Maine Forestry Museum

Centrally located between the headwaters of both the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers, Rangeley has long been one of Maine’s logging centers. Native Americans used the forest of spruce, balsam fir, beech, birch, and poplar for their homes, canoes, foods, and medicines.

Timber rights attracted the first white settlers to the area in 1794, and 1833 saw the beginning of the first woods industry shingle mill. Several decades later, booms of logs and, later, pulp were towed across Rangeley’s lakes and driven down her rivers.

Rangeley’s forests were home to some of the last stands of virgin spruce. This rich heritage, combined with active logging operations, makes Rangeley an ideal location for a museum dedicated to western Maine’s timber heritage.

In 1968, logger Rodney Richard watched as a Brown Paper Company foreman was about to push an old snubbing machine over a bank. “If you’re going to do that,” Rodney called out, “I’ll take it home.” He did and his dream of a logging museum began to take shape.

In 1979, Rodney, with a group of six loggers, homemakers, and area residents, founded the Rangeley Lakes Region Logging Museum, intent on collecting materials and raising money for land and buildings.