The John l. Roper lumber company: how canals, lumber towns, and railroads changed the tidewater landscape, 1850-1900

Abstract

This dissertation explores the impact of the John L. Roper Lumber Company during the second half of the nineteenth century within the larger context of great industrial change occurring in the region. The American canal era of the 1830s-1850s witnessed the nation’s first large-scale engineering projects, organized labor, mobility, and consistent industrial manufacturing in remote areas. Following the U.S. Civil War, immigrants, poor whites, and men and women of color were exploited by southern industries that had earlier relied almost exclusively on enslaved labor. At the same time, rapid expansion of railroads granted access to timberlands previously out of reach for aspiring lumbermen. Early railroads were owned and operated by lumber companies and complemented established maritime shipping lanes. Overland freight eventually replaced the steamship, as economic development and population settlement migrated inland along the new lines of communication. The effect of forest depletion was devastating to the local economy and ecosystem. In the wake of the lumber industry came paper manufacturing, which provided stability to small communities once dependent on sawmills for employment. Public awareness of lumbering’s negative impacts generated calls for more government oversight and conservation. Attempts at land reclamation projects and environmental protections, along with economic stability and development, are legacies of the southern lumber industry which resulted in both successes and failures.

Disciplines

History | Labor Relations | Other Forestry and Forest Sciences

Subject Area

History; Forestry; Labor relations; American history

Department

Humanities (HUM)

First Advisor

Neary, Timothy

Second Advisor

Nevius, Marcus

Third Advisor

Marcoux, Jon

Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

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