The Motherlode of Mason County
A report on the incredible timber yield of a Satstop River quarter-section, highlighting the massive economic potential of Washington's old-growth forests.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
There are timber stories as well as fish stories. A quarter section of timber land expected to cut from five million to ten million feet is considered a good quarter, and fifteen million is rated extraordinary. But that is a baby estimate when you place it by the side of a particular quarter section on the Satsop River, in Mason County, recently cruised by several competent men who will testify shortly in the land office to the quantity they saw. One of these men will testify that this quarter section will cut forty million feet and the whole section at least one hundred million. It is a solid mass of green in the thinnest spots. When a railroad is built to this land, the quarter section alone will be worth forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars.
“There are timber stories as well as fish stories.”
This piece highlights the historical 'timber boom' mindset that defined Washington's early economy, where forests were seen as limitless assets waiting for railroads. It provides a stark contrast to today's conservation-focused land management and the legacy of clear-cutting in the Satsop watershed.
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