Michaux State Forest
Encyclopedia
Michaux State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #1. The main offices are located in Fayetteville
in Franklin County
, Pennsylvania
in the United States
.
The Michaux State Forest is in several tracts covering more than 85000 acres (34,398.3 ha) located in Adams County
, southern Cumberland County
, eastern Franklin County
, and northwestern York County
.
Michaux State Forest is named for André Michaux
, a French
botanist. He was dispatched in 1785 by King Louis XVI of France
and his Queen Marie Antoinette
to gather plants for the Royal Gardens
.
Michaux State Forest was formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Dr. Joseph Rothrock
became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. They clear cut
the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfire
s that prevented the formation of second growth forest
s. The conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests. The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
. The Pennsylvania General Assembly
passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations." This was the beginning of the State Forest system.
The land that is now Michaux State Forest was once owned by several large iron companies. The iron companies used the old growth forests of South Central Pennsylvania to fire their iron furnaces
like Pine Grove Furnace
, Caledonia
, and Mont Alto
. Colliers gathered the wood and created charcoal
by slowing burning the logs in massive charcoal kilns that dotted the landscape of what is now Michaux State Forest.
Michaux State Forest is the location of several "firsts" in Pennsylvania Forestry. The first state nursery was established at Mont Alto in 1902. Dr. Joseph Rothrock
opened the first forestry school in Pennsylvania and the second in the United States
at what is now Penn State Mont Alto
. Michaux State Forest saw the first wooden fire tower in 1905 as well as the first steel fire tower in 1914.
Michaux State Forest is now a thriving second growth forest
. It is open to recreational hunting, fishing, hiking and mountainbiking. And is crossed by the Appalachian Trail
. Remnants of the charcoal days can still be seen in the state forest as the land where the kilns burned for so many years has yet to full recover. Visitors to the park will notice these areas as large grassy meadows that are surrounded by the woods of Michaux State Forest.
of Maryland
is to the south
The Appalachian Trail
also runs through Michaux State Forest.
Fayetteville, Pennsylvania
Fayetteville is a census-designated place in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,774 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fayetteville is located at ....
in Franklin County
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 129,313 people, 50,633 households, and 36,405 families residing in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile . There were 53,803 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Michaux State Forest is in several tracts covering more than 85000 acres (34,398.3 ha) located in Adams County
Adams County, Pennsylvania
Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...
, southern Cumberland County
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 235,406.-History:...
, eastern Franklin County
Franklin County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 129,313 people, 50,633 households, and 36,405 families residing in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile . There were 53,803 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...
, and northwestern York County
York County, Pennsylvania
York County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 434,972. It is in the Susquehanna Valley, a large fertile agricultural region in South Central Pennsylvania....
.
History
André Michaux
André Michaux was a French botanist and explorer.-Biography:Michaux was born in Satory, now part of Versailles, Yvelines. After the death of his wife within a year of their marriage he took up the study of botany and was a student of Bernard de Jussieu...
, a French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
botanist. He was dispatched in 1785 by King Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and his Queen Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
to gather plants for the Royal Gardens
Jardin des Plantes
The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. It is one of seven departments of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle. It is situated in the 5ème arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine and covers 28 hectares .- Garden plan :The grounds of the Jardin des...
.
Michaux State Forest was formed as a direct result of the depletion of the forests of Pennsylvania that took place during the mid-to-late 19th century. Conservationists like Dr. Joseph Rothrock
Joseph Rothrock
Joseph Trimbel Rothrock was an American environmentalist, recognized as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania. In 1895, Rothrock was appointed the first forestry commissioner to lead the newly formed Division of Forestry in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture...
became concerned that the forests would not regrow if they were not managed properly. Lumber and iron companies had harvested the old-growth forests for various reasons. They clear cut
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps. The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
s that prevented the formation of second growth forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
s. The conservationists feared that the forest would never regrow if there was not a change in the philosophy of forest management. They called for the state to purchase land from the lumber and iron companies and the lumber and iron companies were more than willing to sell their land since that had depleted the natural resources of the forests. The changes began to take place in 1895 when Dr. Rothrock was appointed the first commissioner of the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, the forerunner of today's Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources , established on July 1, 1995, is the agency in the U.S. State of Pennsylvania responsible for maintaining and preserving the state's 117 state parks and 20 state forests; providing information on the state's natural resources; and...
. The Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...
passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations." This was the beginning of the State Forest system.
The land that is now Michaux State Forest was once owned by several large iron companies. The iron companies used the old growth forests of South Central Pennsylvania to fire their iron furnaces
Bloomery
A bloomery is a type of furnace once widely used for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. A bloomery's product is a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom. This mix of slag and iron in the bloom is termed sponge iron, which...
like Pine Grove Furnace
Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller lakes in Cooke Township. The park provides various outdoor recreation activities, has the remains of the Pine Grove Iron Works, and was the site of the 1830 Laurel Forge, 1880s Pine Grove Park, and an...
, Caledonia
Caledonia State Park
Caledonia State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Greene Township, Franklin County and Franklin Township, Adams County in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is named for an iron furnace, Caledonia Furnace, that was owned by Thaddeus Stevens beginning in 1837. Today the park is known...
, and Mont Alto
Mont Alto State Park
Mont Alto State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Quincy Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 233 one mile from Mont Alto.-Mont Alto Iron Company:...
. Colliers gathered the wood and created charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
by slowing burning the logs in massive charcoal kilns that dotted the landscape of what is now Michaux State Forest.
Michaux State Forest is the location of several "firsts" in Pennsylvania Forestry. The first state nursery was established at Mont Alto in 1902. Dr. Joseph Rothrock
Joseph Rothrock
Joseph Trimbel Rothrock was an American environmentalist, recognized as the "Father of Forestry" in Pennsylvania. In 1895, Rothrock was appointed the first forestry commissioner to lead the newly formed Division of Forestry in the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture...
opened the first forestry school in Pennsylvania and the second in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at what is now Penn State Mont Alto
Penn State Mont Alto
Penn State Mont Alto is a Pennsylvania State University Commonwealth Campus. It is located in Mont Alto, PA, in south central Pennsylvania, between Chambersburg and Gettysburg...
. Michaux State Forest saw the first wooden fire tower in 1905 as well as the first steel fire tower in 1914.
Michaux State Forest is now a thriving second growth forest
Secondary forest
A secondary forest is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a major disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, timber harvest or windthrow, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident...
. It is open to recreational hunting, fishing, hiking and mountainbiking. And is crossed by the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
. Remnants of the charcoal days can still be seen in the state forest as the land where the kilns burned for so many years has yet to full recover. Visitors to the park will notice these areas as large grassy meadows that are surrounded by the woods of Michaux State Forest.
Neighboring state forest districts
The U.S. stateU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
is to the south
- Tuscarora State ForestTuscarora State ForestTuscarora State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #3. The main office is located in Blain in Perry County, Pennsylvania in the United States....
(north) - Weiser State ForestWeiser State ForestWeiser State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #18. The main offices are located in Cressona in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania in the United States....
(northeast) - William Penn State Forest (east)
- Buchanan State ForestBuchanan State ForestBuchanan State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #2. The main office is located in McConnellsburg in Fulton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
(west)
Nearby state parks
- Caledonia State ParkCaledonia State ParkCaledonia State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Greene Township, Franklin County and Franklin Township, Adams County in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is named for an iron furnace, Caledonia Furnace, that was owned by Thaddeus Stevens beginning in 1837. Today the park is known...
- Pine Grove Furnace State ParkPine Grove Furnace State ParkPine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller lakes in Cooke Township. The park provides various outdoor recreation activities, has the remains of the Pine Grove Iron Works, and was the site of the 1830 Laurel Forge, 1880s Pine Grove Park, and an...
- Mont Alto State ParkMont Alto State ParkMont Alto State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Quincy Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is on Pennsylvania Route 233 one mile from Mont Alto.-Mont Alto Iron Company:...
The Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
also runs through Michaux State Forest.