Near Willow in Greer County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)

First Shelterbelt in the United States

1. First Shelterbelt in the United States Marker

Inscription. During the 1930s severe drought plagued the states in the Great Plains and deepened the Depression. High winds caused dust storms which blackened the sky. In 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt initiated a program to help stabilize the blowing soil and put people to work. His prairie states forestry project envisioned planting wide belts of trees from North Dakota to Texas to protect cropland and reduce damage to the environment. The Nation's first shelterbelt was planted on the H.E. Curtis farm near Mangum in Greer county, OK. Oklahoma's first state forester George R. Phillips planted the first tree on Mar. 18, 1935. From 1935 to 1942, 223 million trees were planted in 18,599 miles of shelter belts throughout the plains states with 2,996 miles in Oklahoma. The nation's number one shelterbelt is located five miles east and one mile north. Like many of the original shelterbelts and the narrower windbreaks planted since then, it continues to provide conservation benefits to this day.

Erected 1995 by Greer County Conservation District, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture-Forestry Service, Oklahoma Forestry Association,

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Oklahoma Historical Society. (Marker Number 219.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Environment. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #32 Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the Oklahoma Historical Society series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1920.

Location. 35° 1.762′ N, 99° 30.061′ W. Marker is near Willow, Oklahoma, in Greer County. It is at the intersection of Highway 283 and Road E1370, on the right when traveling north on Highway 283. Marker is located next to a great example of a windbreak. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Willow OK 73673, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Oklahoma’s Kiowa Tribe,

in the Comanche Nation,

and in Southwest Oklahoma.

It is also in the American South,

specifically on the prairies,

and on the Southern Plains.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Comanchería,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

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the Dust Bowl,

and the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Brinkman Community History (approx. one mile away); Lake Creek (approx. 5 miles away); Welcome to Comecos Cemetery (approx. 7.8 miles away); The 36th Infantry Division's 132nd Machine Gun Battalion (approx. 8.2 miles away); Granite Community Memorial (approx. 8.2 miles away); Edith Florence Kromer / Jewel Smoot Hood (approx. 10.8 miles away); William (Bill) Houston Pierson / Nancy Elizabeth Pierson (approx. 10.8 miles away); William Jones Petty / Charles Brown Overbey Sr. (approx. 10.8 miles away).

Credits. This page was last revised on March 14, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 19, 2011, by Christopher Suttle of Norman, Oklahoma. This page has been viewed 2,566 times since then and 117 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on January 19, 2011, by Christopher Suttle of Norman, Oklahoma. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.