Log driving began in the Adirondacks about 1813 on the Schroon River. Lumberjacks who worked in the woods during the fall and winter reassembled in spring for the drives. Injury, illness and death were the log drivers' constant companions.

Driving logs took skill and was a dangerous job. The driver was armed with a cant hook, a peavy, or a pike pole. The peavy was invented in 1858 by Joseph Peavy, a blacksmith in Stillwater, Maine.

A good flow of water propelled a log about two miles an hour. Seasonal conditions, the cost of labor and the number of logs determined driving costs. The object of the drives was to get the logs separated and into the booms of the sawmills.