Winfield Scott Gerrish is credited with revolutionizing lumbering in the U.S. state of Michigan by building a seven-mile-long logging railroad from Lake George to the Muskegon River in Clare County, Michigan in 1877. Although not the first logging railroad in the state, Gerrish's railroad was very successful. The use of rail allowed year round transportation of any size tree to the sawmills where unpredictable rivers were previously used.