Friday, April 28, 2017

Day 74: Baldpate Wood Saw (Arbor Day)

One of the most unique projects accomplished by our preservation partners, the American History Savers, was the salvage and restoration of The Baldpate Inn's antique wood saw. This was a special labor of love project headed by Steve Robb.  

The archive team first discovered the saw near the old garbage dump, half buried along with some old ovens & stoves and set out to discover its story. 


Diligent research identified Baldpate’s original wood saw as a 1921 Sattley hit and miss engine. It was a 7-1/2 horse power engine that was purchased from Montgomery Ward. It was built as a saw platform with a 30-inch saw blade.

This saw was used by the Mace family in the construction of the Baldpate buildings as they built each by hand from hand-hewed timber cut from the property.

Restored in 2010 for display by the American History Savers, our saw was moved to its current location near the Homestead


So although we no longer use this historic saw, having five massive fireplaces in just the main lodges as well as five more in the cabins and homestead creates a demand to keep up with firewood.

Over the years we have learned that to be good stewards of the forest, a balance is required between cutting for our use, our wildfire mitigation work - most recently last fall by our friends at Summit Forestry, and maintaining the right blend of trees for our local wildlife.

The aspen and variety of pine trees surrounding The Baldpate Inn have always been part of what makes it so special, and we are pleased to wish you all a very happy Arbor Day today.  

Written by Lois Smith

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