Hacking a Railroad Tie from an Oak Log - Part 2 - Shannon County Film Digitization Project

Second of three camera rolls (182, 183, 184) containing shots of Estil Terrill hacking a railroad tie from an oak log using an axe and broadaxe. From the 1890's through the early 1930's, Shannon County's oak forests provided timber and railroad ties for the nation's expanding railroads. The tie industry brought the first steady flow of cash into the county's economy and tie hacking became a major source of income for many Shannon County families. At the beginning of the boom, the going rate for a "stick" as tie hackers called them, was five cents. A good tie hacker might hack eighteen or twenty in a day. By the late twenties, when good oak started to become scarce, a tie could bring as much as $1.50. Several camera rolls in this collection contain information or stories related to tie hacking. The tie hacking shown here took a little over an hour. Footage shot on November 14, 1978, in Eminence, Shannon County, Missouri.
Part of the raw footage recorded 1978-1979 for the 1981 documentary motion pictures "Shannon County: Home" and "Shannon County: Hearts of the Children." Located in Special Collections, Meyer Library, Missouri State University.
For more information on the Shannon County Film Digitization Project: purl.missouristate.edu/library...

[@jes587690]

Impressive work by an impressive man, Hats off to Estil Terrill.

[@fperry8613]

My grandpa told stories about making ties for 3 cent a tie, Worked all day. This was in the 20’ s and early 30’s.

[@bransonwillis1672]

That's one hard ass way to make a living.

[@stevehopkins8069]

That's hard labor ,hes done this quite a bit notice how sharp his axes are .

[@thehewinghoosier]

God bless the old tie hacks!

[@gabrielanthony8914]

What a difference a sawmill makes

[@dbcooper692]

thats alot harder than it looks my whole property is almost all oak trees