Bob Explores the History of Logging in Wakami

 

Walking through the forest trails of Wakami, I felt like I had stepped back in time—back to the 1920s and 1940s, when this region was alive with the sounds of axes, saws, and the steady creak of horse-drawn sleds. Logging was the lifeblood of northern Ontario then, and here in Wakami, they’ve done a remarkable job preserving that history.

At first, horses did all the heavy pulling, dragging massive logs out of the bush on sleighs in the winter. But by the late 1920s and into the ’40s, machines began to muscle their way into the picture. That shift—from horse power to horsepower—changed everything, and the displays here tell the story beautifully.

Along the trail, I came across restored logging equipment under simple wooden shelters. Big steel winches, their cables still coiled tight, reminded me how loggers once hauled timber from deep in the bush. Then there was the sawmill setup, complete with a log ready to be cut. You could almost hear the whir of the saw blade biting into fresh pine. Nearby, huge wooden sleds loaded with timber sat frozen in time, waiting for horses that would never come.

The displays aren’t just about the machines though. Scattered log buildings—bunkhouses, cook shacks, and tool sheds—give you a glimpse of the rough lives of the men who worked here. Interpretive panels along the way help piece it all together: the long days, the brutal winters, the danger, and the pride of shaping a booming industry out of the northern forest.

What struck me most was the balance between nature and industry. Today, Wakami feels so quiet, just the wind in the trees and the crunch of boots on the trail. But less than a century ago, it was buzzing with the hard work of loggers, their horses, and eventually their machines.

For me, walking through this outdoor museum wasn’t just about learning history—it was about feeling it. The smell of the pines, the creak of old timber, the sight of rusting iron left in the forest—it all brings the past a little closer.

Logging built this region, and Wakami makes sure we don’t forget it.