How it all Started | Sawmill

Most people think a sawmill needs electricity. A couple of weeks ago, while on a family trip, we stopped at Upper Canada Village and got to watch how lumber was made long before power tools existed. It all starts with water. A dam redirects the flow into a wooden channel, which powers the entire sawmill. Watching the water bring every gear, shaft, and mechanism to life before seeing the log slowly make its way through the saw was incredible. As a carpenter, it’s pretty amazing to see where the trade began and how people transformed raw logs into usable lumber using nothing more than the power of moving water. It definitely makes you appreciate just how far construction has come… while also realizing how ingenious these systems were hundreds of years ago. Could you imagine building an entire house with lumber cut this way? #History #Carpentry #Woodworking Upper Canada Village, historic sawmill, water powered sawmill, lumber milling, woodworking history, carpentry, sawmill, timber processing, old woodworking, construction history, water wheel, lumber production, heritage village, Canadian history, woodworking, carpenter life, building materials, historical craftsmanship, family trip, home improvement