This photo from 1910 shows a team of horses hauling logs along a skid road in Lynn Valley.
The first commercial skid road was built in 1873 to move tree trunks from the forests in North Vancouver to both Moodyville Sawmill on the North Shore (opened in 1862) and to Hastings Mill in Vancouver (opened in 1867).
The skid road routes were built from heavy logs, eight feet long and positioned perpendicular to the road's direction.
Down the centre of the road was a "U" shaped notch (as seen in this photo) hewn out with axes and greased with fish oil this allowing the logs to be more readily towed.
You may be familiar with the more modern definition of 'skid road' or 'skid row', describing a typically urban, impoverished, and older area that is rooted in this 19th Century term.
The Time Traveller feature offers a weekly glimpse into the North Shore's past, courtesy of North Vancouver Museum and Archives.
Want to know more about the history of the North Shore? Visit nvma.ca or drop into the Archives of North Vancouver at 3203 Institute Rd. in Lynn Valley.
