Idafors

Rest area with fireplace at Gopån. Here, deep in the forests, there was a large community and (by the standards of the time) a major industry in the mid-19th century. In 1854, the new double-framed sawmill and a double edging mill were completed. This sawmill was considered one of the most modern and largest of its time.

The sawmill is also said to have been the first to start exporting timber abroad. The sawmill is said to have been named after Ida, the daughter of the owner of the sawmill, wholesaler C-E Rahm Gävle. A tar factory, a trading shed, a warehouse and a coal school were also built here. The tar factory was the first of its kind and aroused great interest in Sweden. The products manufactured in the factory were turpentine, tar, resin and some tar substances.

When kerosene eventually arrived, xylogen replaced the fuel oil obtained from the tar, and the factories were closed down. When the Gopån river was expanded in 1874 and timber could now be floated down to Wiksjön and Wrånga steam saw, the Idafors and Mosjö sawmills were closed.

The famous pseudonymous author Sigge Stark lived at Idafors. Her real name was Signe Björnberg and for several decades she was one of Sweden's most productive and best-read authors.

The last resident at Idafors was a Stockholm man who had decided to go as far as his money would take him. He got no further than Lingbo.