1n. — Lumbering, Hist.
a prepared road having greased skids (def. 1d) over which logs were dragged by teams of mules, oxen, or horses.
Quotations
<i>c</i>1889They used [about 1864] to have a lot of mules at Moodyville to draw the logs down the skid-roads. . . .
1885If any care was exercised in the preservation of the redwoods not large enough for lumber, the present quantity of growing timber might be maintained, but the lumbermen make it a point to "work that class out," cutting the timber all away in one season, as the skid road is usually destroyed by the winter rains.
1900A shanty town of rough-hewn logs, warmly mudded-up, a band of glossy-coated horses to haul the sawn timber over the skid roads, the inevitable Chinese cook, and the very best of food are the chief adjuncts of a British Columbia logging place.
1937Hauling logs [by four-horse team] on a greased skid road.
2n. — Lumbering
a slide or chute down which logs are skidded (def. 1) or dragged by a donkey engine.
Quotations
1924Still the river is small and the channel is blocked by rocks. One would be forced to build a skid-road to easy water.
1958A skidroad consisted of three logs let into cross pieces cut away to form a convex in which the logs rested.
4n. — Lumbering
an improved logging road along which logs are hauled from the cutting area.
Quotations
1966A tractor, or rubber-tired skidder vehicle, with an attached metal arch and power winches for lines pulls several logs per trip on short hauls over skid roads to the landing.
2010The trail heads into the non-motorized area along an old skid road. This boundary is an attempt to preserve the fragile alpine plants and environment.
5an. — Orig. Lumbering, Slang, Hist.
a low-class district of drinking and gambling houses, brothels, hotels, hiring halls, etc. catering to lumberjacks, seamen, miners, and construction workers.
Quotations
1906"We'll likely see him in town." "Sure, Mike. He'll be in the Skid road, somewhere."
1966When the loggers came to Vancouver to blow their stakes they congregated in the area bounded by Carrall and Cordova streets. This area soon became known as the "skid road."
5bn. — Orig. Lumbering, Slang,
a city district characterized by cheap lodging houses, second-hand stores, low-class beer parlors and cafes, mission soup-kitchens, etc. and frequented largely by derelicts, transients, petty criminals, and unskilled workers.
The original skidroad (def. 5a) was Yesler's Way in Seattle, Wash., built in 1852. Certainly the term was in use in British Columbia before 1900, having been used of the Vancouver derelict district for many years. The districts so named in Seattle and Vancouver appear to have grown up near the terminus of actual skidroads (def. 1), becoming gathering places for loggers when unemployed or seeking amusement. After the logging operations receded inland, the name for these districts was retained, becoming a general term for such districts even in cities having no connection with logging.
Quotations
1936When I got out I went up to a mission flophouse on the skid-road.
1963I remember, Mr. Mayor, one cold night 14 years ago when a young Indian girl tried to end her life by jumping out the window of a skidroad hotel. There was interest in cleaning up the skidroad then, too. . . .