Logging operations of the early 1900s was extremely labor intensive. Motorized equipment was still in the experimental stages. One of the best advancements was the development of the Michigan Big Wheels, which everyone just called them big wheels. The wheels were a simple but efficient way to transport fallen logs to a landing, wherein they were then loaded onto railroad cars. The big wheels in time would become a key component in revolutionizing logging methods.
Horses provided the power to operate the big wheels. The name big wheels stems from their size ten to twelve feet in diameter. It was necessary for that size, in order to straddle a log and navigate moderate terrain. The logs were attached to a twelve foot tongue and with a lever, the driver could not only elevate a portion of a log in the front thereby making it easier to drag, but could loosen or tighten the cable, for braking purposes. One big drawback of big wheels was that it required a great deal of labor. Most big wheel logging camps employed as many as of 150 men. Two thirds of them worked as “swampers.” It was their job to remove brush, tree saplings, rocks and other debris that could injure a horse’s leg.
By the late 1920s, both Fruit Growers Supply Company and the Red River Lumber Company had replaced the big wheels with motorized “cats”.