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.org/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.org/pa/clearfield/ ________________________________________________ http://files.usgwarchives.org/pa/clearfield/photos/haul-a-spar.txt Photo may be viewed at: http://www.usgwarchives.org/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."