When Euro-Americans swept westward in the 1800s, they needed raw material for their homes and lives.
Commercial logging followed the expansion of America as companies struggled to keep up with the furious pace of progress.
Timber harvesting quickly became the top manufacturing industry in the west.
These trees are the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth.
The loggers used axes, saws, and other early methods of bringing the trees down.
Rapidly improving technology in the 20th century allowed more trees to be harvested in less time.
Transportation also caught up to the task of moving the massive logs.
Railways started replacing horses and oxen.
Although some of the perpetrators were caught, many thousands of acres of land were lost in land swindles.
After many decades of unobstructed clear-cut logging, serious efforts toward conservation began.
Sources:Wikipedia,NPS,DailyMail
