An old piece of local logging history has made its way back to its original home in Powell River.
The city says a steam donkey, also known as a steam powered winch, has been installed at Lindsay Park. This specific machine was built in 1918 by Vancouver Engineering Works and was used by the Anderson Sawmill, run by Andy and Clara Anderson on Powell Lake in Block Bay from 1932 to 1960.
The land they were operating on was leased to them by the Powell River Company, and the Andersons moved their business to their small property in Mowat Bay after the lease was cancelled. While they tried to keep the business going, they were never able to get an operating licence.
After their business was unable to run, they decided to donate the entire sawmill to the Burnaby Village Museum, who said they would get the steam donkey up and running again. However, that proved to be too costly, and the idea was dropped.
In 2014, the museum was looking to get rid of the sawmill from its exhibits and through a grant from the Powell River Community Forest and partnerships with Powell River Forestry Heritage Society, the city and qathet Museum and Archives, the steam donkey has been brought home and installed close to where it was once used.
“Today, many steam donkeys can be found abandoned in the forest, rusting away as relics of the past,” said the city in a release.
“They revolutionized logging in the early 1900s, replacing horses and oxen on a logging site by lifting, dragging and moving logs.”
The machine is one of many pieces from the sawmill that will be installed throughout the city.
