Buildings and Sites
Since the 1960s, a variety of different forestry buildings and structures have been transferred to the Forestry Museum of Lapland. Our oldest buildings are from the beginning of the 20th century, and our newest are from the 50s. On your visit you will gain a good understanding of logging life in different periods.
Along the Decades: On the History of the Museum
1960s: The Museum Begins Operating
In 1963, the transfer of the 1904 Koivu log floating cabin to the museum area initiated the first building period, that continued for a few decads. 1965-1966 saw the erection of the boatshed to complement the area on floating, and the steam ship Uitto 6 was placed on the lakeshore in 1967. The next year, the pontoon winch Uitto 33 was brought in to accompany the steam ship.
In 1968 the museum area saw the transfer of the smoke sauna, originally built in the 1940s. During the following year the horse drivers cabin, built in the early 1900s style, was erected in the area.
1970s: Significant Donations
The year 1970 was a significant period. The museum had already seen the donation of the 1920 trading post from Värriöjoki in Savukoski and the 1940s stable in 1969, which were both erected in 1970. For the donated forestry machines and Sandberg's locomotive, a shelter structure was built. During the same year, the complcated transfer of the Luiro cabin was initiated, which was aided to a significant degree by Metsähallitus and the Veitsiluoto company.
The erection of the building was a two year job in total, and could not have succeeded without the aid of both the professionals in the Forestry Museum of Lapland Socity and the local forestry companies.
1980s: The Last Building Transfers
As the museum's year to year activities slowly became routine, the transfer of buildings to the site continued until the end of the 1980s. Two outhouses were erected. The driving equipment shed, for the housing of horse-drawn forestry quipment, was built in 1973, and the Forestry Technician's house was put up in 1979 as the residence of the groundskeeper. In 1984 the shed belonging to the Technican's house was moved in, and Ahmakuusikko cabin was moved from Hirvaa in 1986. The last building moved to the site was the log floating warehouse, which found its own spot next to the Koivu cabin in 1989.
The movement of historical buildings for museum is challenging work that requires higly specialized expertise. The buildings transferred to the site throughout the years make the Forestry Museum of Lapland a unique location to visit.
Site Descriptions
Ahmakuusikko Cabin The Ahmakuusikko Cabin was transferred to the museum area in 1985. Life in the cabin was heavily affected by the 1947 cabin legislation, which guaranteed significantly improved living conditions. Every worker had to have their own bed as well as a locker for personal effects. In addition, a separate drying area had to be included for drying wet gear. According to the cabin legislation, a single room could house a maximum of 25 men. The cabin had two sleeping and living areas, one at either end. The rooms could house 12 bunk beds each. Accoridng to the cabin legislation, at cabins where at least 20 workers were housed had to have a hired cabin host, who prepared their meals and took care of cleaning. The food was prepared in the kitchen, which was connected to the living area by the so called "hatch of life". Through it the hosts would serve the men food and coffee daily. Behind the kitchen was the small host's quarters, which was a forbidden area for the lumberjacks.
Horse Drivers' Cabin From the early 1900s, the Horse Drivers' Cabin is representative of relatively temporary housing, as this kind of dwelling was generally built to be used for one winter only. In that period, the logging companies did not yet build dwellings for the workers, and instead the duty fell to the lumberjack gangs themselves. This cabin is the basic model of a small logging cabin. They were generally not accompanied by either stables or a sauna (the lack of a sauna being relatively unusual in Finland). Originally this kind of cabin was made with axes, and the very early ones were even made with wooden nails rather than ones made of metal. Almost every singlee authentic cabin from the 1910s to the 20s have rotted away by now, and this cabin is a reconstruction built in 1969. Over the winter the cabin housed 2-3 horse gangs, which equates to a maximum of about 12 men. One horse gang included the horseman and two to three loggers. The horses would sleep under the trees or within a shelter made of pine branches next to the cabin. The living conditions were primitive; the cabin had a single fireplace, which was used for heating, cooking, and drying clothes. The lumberjacks slept on common sleeping platforms (called "peska"), and there was no separate kitchen or a cabin hostess. The cabin was cramped and it was not generally cleaned at all. Even if the cabin was otherwise quite warm, the shoddy construction introduced drafts in the corners which meant they were often frosty. Sometimes the men did not wash a single time during the entire winter.
Luiro Cabin Luiro Cabin was built as a joint project in 1939, by the biggest logging companies in Lapland, Kemi Oy and Veitsiluoto Oy. It was built in the lands behind the Lokka reservoir. It is connected to the history of the development of long distance transport of wood in Lapland. In the 1930s, long distance trucking was developed in Lapland as it enabled the movement across land between log floating rivers and lakes, and allowed access to new frontiers of loggable forests that had been untouched thus far. The Luiro Cabin was intended as the headquarters of the logging camp, housing the leadership and the maintenance crew. In it lived the foremen, the counting crew, the treasurer, the quartrmasters, and the hostesses. There is a small window at one end of the cabin, which indicates that this cabin was built for a trucking logging camp; the building was so that the counting crew on night shift waiting for a load would see the headlights of an approaching truck. The counting crew was in charge of counting and keeping track of the truckloads coming to the temporary storage awaiting floating during the summer. The Luiro Cabin however was never used for this purpose, as the logging camps were halted due to World War II. When the men left for the front, the already finished cabin, as well as the bridgs, storage units, and roads were left to rot. After the war the camp did not go ahead.
Trading Post This trading post is from the Värriöjoki logging camp at Savukoski in the 1920s. Usually trading posts were log structures quickly thrown together, more resembling a hay drying shed than a place of trade. Organizing the food and equipment logistics of logging camps was a large and difficult job. Before cars becam common, food was usually transported to the camps in horse drawn sleds. The trading post sold food both to the men and hoses, and in additino sold tools, clothing, and of course tobacco. Foods on sale usually included items such as flour, bread, porridge grits, butter, meat, fish, and drid fruit. Coffee and sugar were luxury products that were occasionally available. The person running the post was called by many names, such as "hartsuherra" (the food lord), "muonittaja" (the food distributor), and "muonamies" (the foodman).
The Stable This stable was in use in the 1940s in the Köystämö logging camp in Jumiskojoki, Kemijärvi. The stable was transferred to the museum in 1969 At bigger logging camps in addition to the main cabin and other buildings, a stable was often built. Initially, stables may have been built at one end of a cabin. After the 1947 cabin legislation they were always built separately, as the new laws forbade the building a stable too close to living quarters. For smaller camps, stables wer usually not built. Instad, the horses would sleep in a sheltered spot amongst the trees or in a makeshift shelter constructed out of pine branches placed against the cabin wall. They also had a horse blanket during the nights.
Driving Equipment Storage The Driving Equipment Storage was built to be a display space for the museum, for the horse drawn sleds and equipmnt used before mechanization took over. In the short distance transport of logs there were two steps, assembling or skidding and hauling. The logs were assembled alongside the "branch-road", or the main road of the logging camp, from where they were driven to the temporary storage known as a "lanssi". In the spring, the transport would continue via flotation. In the wintry forest, the skidding of the logs was hard for both man and horse. The maintenance of the small roads in the logging areas was the responsibility of the horseman or his horsegang. These roads rarely saw proper maintenance, and as such the trees had to be driven in deep snow. The building and maintenance of the branch roads was the responsibility of the employer. The branch roads were gnerally well kept ice or snow roads, on which transport was far easier than on the smaller logging area roads. Branch roads were often one way only, so that you were only allowed to drive loads toward the storage areas from the logging areas. When returning, you had to use a different route.
Koivu Log Floating Cabin The Koivu Log Floating Cabin, originally called Kähkönen Log Floating Cabin, was built to be the multi-year headquarters of a log floating opration. It was originally built next to the river Kemi in the village of Koivu in Tervola. The cabin was commissioned by the 1904 Forestry chief of the Kemi company and the Floating Chief of the Kemi River Floating company, Hugo Richard Sandberg. The cabin had two ends, the "sharp" end and the "dull" end. The dull end was the living quarters of the floaters, who had a loft area for sleeping with the downstairs area reserved for the hostess' cooking needs as well as for eating. In the sharp end was the floating chief's room and the "nerve center" of the cabin, the telephone. The Koivu cabin was built in a very typical style for log floating cabins, and is indeed likely to have been one of the first such cabins alongside the river Kemi. In the 1920s the first cabin legislation came along, mandating bunk beds instead of the loft sleeping platform. In time, the 1947 cabin legislation would also affect the quality of life of the log floating camps. This cabin served in its original station until the year 1961, when in connection to the building of the Ossaus rapids power station it was sold to the Kemi River company. This company in turn donated the cabin and all associated structures to the Forestry Museum of Lapland in 1963. In 1966, the boat shed from this bundle was set up near the cabin as well.
The Log Floating Warehouse Built towards the end of the 1940s in Kokkosniva of Pelkosenniemi, this warehouse represents typical log floating equipment storage for the time. During the construction of the Kokkosniva power station the warehouse came into the ownership of the Kemi River company which in turn donated it to the Forestry Museum in 1989. The warehouse was used to house log floating equipment during the winter. The open shelter at the back was for the storage of log floating boats. Now it is being used to exhibit different kind of staffs used in log floating.
Smoke Sauna This smoke sauna was built in the 1940s for the Köyhtyä camp in Jumiskojoki, Sodankylä. The sauna was transferred to the museum in 1968. Nearby the sauna there was usually a kota where the water needed for bathing was heated in a larg iron cauldron. The water heating spot for this sauna is made from the old boats of the Kemi River Floating company. A smoke sauna differs from a normal Finnish sauna. It has to be heated for almost the entire day, so that the large amount of stones in its stove will become hot throughout. Because the stove is made from natural stones and does not feature a chimney, the smoke dispersing from between the stones fills the entire building. This is where this style of sauna gets its name. When the saunas temperature has risen to the desired point, the small hatches along the walls are opened to air out the smoke. Right before bathing, a final "häkälöyly" or "smoke steaming" is done to reduce the smoke stench.
Boat Shed In this boat shed are housed a variety of boat used in log floating throughout the river Kemi. Spooling boats were used in the movement of staves, which are the edge logs in a clump of logs being floated. There are also a variety of spools from a simple horn spool to iron spools. The boat shed was originally built to accompany the Koivu floating cabin.
Steam Boat Uitto 6 The steam boat Uitto 6 was constructed in 1898 in the Oulu machine shop. It was used as a winching boat in the first lake Kemi float. The boat's original name was "Alku", but the name was changed when it was transferred to the ownership of the Kemi River Floating company in 1923. The ship was used in the lake Kemi until 1962. The company donated the ship to the museum in 1967. Winching happened through the use of a 1,8-2,5 km long zinc cable which was attacked to a 650 kg anchor. When winching, the anchor was dropped to the lake bottom, after which the boat would sail to get the log float while unspooling cable. The ship would then use the anchor as a winching point to drag itself and the log float to the desired point on the lake. The Kemi company winched with the boat on the 12 km distance between Termusniemi and Luukinsalmi. The ship completed the journey in six to eight hours. The ship winched about 5000 cubic meters of wood at a time (on a frame which hauled 5-6 small floats of logs). When the logs reached the end of their journey they were collected to be drawn by a larger steamship, which delivered the boat over the largest part of Lake Kemi to Luusua. The pontoon winch next to the steam boat works on the same basic principle as Uitto 6. Later on steam powered boats were replaced by diesel and gasoline boats.
Forestry Machine Shed Starting in the 50s, logging camps saw the use of farming tractors for the transportation of logs. Tractors were modified and their movement capabilities in snow were improved with half-track systems. To ease building loads, the wire spool was developed. During the use of cable machines, the logs were collected directly into the load of the tractor using a cable. Hydraulic grapple loaders became more common in the 60s. This is also when the first machines especially designed for logging became available and quickly replaced farm tractors at camps. Transportation equipment developed and became heavier in step with these developments. Machines gradually became more common at logging camps. Initially mechnization was slowed by the poor supply of tractors and their spare parts. Even in 1964, in the Savotta-magazine it was announced that "All available horses are now needed at logging camps". The mechanization of log floats started from the rolling of the logs, or the process of putting them into water. In the 50s, bulldozers started to appear at riversides for this purpose.
Sandberg's Locomotive In 1912 the first mechanized logging camp in Finland was started in Savukoski in Tulppio. The Kemi company's proactive, ambitious, and open minded Forestry Chief Hugo Richard Sandberg, also known as Samperi, ordered two steam locomotives from the United States. The purpose of the engines was to transport logs from beyond the dry lands separating floating rivers so that they could be floated down river Kemi. The first locomotive arrived by boat to the port in Hanko, and was transported from there to Rovaniemi by train. In Rovaniemi the engine was taken apart and transported by boat and horse the 300 km journey to Tulppio. The trip took an entire week and was not easy. The seven ton steam boiler, the largest single piece of the engine, fell over twice and there was a despairing spirit at points. In the locomotive there are two double-cylindered steam engines, with a transmission to the movement system at each side. The engines generated about 100 horsepowers altogether, and it had an average speed of 7,5 km per hour. The locomotive was said to move as fast as a "limping horse". Making a sufficient road for the engine was troublesome. It had to have rails frozen for it into the road, which the men had made in the fall in work gangs using hoes. It was learned the hard way that there could be no downhill segments, because the engin had no breaks. It fell over easily and during the first winter, it fell twice into a swamp. Lifting it out was a tough job, but it was quickly learned the first time. The engine would tow 5-9 pairs of sleds, with each sled loaded down with 50-80 logs. On th way there were numerous watering and fuel points for the engin. In good conditions, the engines would manage two trips back and forth in 24 hours. A single trip usually took about 18 hours. The locomotive had a four person crew. The driver, the conductor, the engineer, and the boilerman. The driver piloted the engine sitting in the open (both him and th conductor were given a wolf coat, dog skin gloves, a fur hat, fur shoes, and leather long johns by the copmany). The conductor would conduct the traffic on the locomotive's track, as well as ensuring that there was sufficient water and fuel. The engineer was in control of the valves regulating the engines and the boilerman was in charge of adding fuel to the fire. Faults were common. There were no spare parts of sufficient quality available in Finland at th time, which meant that they had to be ordered from America. This significantly slowed down any repair job.