In 1839, Jacob Spaulding and Robert and Andrew Wood led an expedition from Prairie du Chien up the Mississippi and the Black into the forest and built a sawmill at the future site of Black River Falls. In 1841 a group of Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois came up the Black and began cutting logs around Black River Falls. In 1842 they floated a raft of their logs down the Black and Mississippi to Nauvoo, demonstrating the feasibility of this transport.
In 1839, Jacob Spaulding and Robert and Andrew Wood led an expedition from Prairie du Chien up the Mississippi and the Black into the forest and built a sawmill at the future site of Black River Falls. In 1841 a group of Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois came up the Black and began cutting logs around Black River Falls. In 1842 they floated a raft of their logs down the Black and Mississippi to Nauvoo, demonstrating the feasibility of this transport.