In 1903 this site, like much of Northern Michigan, was barren. During the logging era (1850 - 1900) Michigan's forests had been almost entirely cut down. Fires ravaged what was left.
Professor Filibert Roth opened Michigan's first state nursery . . . — — Map (db m213538) HM
A concern over the depletion of Michigan's forest led in 1899 to the creation of a forestry commission. In 1903 the first state forest was set up by the legislature on cut-over, burned-over lands in Roscommon and Crawford counties. The same year . . . — — Map (db m213393) HM
The initial price of the lumber boom was a deeply scarred wasteland. Ugly
stumps replaced the majestic pine, fires spread additional destruction, and
efforts to farm the land were disastrous due to the soil being infertile.
But there is a . . . — — Map (db m216844) HM
