The forest

The forest was the most profitable branch of income of all. Anyone who had access to forest also got grass and leaves for feed, wood for heating, bog ore for iron, timber for construction, and birch bark for roofing.

Sale of forest land and felling rights became an important source of income in the mid-1800s when cotton began to out-compete flax.

The people who profited most from the forest were the sawmill owners – who purchased it from the farmers – but the forest still contributed to the well-being of Hälsingland farmers in many ways. The forest provided the farmers with hard cash and many first-class trees – large and beautiful – to build their farmhouses with.