Getting Out the Timber

By 1900, everything here was part of George W. Vanderbilt's estate, which he called Pisgah Forest. In 1912, Vanderbilt sold timber harvest rights on 69,326 acres to Louis Carr for $12 an acre, and Carr built 75 miles of railroad to haul the timber to his sawmill in the town of Pisgah Forest. Much of U.S. 276 now follows the route of the logging trains. In 1914, the U.S. Forest Service bought Pisgah Forest from Vanderbilt's widow, Edith, for $5 per acre so it could be protected and used and enjoyed by the American people as a national forest for all time. At the family's request, the land kept its name, and in 1916 it became part of the newly formed Pisgah National Forest. George Vanderbilt pioneered forest conservation at a time when the idea was new, and his contract with Carr reflected his concern for the forest: loggers were to avoid damage to small growth, prevent and suppress wildfires, refrain from floating logs by stream, keep cattle from running free to trample and graze the forest floor, and cut mostly trees greater than 16 inches in diameter. Although foresters no longer favor this practice of high grading, Vanderbilt's early efforts provide insight into managing forests today. Around Looking Glass Falls, he also set aside 25 acres that could not be logged.

North Carolina · United States