Editing Madera County, California (section)

====Lumber====
[[File:California Lumber Company Log Flume.jpg|thumb|The record-breaking Madera log flume was {{convert|65|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} long.]] The discovery of gold was quickly followed by a high demand for lumber, which was essential for constructing [[Placer mining#Sluice box|sluice boxes]] and building early settlements. The first sawmill in the county was constructed in 1852 on the east fork of Redwood Creek, north of [[Oakhurst, California|Oakhurst]], in an area currently known as Old Corral. This mill primarily provided lumber to miners and settlers in the [[Coarsegold, California|Coarsegold]] and [[Oakhurst, California|Fresno Flats]] areas.<ref name="Sawmill History">{{cite web |url=https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5304587.pdf |title=A Sawmill History of the Sierra National Forest 1852-1940 |author=Ben Hurt |publisher=Sierra National Forest |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref> In 1854, [[Charles P. Converse|Charles Converse]] and Bill Chitister purchased the mill and relocated it to Crane Valley, the area now known as [[Bass Lake (Madera County, California)|Bass Lake]].<ref name="Sawmill History" />

In 1872, the [[Madera Sugar Pine Company#The California Lumber Company (1874–1878)|California Lumber Company]] initiated the region's first major lumber operation with a steam mill near [[Nelder Grove]]. They built a record-setting {{convert|65|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} long [[Log flume#V-flumes|log flume]] to Madera to float finished lumber to market.<ref name="Sawmill History" /> Although it ran out of money in 1874, it was restructured and operated at a profit for the next four decades.<ref name="Coarsegold">{{Cite book |title=As We Were Told: An Oral and Written History |publisher=Coarsegold Historical Society |editor-first1=Jane |editor-last1=Stenzel|year=2006 |isbn=0-9626377-7-7 |edition=Third Edition (Revised) |location=Coarsegold, California}}</ref>{{rp|146}}

During the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], Madera County's lumber industry and logging railroads ceased operations. In 1941, the industry recovered when a new sawmill in North Fork was built, which used [[logging truck]]s and advanced equipment for deeper access into the [[Sierra National Forest]]. However, in the early 1990s, tighter government rules reduced forest yields, hurting the mill's profits. This downturn led to the end of Madera County's logging era in February 1994, when the last log was processed.