Getting Out the Timber

Getting Out the Timber. . By 1900, everything you see here was part of George W. Vanderbilt's estate that he called "Pisgah Forest." In 1912, Vanderbilt sold timber harvest rights on 69,326 acres to Louis Carr for $12 an acre. , Carr built 75 miles of railroad to haul the timber to his sawmill in the town of Pisgah Forest. Today, much of U.S. 276 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 "to insure the protection and the use and enjoyment of Pisgah Forest as a National Forest by the American people for all time." Honoring the family request, the land retained its name, and in 1916, it became part of the newly formed Pisgah National Forest. , George Vanderbilt pioneered forest conservation , an idea new to his era. The contract between Carr and Vanderbilt reflected his concern for the forest. Loggers were to avoid damage to small growth and prevent and suppress wildfires. No logs could be floated by stream. Cattle could not run free to trample and graze the forest floor. , The contract also stipulated that most trees cut had to be greater than 16 inches in diameter. Although foresters no longer favor this practice of high grading, Vanderbilt's early efforts provide insight to managing forests today. Here, around Looking Glass Falls, Vanderbilt set aside 25 acres that could not be logged.