Although prospectors, surveyors, and trappers had travelled the region in the 1800s, the first large scale activity in the river valley by Europeans was logging.
 J.P. McGoldrick, an experienced lumberman from Spokane, established the Adams River Lumber Company in 1909.
He licensed large tracts of timber along both the Upper and Lower rivers, as well as the surrounding plateau.
 McGoldrick's company is described as the first major industrial operation in the British Columbia Interior.

A camp was built on the upper river and logging operations began at Tumtum Lake.
 The cut logs were run down the river, then towed in booms by the company owned sternwheeler Helen down Adams Lake.
 The logs then were run down the Lower river to the mill at Chase.
 In 1908, Adams River Logging constructed a "splash dam" at the outlet of the Lower Adams.
  This dam allowed operators to raise the water level of Adams Lake.
 When sufficient logs had been collected above the dam, the gates were opened and the resulting flood carried the logs to Shuswap Lake.
 This proved to be destructive to the salmon run as it damaged the gravel beds the fish use to spawn.

In order to move logs from the plateau above the Lower river, Adams River Lumber constructed several flumes.
 The flumes were elevated wooden troughs filled with water that floated logs down to the valley bottom.
 The largest of these was at Bear Creek.
 It incorporated trestles up to 25 metres (82 ft) high and was capable of moving 3,000,000 metres (9,800,000 ft) of logs per month.
 It was the largest flume in North America at its peak.
 The structures were dismantled after the areas became logged out.

Although logging continues in the region, the Adams is no longer used for log transport.
Although prospectors, surveyors, and trappers had travelled the region in the 1800s, the first large scale activity in the river valley by Europeans was logging.  J.P. McGoldrick, an experienced lumberman from Spokane, established the Adams River Lumber Company in 1909. He licensed large tracts of timber along both the Upper and Lower rivers, as well as the surrounding plateau.  McGoldrick's company is described as the first major industrial operation in the British Columbia Interior.
A camp was built on the upper river and logging operations began at Tumtum Lake.  The cut logs were run down the river, then towed in booms by the company owned sternwheeler Helen down Adams Lake.  The logs then were run down the Lower river to the mill at Chase.  In 1908, Adams River Logging constructed a "splash dam" at the outlet of the Lower Adams.   This dam allowed operators to raise the water level of Adams Lake.  When sufficient logs had been collected above the dam, the gates were opened and the resulting flood carried the logs to Shuswap Lake.  This proved to be destructive to the salmon run as it damaged the gravel beds the fish use to spawn.
In order to move logs from the plateau above the Lower river, Adams River Lumber constructed several flumes.  The flumes were elevated wooden troughs filled with water that floated logs down to the valley bottom.  The largest of these was at Bear Creek.  It incorporated trestles up to 25 metres (82 ft) high and was capable of moving 3,000,000 metres (9,800,000 ft) of logs per month.  It was the largest flume in North America at its peak.  The structures were dismantled after the areas became logged out.
Although logging continues in the region, the Adams is no longer used for log transport.
Adams River (British Columbia)