successfully
accomplished this in the late 1800's.
So, with less lumber being shipped by sailing
schooner, the captain's and owner's looked for ways to supplant their dwindling
income. At the same time, there was a rapidly growing need for Christmas trees
in the Milwaukee/Chicago area, where many German immigrants were settling.
Christmas trees were originally delivered to
Milwaukee and Chicago and sold to retailers, who in turn, sold the trees on the
streets of the cities.
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