LIBRARY TALK – APRIL 6, 2023
From the desk of Alison Gibson, Director
Levanna’s Barrett Saw Mill and Lumber Company. Oscar Barrett owned the company from early 1890s to the close of the mill in 1923. Many boats and barges were built here. Levanna had a long history of having an active sawmill at this site, starting in 1848. A good overview of the sawmill history and its impact on Levanna is in the August 15th 1935 copy of the Ripley Bee.
Many boats and barges were built here. Levanna had a long history of having an active sawmill at this site, starting in 1848. A good overview of the sawmill history and its impact on Levanna is in the August 15th 1935 copy of the Ripley Bee. Here’s a link to the article:
One mention in an 1899 issue of the paper it was noted 5 strings of lumber where being floated down the river to Levanna—of course we had to find out how big a string was! One source said a string was made up of 16 cribs of lumber, each crib being about 12,000 board feet. So, 12,000 x 16 x 5 is approximately 960,000 board feet–not too shabby a delivery. One the back of a copy of this postcard the man with the whip is identified as R.M. Pangburn.
We are really excited about having a group of jazz musicians coming to the Ripley library on Sunday, April 30th at 4:00 p.m.. Part informational on the history of jazz and part performance with a special note on the history of Ripley’s own jazz musicians from the 1920s forward, Joe and Russell Smith. We’ve always wanted to celebrate the Smith family and their contributions to big band and jazz and we’ve finally found an organization (Jazz-Alive from Cincinnati) that will help us fulfill this wish. So…if you want to learn something about jazz, listen to some amazing music, and a little Ripley history, book your Sunday afternoon of April 30th with us. More details to come.
