Virginia Sawmills of the 1900s

Since the year 6 AD, water-powered sawmills have been a huge part of the lumber industry all over the world (Secondary Source 1).  In modern Virginia, I was able to locate 29 sawmills across the state, with four existing in Covington, Virginia alone. This is the most sawmills in one zip code in the entire state.

As you can see, Covington sits on the Jackson River, making it a prime location for water-powered sawmills.  Furthermore, timber rafting and log driving were very popular and cheap method of lumber transportation.  Finally, the entirety of Covington is located in the George Washington National Forest, meaning there is a large supply of lumber (for a fee to the federal government).  The reason Covington has so many sawmills is because of its location on the Jackson River and in the George Washington National Forest.