Silforssågen, Långhed

**The development of the Silfor saw from the 1880s

The Hässjån river has always been important as part of the community development in Långhed, and man had the ability to capture its power.

The first sawmill in Silfors, at Silforsfallet, in Hässjaån, was started in 1880 by Per Andersson. Per probably saw the opportunity to store the timber in Lake Sillen, so it stayed wet before the actual sawing. Ten years later he sold it on to homeowners Anders Olsson, no. 4, and Jon Olsson, no. 5, in Gäddvik Alfta.

In the 1880s, the rafting industry was built up. As part of this, knowledge was invited from, among other places, Värmland where they had rafted before. Good people came here to help us make the rivers usable for rafting and avoid the timber getting stuck.

Seasonal workers now moved to Långhed and new professions came to the area for paid work. This meant big changes for the area and new people settled and development continued. The village of Långhed was expanded with housing and community development took off with shops, services and even a temperance lodge. In order to saw boards, the power of Silforsfallet was utilized through a water wheel. To handle logs and boards, hand-drawn wagons on rails were initially used. The sawmill operated primarily from spring to fall, with work in the forest in between.

In early 1908, the sawmill was rebuilt and Silfors Sågverks AB was started. The manager was manager Olof Lindström. In the early 1920s, the company was burdened by large debts, but they managed to reach an agreement with the lenders and then it was a few tough years to get the sawmill back on its feet. From the 1920s until the Second World War were tough economic years for Sweden and also for the sawmill industry. In 1938, a power station was built at Hässjaån and during the 1940s the sawmill flourished, partly because 3 coal furnaces were built for the production of charcoal. Stockholm and Uppsala were the main markets for the coal. During the war years, 1940-41, the sawmill stood still and only coal was sold.

During this time, the company also supplied firewood to the Fuel Commission to supply the capital with firewood. This operation was located in Röstabo.

In order to make use of waste pieces, ribs, cakes and wolves, coal mines were built on the north side of Hässjån to make coal that was then sold to purchasing mills. The last charcoal kiln was coaled in 1958.

The sawmill industry flourished in the 1950s with high timber prices. During this period, there was hustle and bustle everywhere in Silfors, mostly related to the sawmill's operations. A large number of people worked at the sawmill, doing everything from simple odd jobs to more advanced tasks that required a great deal of skill and experience. There was staff housing in the building called Kasern.

At the end of the 1950s and into the 1960s, a major modernization of the business took place, including a transition to truck handling in the board yards and a more mechanical sorting of incoming timber. The next major step in the development took place in the early 70s when major investments were made to further modernize the business. Unfortunately, these investments became too burdensome and ended in bankruptcy in 1986. Several attempts to restart the business were made, but all ended with the sawmill closing down in 1993.