Clearfield County PA Archives - Photos: Getting ready to haul a spar Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Ellis Michaels, , May 2009 Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/ ________________________________________________ http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/photos/haul-a-spar.txt Photo may be viewed at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/1picts/wall/images/haul-a-spar.jpg Taken from Clearfield County Pennsylvania - Present and Past by Thomas Lincoln Wall, Copyright 1925 by T. L. Wall page 192 Men getting ready to haul a spar, which was a pine tree to be used as a mast for a raft. "The very largest and finest pine trees were cut for spars, that is ship masts. They were 80 to 100 feet long and required 8 to 14 horses to haul them to the river. They were peeled but left round. A great deal of care had to be used in the cutting and hauling. They were rafted in a different way from square timber. Each spar raft of 20 to 22 sticks was worth from $2000.00 to $3500.00." the same photo is found in: 150th Anniversary Curwensville, PA 1799 - 1949 page 126 1898—Last spars to go down the Susquehanna River. L. to R.—Fred Bloom, J. J. Bloom, Wm. Peoples, Alfred Bloom, Ed Spackman, Walter Long, Cecil R. Bloom, Roy Read, Thomas Read, Walter Bloom, Jeff Bloom, Ai Bloom, Rudolph Swatsworth.