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
Under the leadership of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Civilian Conservation Corps camps were established during the early thirties. FDR recruited thousands of unemployed youth and sent them into battle against the destruction and erosion of . . . — — Map (db m213553) HM
This museum tells real stories of the more than 100,000 young men
who lived and worked in 125 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
camps in Michigan. The CCC was one of many nation-wide
programs that gave work to the unemployed during the . . . — — Map (db m213554) HM
Many Higgins Lake Nursery workers spent the fall
and winter months in this building where they stored
and processed each autumn's harvest of pine cones.
Employees stirred the cones daily to prevent mold
before extracting the seeds from the . . . — — Map (db m213556) HM
This is Higgins Lake Nursery's ice house.
It was built in 1912 on the northern shore
of Higgins Lake to store ice and tree seeds.
It was used until 1953, when nursery workers
installed modern coolers in the packing house
for seed storage. . . . — — Map (db m213543) HM
Forest fires are a CALAMITY and rank properly with flood,
pestilence, famine, earthquakes.... [it is] estimated that by
1912, forest fire had destroyed more timber than was logged.
-Annual Forestry Report of the Game, Fish, and Forestry . . . — — Map (db m213541) HM
Constructed in 1935, this
building was the heart of
Higgins Lake Nursery.
From here, hundreds of
millions of tree seedlings
were packed and shipped
all over Michigan.
To protect the four- or five-
year-old trees' delicate root
aystems . . . — — Map (db m213542) HM
This ram pump supplied the Higgins
Lake Nursery with up to 18,000 gallons
of water a day. The water was used to
irrigate all the seed beds, first by hand
and then through a system of piping
installed in the 1930s.
The nursery was . . . — — Map (db m213552) HM
[Higgins Lake Nursery] is one of the best forest
nurseries in the country.
-Professor Filbert Roth
Biennial Report of the Public Domain Commission, 1915-1916
At Higgins Lake Nursery, trained workers grew
hundreds . . . — — Map (db m213546) HM
The fire protection system which has been built in Michigan is one of the
most highly developed and efficient organizations of its kind in the country.
-History of State Fores, 1947
This is just the top part of the fire tower from Hale, . . . — — Map (db m213539) HM
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
