MOUNTAIN REST COMMUNITY CLUB, Oconee County, SC
US Forrest Service

Version 2.3, 1-Apr-2003, MR-02.TXT


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Paul M Kankula - nn8nn
Seneca, SC, USA
Oconee County SC GenWeb Coordinator
 
Oconee County SC GenWeb Homestead
http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/oconee.html
 
Oconee County SC GenWeb Tombstone Project
http://www.rootsweb.com/~scoconee/cemeteries.html
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cemetery/southcarolina/oconee.html

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DATAFILE INPUT . : Linda Flynn at ke8fd@@bellsouth.net.com in Apr-2003

DATAFILE LAYOUT  : Paul M. Kankula at kankula1@innova.net in Apr-2003


U.S. FOREST SERVICE
National Mood to Establish Forests
The vast and magnificent wilderness that greeted early American settlers was used to provide timber for their wheels and walls, bridges and barns. As the
East industrialized and urbanized, its forests declined in size and quality.
Wildfire consumed the forest debris left behind; rain swept away the topsoil. By
the end of the 1800s, the primeval forest in the eastern United States had
virtually disappeared. The brush and tree cover that eventually grew back was a
poor substitute for the forest it replaced.

As forest devastation pushed westward, concern increased that the once-great
American forest would disappear entirely. In the West, in an effort to control
wholesale private exploitation of remaining forests, the federal
government reserved vast areas of public domain land. The purpose, as set out in
the Organic Act of 1897, was to protect water flow from the forests and to
provide "a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens
of the United States."

But at the turn of the century, national forests, then called forest reserves existed only in the West. Little public domain land remained in the
more heavily settled East; if forests were to be established there, land would
have to be purchased by the federal government [Shands and Healy, 1977]. 

On February 21, 1901, the South Carolina State Legislature passed the "Enabling
Act," which stated, "Consent of the State of South Carolina be, and is
hereby, given to the acquisition by the United States . . . such property as it
may acquire by purchase, or deed, or otherwise ... as ... may be needed for
the establishment of such National Forest Preserve ..." [Acts, 1901].

In 1907, two years after the Forest Service was established, the Secretary
of Agriculture recommended the purchase of not more than five million acres in
the southern Appalachian Mountains with an appropriation of 3.5 million dollars.

There was some question as to the constitutionality of the federal
government's buying forest land. In 1908, the House Committee on the Judiciary
passed a resolution to the effect that it was constitutional only if the purchase
of such land "have a direct and substantial connection with the conservation and
improvement of the navigability of a river actually navigable"  [Dana, 1956].
This decision was based on the argument that the constitution does give Congress
power "To regulate Commerce among the various states." Interstate commerce of
the period was dependent on navigable rivers.

After additional debate and studies, it was determined that forests did have an effect on stream flows. The Weeks Act was signed into law on March 1,
1911, with appropriations to study and acquire lands located on the headwaters
of navigable streams or potentially developable for navigation purposes.

Interestingly, the Weeks Act specified that each state in which the land
was located should have consented to its acquisition. This had been done by the
South Carolina "Enabling Act" almost ten years earlier. Obviously, the
legislature wanted national forests in South Carolina, and there was some
discussion between the state and federal governments long before the Weeks Act
became law.

One explanation for the apparent enthusiasm might be that:
The national forests of the East, in the main, were assembled
from land that nobody wanted. In the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, millions of acres were shorn of their most valuable timber
species, sometimes burned over or badly eroded, and then left behind
by a timber industry that had exhausted the resource and moved West.
Other forests, especially in the South, were created from grown-over
fields of a marginal agriculture that had depleted the soil and
disappeared. Most of the land purchased for the first eastern national
forests in the early 1900s cost the government less than five dollars
an acre. "Nearly all," says one observer, "were lands that had been
abused, poorly protected, or ignored, whose owners were happy to
unload on the federal government." [Shands and Healy, 1977].
Economics of the Period
Such apparent abuse of the land and timber resource where it occurred was a 
product of economics and lack of knowledge of forestry. One land appraisal done
by a forester in 1913 valued standing timber as being:
Shortleaf pine     $1.70 per thousand board feet
Yellow poplar      $3.80  "
Hickory            $2.40  "
White oak          $3.40  "
Black oak          $1.10  "
Chestnut oak       $2.20  "
[Tract 424A]

The value of the timber on the tract was $4.79 for 1,613 board feet of timber
(per acre.  This same 1,613 board feet would be worth $268 in 1984 prices
(assuming no growth). During 1984, Forest Service timber sold for $600 to $800
per acre.

"Mill hands," the men who logged the timber or worked in the sawmills, were
generally paid $.50 per day for working from "daylight till dark."  "Can till
can't" was one method of describing the work day, which started at daylight (can
see) and lasted until dark (can't see). It was nothing unusual for a man to walk
four or five miles to work, arriving on the job at daylight, swinging an axe or
pulling a crosscut saw ("misery whip") all day and returning home after dark.
Moving heavy logs any distance was virtually impossible since use of
animal-drawn wagons was slow and costly. Where possible, logs were driven down
rivers allowing the natural force of water for transport.  [See below, "Early
Days Along the Chattooga," for a description of the splash dam method used for
early log drives.] The specific gravity (weight vs. volume) of southern hardwood
and green pine timber is such that the logs would barely float, and the method
was not efficient.
To make the job easier, early loggers dynamited areas in the Chattoogawhere logs had a tendency to "jam up" (hang on rocks). Local legend says that
Bull Sluice rapid was formed by dynamite charges and the river was intentionally
re-routed at Woodall Shoals to expedite log drives.  Logging railroads were
constructed in many sections of the South but were never used in the mountains
of Oconee County.

"Hewing ties" was another method of earning cash to buy necessities which
could not be produced on the farm. Trees were cut and shaped into crossties by
hacking with a broad axe until the log had been squared to the shape of a
crosstie.  These were sold in the woods to buyers who traveled through the
mountains paying a dime each, and by the late 1920s ties were selling for $1-$2
each. Some people were fortunate in later years to be able to borrow a truck or
wagon to haul the "ties" to the "tie yard" in town where higher prices were
paid. Generally a man could produce 6-8 crossties per day; some could hew more
if they possessed above average strength or skill.
The Knowledge of Forestry
The practice of harvesting all the usable timber from vast acreages in the
northeastern United States led to public concern and outrage that the American
forests would soon disappear. Erosion, logging debris, and subsequent flooding
contributed to the "something must be done" philosophy.

Prior to 1898, all American foresters in the United States were trained in
Europe.  Most foresters were Europeans who migrated to America.  The first
American forestry school was formally opened at Biltmore, NC by Carl A.
Schenck, a German forester in 1898. In 1900, the Gifford Pinchot family provided
a $150,000 endowment fund to start a forestry school at Yale University to
"provide a supply of 'American foresters trained by Americans in American ways
for the work ahead in American forests'" [Dana, 1956, pp. 135-36].
The point was that there were no nurseries to provide seedlings for
reforestation of cut-over lands, little knowledge of the characteristics of the
various species, techniques of reforestation and only scant knowledge of natural
reproduction methods during the early years. Research was begun during the same
period to provide answers on how to manage the forests.

The logging industry began in the Northeast, gradually moving south astimber was depleted. Though logging was occurring in the southern Appalachian
Mountains prior to 1910, it gathered momentum from about 1915, and by 1930 most
of the virgin timber that was accessible had been cut in Oconee County. This is
evidenced by the fact that much of the older timber on the Andrew Pickens Ranger
District is sixty to eighty years old. There are still pockets of virgin timber
on some of the steeper, more inaccessible areas where it was impossible for
equipment of the period to remove the logs. One such stand is the white pine and
hemlock at Chattooga Picnic Area adjacent to the National Fish Hatchery. Only
those trees, which have died and created a hazard to visitors or buildings have
been cut.
Buying a National Forest
Following passage of the Weeks Act on March 1, 1911, authorizing purchase
of land for national forests, it was not until July 16, 1912, that the Forest
Service obtained the first option from John Lochrie to buy land in Oconee
County. The option was for 6,659 acres, of which 5,134 were in Oconee County,
The first actual purchase occurred on March 10, 1917.  Land purchase
responsibility in Oconee County was assigned to the Nantahala National Forest,
which is now one of the national forests in North Carolina; but the office was
in Clayton, Georgia. Clayton is now the headquarters location of the Tallulah
Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest.

The largest tract of land acquired for the General Pickens was 17,779 acres from Oconee Timber Company in the late 1920s. A major portion of the landacquired was from timber companies. One explanation for the large land holdings
was the practice of landowners' requiring timber buyers to take the land when
they bought the timber. Bare land, after the timber was cut was worth little, if
too steep to use for agricultural purposes. Growth of a harvestable stand of
timber was believed to take a lifetime, and owners could not justify paying
taxes for many years before they could sell more timber.  Many timber sale
transactions required that the company take title to the land at no cost when
the timber was purchased.

In 1945, the Forest Service purchased 16,200 acres from Whitewater River
Timber company. It is interesting to note that 49.5% of the total acreage of the
Pickens Ranger District was acquired from three landowners [USFS files].

In 1920, the General Pickens Ranger District was formally established as
part of the Nantahala National Forest.  Samuel M. Shanklin of the Richland
section of Oconee County became the first District Ranger.

In 1922, Ranger Shanklin apparently changed jobs and in later years workedin engineering in the Columbia, SC, headquarters of the Francis Marion and
Sumter National Forest.

Roscoe Nicholson became the ranger in 1922 as a result of changing 
responsibilities and the increasing size of the Nantahala National Forest. He
began as ranger in 1912 on the area which now includes the Chattooga and
Tallulah Ranger Districts in Georgia and in 1922 on the Andrew Pickens Ranger
District in South Carolina.  "Ranger Nick," as he was known throughout the
countryside, was born and raised on Pine Mountain at the edge of Rabun County,
Georgia, near the Highway 28 bridge. Before becoming ranger in 1912, he and J.W.
Fowler of Mountain Rest worked together as surveyors for the federal government.
J.W. Fowler later became a "forest guard" along the Georgia side of the
Chattooga River.

In 1936, when the then General Pickens R.D. was separated from the Nantahala National Forest and put under the administration of the Sumter
National Forest, "Ranger Nick" continued as the ranger on the Chattooga R.D. He
remained in that position until 1951.
The responsibility of rangers during the 1920s was primarily custodial
management. They traveled throughout the country checking the newly acquired
lands, talking to people about fire prevention, fighting fires, and providing
the few services that the fledgling national forests could provide. Most of
their transportation was by horse or mule through the mountains for days or
weeks at a time. They either camped out or stayed at the cabins of area families,
when caught by nightfall. Model T Ford pickup trucks became the general mode of
travel in the later 1920s as roads and vehicles achieved more dependable
standards.

During the 1920s deer, turkey, and bear populations virtually disappeared
from Oconee County. This was the result of heavy logging and land clearing
practices for agriculture, demise of the American Chestnut, open range, and
subsistence hunting.  Until state laws were developed to prevent year-round
hunting, families depended on wildlife and fish to subsidize domestic meat
supplies. Smoking, canning, sugar and salt curing were the only means of
preserving large quantities of meat. Fresh meat was virtually a delicacy during
some periods of the year.
Demise of the American Chestnut
In the late 1920s, the chestnut blight reached the southern Appalachian
Mountains. Discovered in New York in 1904, the disease took thirty years to
spread south. In less than two years, the entire population of American Chestnut
trees had been killed in the mountains of South Carolina.

The American Chestnut grew primarily on north slopes, intermixed with other
hardwood species and was probably the most versatile tree which has ever grown.
Bark was used for tanning extracts to cure skins in leather-making processes.
The wood, which was easily worked by cutting, shaping, or carving, was strong
and extremely durable even without preservatives.  It was used for almost
anything for which wood could be used by early settlers. The trees were heavy
nut producers, and the nuts were gathered for human consumption. Several people
who can still remember the chestnuts describe huge trees over 100 feet tall and
six feet in diameter. In the fall when the burrs (nuts covered by a very prickly
husk) fell and rolled down the steep mountain slopes, they accumulated behind
logs lying sideways on the mountain. "You could scoop up nuts by the handfuls,"
many old-timers have said. Bear and deer, as well as free-ranging domesticated
hogs and cattle, depended on chestnuts for fall browsing. "They'd be so fat they
would waddle when they walked" has been a common phrase to describe animals
throughout the southern Appalachians.

Open Range
The Appalachian Mountains were more densely populated during this period
than the casual visitor would suspect. Small farms were scattered throughout the
mountains at virtually any place level enough to raise crops.  The nearest
neighbor might have been a mile or more away. Old cabin sites may still be found
throughout the national forest. Since there were wide areas too steep to farm,
cattle and hogs were permitted to range freely and forage for themselves in the
forest. Families cooperated in reporting to each other casual observations they
had made of the animals as the folks went about their daily chores. Locations of
animals, injuries, or birthing of young would be reported to owners so they
could find and provide care, if necessary.

Cattle ate acorns, chestnuts, or grazed on low vegetation. Hogs, in
addition to acorns and nuts, rooted out roots, grubs, insects, and small
animals, including snakes. This resulted in woods being fairly open, with little
brush in the understory (at ground level).

As the national forest acreage was acquired and families began moving out
of the mountains, the Forest Service began issuing range permits. Large acreages
were rented to individuals for $.90 per animal per year. Fences were apparently
built in later years by either the permittee, the Forest Service, or as a mutual
effort. Range permit demand declined, and this practice had ended by the 1950s.
County ordinances prohibiting open range were passed during the 1940s and '50s.
Berkeley County, South Carolina, was the last to end open range in 1957.

This combination of factors led to virtual elimination of the large game
populations in the mountains of Oconee County by 1930.
Depression and the Civilian Conservation Corps
The Depression years brought great change to both the national forest and
the people of the Mountain Rest Community.  Mountain communities had been
essentially stable with little movement of new families in or early settlers
migrating out. The Civilian Conservation Corps, in addition to providing jobs
for local men, brought men from other sections of the state and nation. Many men
stayed in Oconee County after their terms of enlistment expired.

Many of the early settlers began selling marginal farms, which were too
steep, rocky, or small to feed their families in the national forest. More
suitable agricultural lands, which had been profitable to operate, remained in
private ownership.  Purchase of land for the national forests increased
significantly as people moved away from the farms. By 1938, the General Pickens
Ranger District had grown to 53,691 acres.

Location of the first Civilian Conservation Corps Camp (Camp #1) in SouthCarolina in the Whetstone Community provided some degree of economic relief to
the area. Camp #2 at Cherry Hill and SC Camp 75 located at Oconee State Park
further eased the economic burdens of the period. (For more detail of the CCC
camp, see article below in this book.)

The hundreds of men who lived and worked in these camps accomplished manyprojects which have remained as monuments to their hard work over the years.
Greatest among the accomplishments have been construction of Oconee State Park

the Walhalla Fish Hatchery, the Forest Service Ranger Station, Yellow Branch and
Chattooga Picnic Areas, as well as widening, improving, and constructing many of
the primary roads in this area.
There were other less obvious tasks done by the CCC, some of which werequite notable.
To improve fire-fighting capability and get help more rapidly, the CCC
constructed telephone lines connecting fire wardens, CCC camps, the fish
hatchery, lookout towers, and the Forest Service office, to a telephone company
switchboard in Walhalla. Forest Service fire wardens were organized to recruit
crews of men from the community to help fight forest fires. Phone lines to their
homes assured faster dispatching in emergency situations. Some of these men were
Albert Brown, Ike Henry, J.W. Fowler, Noah Bottoms, and Dewey Thrift.

When called, wardens drove to nearby homes and rounded up their crews,
usually hauling the men in pickup trucks to the fire. In later years, the men
were paid, but it was voluntary and a community effort in the 1920s and 3Os.
Fire control lines were cleared with hand tools, and the men usually worked day
and night until the fire was controlled.

As methods and procedures became more sophisticated, yearly training sessions were held for wardens.

Though the phones were supposed to be for "official use only," they provided 
communications for emergencies in the local community. If doctors were
needed, they were frequently summoned by driving to the nearest warden's home
and called via telephone. The phones, being the first in the community, were not
only status symbols but also a curiosity to young and old alike.

The phone system itself was very primitive by today's standards. Known as aground line system, it consisted of a wire strung from tree to tree to transport
a positive electrical charge. Dialing was accomplished with a hand crank which
summoned the switchboard operator, who then connected the wires to ring the
party being dialed. One of the original crank telephones is on display in the
Stumphouse Ranger Station office.

The ground line system was used until the 1940s, when the Rural
Electrification Association began running power lines to Mountain Rest.
Interference from the electricity created high static levels on the telephones.
The ground wire was then upgraded to a double wire system.

Maintenance of the ground wire system was a continuing problem. CCC crews
and later Forest Service employees had to repair lines after every storm. Wires
were always being damaged by falling trees and branches. Occasionally it was
necessary for men to walk miles checking lines until they found the problem.
Regardless of the maintenance problems, the system continued in operation until
Southern Bell began during the 1950s installing telephones on the mountain. At
that time, the Forest Service either donated the lines to the company or removed
those which the company did not need.

Another less obvious, though important, project of the CCC was installationof "growth plots" on the national forest. The "plots" were installed on a grid
pattern approximately a mile apart, to determine timber volume and how fast it
was growing. They consisted of location trees along major roads with records of
compass bearings and distances to fixed points where species, diameter, and
height of trees were determined. These plots have continued to provide long-term
information on which many timber management decisions are still being made.
According to these data, in 1938 the national forest averaged 1,891 board feet
of timber per acre; 3,453 in 1957; and 5,662 board feet in 1982. When this
growth is considered with the inflation which has occurred since the land was
purchased, it is easily understood why 1984 timber sales values ranged from $600
to $800 per acre for standing timber.

In 1936, the national forests of the area were again reorganized, and the
General Pickens Ranger District became a part of the Sumter National Forest.
William M. Palmer, Jr., became District Ranger at the time and was replaced by
Fred W. Wiese in 1939.

The 1930s were busy times for rangers. Unlimited manpower of the CCC camps
was responsible to Forest Service personnel during work hours. Construction
projects had to be planned and coordinated with military personnel and crew
bosses who worked with the men to get the job on the ground. There were few
plans  and much confusion over what could and could not be done with CCC
manpower. One veteran of the era said, "We had everything we wanted and more.
. . The more we needed, the more people we put to work, shovels took people to
build. . . Anyone with a degree [college] or a reasonable chance for a degree
could get a job .  .  . Priorities depended on forest supervisors.  .  . . The
Targee National Forest was interested in horses and had the best damn horse
barns in the country; administrative personnel were living in tents."

One solution to the lack of plans was standardization. One man could design
a picnic shelter in hours, and it could be used across the nation by being built
out of materials available at the site. Offices, ranger residences, warehouses,
and other buildings were based on the same design.

Decision on what to build, where, and when, were made, and coordination of
manpower, supplies, and equipment was handled by the ranger or staff of Local
Enlisted Men (LEM's), who were responsible for getting the job done.

Many LEM's returned to the Forest Service following World War II as "Forest
Technicians." The experience they had gained in a wide variety of projects
during the CCC era enabled them to become the backbone of the Forest Service.
Some continued to work for the Forest Service into the 1970s, retiring with as
much as 40-45 years of total service. Their supervisory skills and knowledge of
construction and maintenance have been difficult to replace.

In 1938, the Chauga River area was designated as a Cooperative Wildlife
Management Area, and deer were stocked by CCC crews to replace the virtually
extinct herd. Deer were trapped from the Biltmore Forest Area of the Pisgah
National Forest near Brevard, NC, and hauled to the Chauga. A March 1960
Wildlife Management Plan states that "closure and protection of the area was
successful and the herd expanded significantly during the war years." Trout were
stocked in the Chauga during the same period. This was the first effort to
replace wildlife populations, which had virtually disappeared during the 1920s.

In 1939, the General Pickens Ranger District office, warehouse, and residence
were completed on Stumphouse Mountain. Apparently rangers had used
their homes for offices until that time.

Though the CCC was originally conceived by President Franklin Roosevelt torevive the economy from the Depression, it also served the purpose of preparing
men for military service. Almost all CCC camps were closed within two months
after Dec. 8, 1941.  Many men were transported from the camps to military
barracks and trained for battle.

The War YearsRanger Districts were "boom to bust" overnight. The abundant manpower and
resources of the CCC disappeared; camps were disassembled and moved to military
bases.  The new office on Stumphouse Mountain must have been lonely as the
ranger and one or two staff men changed gears of the district to meet the needs
of a nation at war.

Much time was spent marking and preparing timber for sale to local mills so
that the lumber could be provided for the war effort. In some areas, Ranger
District staffs were so short that sawmills provided men to help mark timber
which was to be cut.

An excerpt from Sam Dana's Forest and Range Policy describes the period:
With the outbreak of the Second World War, wood became a
critical war material.  Wood and wood derivatives were needed for
housing, ships, wharves, airplanes, trucks, boxes and crates, paper
and paper products, explosives, and a host of other uses. Colonel F.G.
Sherrill, who was chief of the Materials and Equipment Section of the
Army Corps of Engineers, said that lumber is "the most vital material
for the successful prosecution of the war" and that the lumber
industry "is the most important war industry in the country."

Civilian consumption of wood had to be substantially curtailed,and the combined efforts of Federal and state agencies and private
industries were required to meet military needs.  Research by the
Forest Products Laboratory, the Timber Engineering Company, and other
agencies was stepped up to a new high. . . .

In spite of depleted personnel, the cut from national forests was
greatly increased, including the shipment of Sitka spruce for aircraft
construction from the Tongass National Forest in Alaska.  The
production of lumber, pulpwood, and other forest products by small
owners in the East was stimulated by the Timber Production War Project
conducted  cooperatively by the Forest Service and state forestry
organizations. Industry, in spite of handicaps imposed by shortages of
labor and equipment, unfavorable weather, and transportation
difficulties, responded loyally and effectively to the demand for
suddenly increased production. [Dana, 1956, p, 280]

The Post-War PeriodForest Service records indicate that Harold A. Howell was District Ranger
from 1942 to 1946, but a Keowee Courier article on March 28, 1946, says, "The
present ranger is Lester P. Schaap, who several months ago relieved former
Ranger J.P. Brown". It cannot be determined when J.P. Brown assumed the ranger's
position, but he apparently served until late 1945. "Brown is now doing graduate
work in forestry at the University of Idaho," the article continued.

In the same issue of the Keowee Courier, Ranger Schaap listed the fire
organizations at the time:
District Ranger, Lester P. Schaap
Timber Management Assistant, J. Frank Palmer
Fire Control Aide, Dewey D. Thrift
Round Mountain Lookout, Warren L. Land
Long Mountain Lookout, Odell L. Graham
Lookout alternate, Dee W. Wilbanks
Lookout alternate, John E. Collins
Fire Warden, L.H. McPhail (superintendent, Walhalla Fish Hatchery)
Fire Warden, J.W. Ray (superintendent, Oconee State Park)
Fire Warden, A.E. Alexander, Cheohee
Fire Warden, Luther F. Galloway, Picket Post
Fire Warden, Noah F. Bottoms, Taylor Creek
Fire Warden, James E. Orr, Village Creek
Fire Warden, Isaac W. Henry, Whetstone Creek
Fire Warden, James C. Moore, Long Creek
Fire Warden, Charlie B. Thrift, Long Creek
Fire Warden, Henry Blackwell, Brasstown Creek
Fire Warden, Jess K. Suttles, Cross Roads
Fire Warden, Leander H. Pelfrey, Toxaway Creek
Fire Warden, Reid Hare, Longshore Creek
Fire Warden, Freeman Bearden (foreman, public works, city of Walhalla)
Fire Warden, George J. Carter, Yonah Dam

The General Pickens Ranger District was recognized that year as having one of
the best fire records in the Southern region. Only four fires occurred, and "one
of them was caused by lightning."

"Not many fires start in the General Pickens District, nor do they get very
large. Mountain men have always been ready and willing fire fighters. They are
capable of hard, steady, skillful work. Most of the national forest fire wardens
on the General Pickens have served for many years" (Keowee Courier, 1946),

Ranger Schaap was apparently interested in recreation and used his ingenuity to
develop picnic areas along Highway 107, The Walhalla Chamber of
Commerce at his request sponsored and paid for construction of the rock work at
Moody Spring.

Following the War, returning veterans created unexpected demands onnational forest resources.
"Everybody and his brother" came to the national forests for recreation
purposes. Hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, and swimming were pursued with
fervor as veterans purchased automobiles and took advantage of improved road
systems built by the CCC. Appetites for outdoor recreation seemed insatiable.
Gasoline at less than $.20 per gallon was no problem.

Earles Ford on the Chattooga River was one of the favorite Sunday afternoonpicnic and swimming sites for Mountain Rest families. The road would be lined on
both sides with parked cars. On nice weekends, it was impossible to park near the
river because all the parking places were taken. People who couldn't afford to
pay admission to Oconee State Park went to Earles Ford. Sue Queen of Mountain
Rest recently commented that she couldn't afford to go to the State Park until
after she was married. Many preferred to swim in the river.

Wildlife populations, which had increased during the war years, were
subjected to heavy hunting and began declining in numbers. By 1952, wild turkeys
were virtually nonexistent, and only a nucleus remained of the deer herd.
Habitat studies at the time indicated the forest was capable of feeding far more
animals than there were. Heavy hunting pressure, hunting illegally with dogs,
and poaching contributed to the declining populations.

The newly established South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources
Commission (SCWMRC), in a joint effort with the Forest Service, began restockingdeer and turkey from the Francis Marion National Forest, near the South Carolina
coast.

According to Walt Schrader, biologist for the SCWMRC, animals were capturedin nets in early morning, and to prevent death by shock it was necessary to haul
them to Oconee County immediately. Long work days were necessary to set nets
before daylight, catch, load, haul, and unload in the mountains. Sometimes it
was necessary to drive back to the coast after the animals were released.

Schrader recalled a winter trip when a light snow necessitated chaining
four jeeps in tandem to pull the big truckload of deer up the mountain in the
Horse Pasture section of the county.

According to Schrader, deer from the swamps of the Francis Marion National
Forest had never seen nor walked on mountainsides. When released, they had a
hard time standing, walking, or running on the steep slopes. "I've seen them run
down a slope and fall head first," Schrader said. Within a few hours they became
accustomed to the footing and were able to negotiate the mountainous terrain
with no problem.

There are no records indicating the number of animals stocked, but it is
known that one load brought thirty-five turkeys from the Marion National Forest
for release in the Chauga Area.

The deer and turkey stocked between 1952 and 1954 have continued toincrease and account for the good populations that exist today.

During the late 1940s, shortleaf Littleleaf disease, which occurs and
eventually kills shortleaf pine, became more noticeable on the National Forest.
Ranger Schaap had several studies being done on the district to determine causes
of the disease, how it spread and whether harvesting of diseased trees could
reduce the rate of spread. Later these district studies became the subject of
college and Forest Service research throughout the southern United States.  By
the mid-1960s, fear that the disease would render shortleaf pine extinct, as the
chestnut blight had done a few years earlier, increased. Whole-scale harvesting
of shortleaf pine stands and conversion to loblolly pine to prevent widespread
devastation of the forest became the accepted method of treatment. Large areas of
timber were harvested, and logging residue was piled with bulldozers and
burned to prepare the area for planting loblolly pine. This practice was used
throughout national forests in the South to reforest the land to loblolly pine,
which is naturally resistant to the disease. Approximately 6,000 acres were
treated in this manner during the 1960s and will be ready for commercial
thinning (harvest some trees to reduce crowding of others) beginning in the late
1980s.

Presently the Forest Service is reforesting with shortleaf pine (if there
is no evidence of Littleleaf in the area), pitch pine, white pine, and loblolly
pine, depending on soil conditions and elevation.  Hardwood species are
reforested by natural reproduction on fertile slopes and bottom land.

The Brasstown Fire
Ranger Schaap's fire organization was to be severely tested when, in March
1953, lookouts spotted a smoke on Brasstown Creek. At 11:55 a.m. on March 30,
1953, Long Creek Tower dispatched crews and the ranger to the fire. Each time a
line was constructed and a back fire started to widen the control line, spots of
fire would spread beyond the control line. Attempts to catch these spot fires
were futile, and crews would move farther away from the fire and start over.

"About 2 PM, a few spot fires were discovered just beyond the edge of thefields east of Brasstown Creek. These spots were southeast of the main fire and
more than 100 yards from where the fire was burning. Soon more spots appeared on
the mountain further to the east. Some of these spots were 1/4 to 1/2 mile from
the main fire. Ranger Schaap, in describing the spotting activity southeast of
the main fire, said that spots were 'as numerous as lightning bugs on a June
night'" (Williams and Smith, 1962).

Sparks and burning embers were being picked up by strong air currents near
the main fire, transported high into the atmosphere and then falling back to
earth and starting new fires. This situation, called "long range spotting," is
one of the most dangerous situations which forest fire fighters encounter.

Ranger Schaap recognized the phenomenon and pulled his men off the fire line to
regroup and plan their tactics. His action was virtually unheard of in
Forest Service history, but he may very well have saved lives that afternoon.

As the many spot fires in the area between Brasstown Creek and Spy RockTrail to the east burned together rapidly, a fire storm developed and the fire
moved in and east-southeast (ESE) direction across topography a distance of
three miles in 1 1/2 hours. The average width of the fire was about one mile.

The fire spread rapidly by this continuing process of multiple ignition
of fresh fuel in a zone ESE of the center of the fire storm. The smoke flattened
off 4000-5000 feet above the fire and moved in an ESE direction as a thick black(
blanket. Bursts of flame were observed in the convection column, but about 3:00
PM, a tornado-like wind passed over a farm about five miles southeast (SE) of
the fire. It is estimated that between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM, 1,500 acres were
burned and that the fire's perimeter increased at about 325 chains (four miles
per hour.

Soon after 4:00 PM, burning intensity began to diminish, and by 4:30 PM the
perimeter of the fire was a creeping flame front, with innumerable separate
spots burning in the area southeast of the main burn. Smoke from these fires
rose rapidly and most spots spread at about the same rate in all directions,
seemingly little affected by topography or surface wind.  Little wind was
observed by the men on the fire at this time.

A sizable force of men, well equipped with hand tools and various machines
attacked the fire about 4:30 PM, as soon as it appeared safe to do so. A control
line about 14 miles in length was completed at 4:00 AM on 3/31.

It should be mentioned that no men were injured while suppressing this
fire, which consumed 3,832 acres.  Similar weather conditions, erratic fire
behavior, and long range spotting were to appear on the Callas Mountain fire
almost exactly twelve years later.

Ranger Schaap retired from the Forest Service in 1958 and lived in Walhalla
until his death. Mrs. Schaap still resides in the home, which they purchased when
they moved from the Stumphouse Ranger Station.
Don L, Thornton became District Ranger following Schaap's retirement and
remained until 1961.

During the 1950s, the Forest Service began hiring clerks to type, file,
answer the telephone, and manage offices, which had traditionally been open only
one day per week.  Since the beginning of the Forest Service rangers were
expected to work in the woods doing field jobs during work hours Monday through
Thursday. Office work was done at night, on weekends, and Friday by rangers and
their wives. Friday was a required office day for rangers so that the public
could be assured of talking to him in his office on that day.

In 1959, the office workload on the General Pickens District Ranger had
increased to the point that it was considered feasible to hire a clerk-typist
and keep the office open for business five days per week.

Soon after Thornton arrived in the district, the Forest Service began
construction of Cherry Hill Recreation area. District personnel did all the work
necessary but rented heavy equipment to clear the roads, campsites, etc.  Jim
King and Merrill Carter built forms and poured concrete for the picnic tables.
It took all day to take a form off tables poured the day before, reassemble the
forms, and pour a new table. The concrete was allowed to dry overnight, and the
process was repeated the next day.

The water reservoir, pumphouse, and tent pads were also formed up andpoured with concrete by the crew. 

The Spy Rock Road, one of the largest road construction projects since the 1930s, was built during this period.

A Southern pine beetle infestation reached epidemic proportions, and,
according to Don Thornton, "Ninety people were working on the district to find,
cut down, and spray chemicals on trees infested with the insects."  Where
possible, trees were sold and removed as soon as possible in an attempt to rid
the forest of the pest, which killed millions of board feet of timber.

Don Thornton was transferred to Asheville, North Carolina, in 1961 and
after several moves retired from the Forest Service in Gainesville, Georgia, in
1933.  He and his wife now reside in Seneca, South Carolina.

Maxie Gates became District Ranger following Thornton's transfer. As the
new ranger assumed his responsibilities, the beetle epidemics subsided, whether
from the efforts of man or due to natural causes will remain unknown.

The Environmental Movement
New trends in daily work and living habits of the American people began to
develop. Advances in research were changing the science of forest management,
and an author named Rachel Carson was writing a book entitled Silent Spring. The
book offered a scenario of spring without birds and predicted loss of many plant
and animal species as a result of the many chemicals, pollutants to air and
water, as well as land use and abuse which were practiced in America at the
time. Chemicals such as DDT, benzene hexachloride, and 2,4,5-T were addressed,
and possible consequences of negligent use were pointed out. Pollution to air
and water from factory smokestacks and drain pipes was graphically traced from
small animals through the food chain to humans.  The tendency of various
organisms to absorb, retain, and accumulate harmful agents was put into a
paperback with language which the average American could understand.

Some readers regarded the book as an overblown exaggeration; many realized
the possibility of Carson's predictions' coming true. Hindsight is said to have
20-20 vision, and some individuals believe this book to have been a catalyst
which started the "environmental movement" of American society.

This period of American history was to witness legislation, which touched
the lives of every man, woman, and child in the nation. More laws affecting
national forest management were legislated between 1964 and 1979 than had been
formulated in the 75 previous years. Some of the more significant laws were:
1964 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act
1964 The Wilderness Act
1968 National System of Trails
1968 National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
1969 National Environmental Policy Act
1973 Endangered Species Act
1974 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act
1975 Eastern Wilderness Act
1976 National Forest Management Act

Several of the laws generated by national concerns for public health safetyand the environment were to have significant impact on how national forests were
being managed. These legislated management direction changes would alter
patterns of use of the Mountain Rest people who had lived, worked, and recreated
on national forest lands since their beginning.

In 1963, the Daughters of the American Revolution recommended changing the
name of the General Pickens Ranger District to the Andrew Pickens. Logic was
that this would better reflect Pickens' contributions as a statesman and
community leader.

The Callas Mountain Fire
The year was to become one of the driest on record for the spring and fall
fire seasons. Many forests throughout the South experienced numerous fires, and
acreage losses were to be unusually high. Except for the Callas Mountain fire,
which occurred on Easter Sunday in April 1963 and burned 400 acres, 1963 and
1964 were no worse than normal on the District.

The Callas Mountain fire started at the base of Russell Mountain andrapidly moved up slope. High winds near the top of the mountain blew burning ash
and sparks to the southeast, and new fires were started 1/4 to 1/2 mile from the
main fire front on the mountain. Behavior of the fire appears to have been
similar to that which confronted Ranger Schaap twelve years before in the
Brasstown fire.  According to Gates, he requested the tanker base to begin
dropping fire retardant from bombers and continue until the fire was controlled
People living in the vicinity of Fowlers Lake were asked to evacuate their
homes. Within a short period of time, volunteer fire fighters pounced on every
blaze they could find. "It was amazing," said Gates, "there may have been as
many as a thousand people working on the fires with anything they could find to
fight fire with." Several timber producers or others who owned bulldozers,
front-end loaders, or other such equipment brought it and worked on the more
intense flames on the lower slopes of the mountain, "There was no organization,
no communications, and no planning; roads were so full of cars you could hardly
get up the road, but people were everywhere doing their best to stop the fire,"
he said. Several homes and outbuildings were saved, virtually at the last minute
as flames approached to within feet. The fire was controlled within two hours,
after having burned 400 acres. "There is no way I can express enough thanks to
those people for what they did that afternoon," he said in a recent
conversation, "I don't know what we would have done if they hadn't showed up to
help."

On November 22, 1963, Forest Service secretaries, lookouts, or other
personnel were to transmit over Forest Service radios to men in the woods that
the President had been shot.  Crews on forest fires, roads, or other jobs,
continued work in stunned silence as crew bosses listened beside truck radios or
lugged portable pack sets to receive the next news announcement. Those who had
receivers adjusted Forest Service microphones to retransmit news broadcasts from
commercial stations. Field personnel were thereby kept informed continuously as
the unforgettable saga unfolded. . . .

ClearcuttingIt was during these years that the Forest Service shifted timber management
practices from "all aged management" to "even aged management," and the term
clearcutting" began being used. Theoretically, "all aged management" called for
trees of all ages to be grown on each acre of land to be managed for timber
production. Technically, the system was impractical and virtually impossible
since logging plans had to be formulated and conveyed to marking crews that a
certain number of trees of each age should be cut off a given area. This was
virtually impossible since the age of each tree would have to be determined
either by estimate (which is most unreliable) or by drilling a hole to extract a
core sample so that the rings could be counted.  Forest Service studies
indicated that in many instances the best trees were being cut and the poorest
often left. This was comparable to a rancher's selling his best cows and keeping
the culls for breeding purposes. With timber, the results would take much longer
to become obvious but would over many years be the same.

Many timber species are not "tolerant" to shade by larger trees. Hickory,
red maples dogwood, and sourwood are extremely tolerant and will survive in the
shade with no problems. Poplar, pine, and some oaks are "intolerant" and will
die if sufficient sunlight is not available.  Most rapid growth and higher
quality species must have full sunlight to survive. This principle is comparable
to planting tomatoes in a corn patch. Tomato production would be very low with
plants being thin--stemmed and weak, with small fruit.

"Even aged management," growing trees of one age in one area and another"
age in another area, would solve the "tolerant" to shade problem since all trees
would be essentially the same size and age.  This would assure that higher
quality trees of desirable species could be grown, and "thinning" to remove low
quality and slow-growing trees would assure keeping the best-growing trees.

"Even aged management" is applied by harvesting all trees from a given area
and reforesting the area by planting or natural reproduction methods.
Clearcutting means cutting all trees from a given area so that it can be
reforested and will be "even aged." The practice created much controversy and
led one industrial forester to comment that, if even aged management was not
fully explained to the American people, legislation might be passed to halt the
practice.

Later the Forest Service began clearcutting areas of timber without
designating individual trees, which were to be cut. This practice was challenged,
and a federal court ruled the Forest Service to be in violation of portions of
the Organic Act of 1897, which authorized the Forest Service to sell timber.
These events led to passage of the National Forest Management Act of 1976.

Clearcutting was another of the issues which was closely scrutinized by the
American people during the "environmental movement" years. The issue was being
hotly cussed and discussed when Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
in 1968.

Chattooga, Wild and Scenic River
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act designated six rivers in the northern and
western U.S. for inclusion into the system and listed twenty-eight others to be
studied for possible inclusion later. The Chattooga was one of the study rivers.

Apparently there had been talk of legislation long before the act was
passed. The Atlanta Journal (1968) provides some insight.
Walter Fox, who is the regional bureau chief of recreation and
watershed management for the U.S. Forest Service in Atlanta, was one of
the original study team to select wild rivers in the Southeast.  He
investigated a lot of rivers in 1963 and 1964, including all the
headwaters of the Savannah River of which the Chattooga is one.

"We are concerned about what may come out of the proposal if they go as wild
rivers" Mr. Fox said, "There's a lot of pressure to keep these streams in a completely wild state.  We don't think that is
necessarily good. If these rivers stay in a natural state, few people
can get in to see them. The Chattooga is rough. Access is limited.
Development will make it available to many people.  .  ."

"Of all the rivers we looked at from Virginia to Florida and
Kentucky, the Savannah headwaters was our No. 1 choice. The Chattooga is
the only quality river left in the whole state. Saving it has become a
passionate thing for a lot of us. We on the survey team felt it should
be protected for our kids to see."

Three points become obvious from this article. The Forest Service Recreation
staff in Atlanta had some degree of doubt about Wild and Scenic designation;
there was pressure from the public to establish Wild and Scenic Rivers; and
since other rivers were included in the original legislation, study teams such
as the one on which Fox participated were looking at rivers nationwide.

The article continues:According to Bob Hanie, head of the stated Natural Areas Council,
it is possible that the Chattooga River could become one or the first
rivers selected as a "wild river," even though it is not yet one of the
six rivers named for immediate designation by the Scenic Rivers Act...

Bob Hanie thinks the Chattooga is one of the most imminently
attainable rivers in the United States. His reason: Except for three
small tracts in Georgia, almost every foot of land along the river
belongs to one of two owners.

"It's possible," Mr. Hanie says?  "that if we get the Chattooga
moved up to be included with the other six rivers it could become the
first river designated under the national bill. It can certainly be the
first one named by the state."

The two landowners are the U.S. Forest Service and the Georgia Power Co.

"We have tried to bring the two parties together," said Mr., Hanie,
who did that literally one day this summery in the middle of the river
with a fleet of canoes. He and Fritz Orr, Jr., an Atlanta camp owner and scenic
river booster, loaded 10 canoes with a group that included Forest
Service officials and Bill Dunlap, assistant to the president of Georgia
Power and also a member of the Georgia Canoeing Association.

In addition, Mr. Hanie and Mr. Orr have had top-level conferences
with Harlee Branch, Jr., who is Mr. Orr's next-door neighbor as well as
president of the Southern Co., and with Fred Match, president of Georgia
Power.

"Both men indicated great interest," Mr. Hanie said.  "Mr. Hatchtold us he would 'flag' the company land for this use and begin a study
on ways and means to bring it about. He said the company has no further
plans to build dams there."

Georgia Power has now made its position official with this announcement, 
released through Bob Rutherford of its public relations
department and printed here for the first time:  "The company will be
most willing in the matter of land ownership to cooperate with groups
interested in the Chattooga River as soon as the passage of any of these
scenic river bills occurs. The company has no plans for any development
on the river."

At the time there appeared to be little opposition to the Chattooga's becoming a
Wild and Scenic River. It is probable that most people in Oconee County favored
protection of the river, which had been a favorite fishing, hunting, camping,
and swimming area since early settlers arrived. Later, however, when it was
realized that such designation would cause widespread closing of jeep trail
which provided access to the river's edge, attitudes of many changed. There have
been charges that road closures were deliberately concealed in public meeting
and publicity. Forest Service officials who were there say that is not true. A
June 1971 report (USFS, 1971, p. 110) prepared as directed by Congress states:

In general, specific access already exceeds needs. Only two additional
roads totaling 1.4 miles are needed to make presently inaccessible areas
available to the public. Neither of these roads will be constructed
within the proposed boundary of the river. Generally, the plan provides
for closure and revegetation of existing little-used jeep roads. A total
of thirty miles of jeep roads will need to be closed and revegetated.
The general plan of accessibility for the river will be by trail. Six
new trails totaling 2 1/2 miles, generally on the location of old jeep
trails, will be constructed from planned parking lots outside the river
boundary to the river itself.

Several people in recent years have commented to the Forest Service, "I would
not have supported designation of the river if I had known they [the Forest
Service] were going to close those roads."

In 1971, the Forest Service submitted its study to Congress. The summary
report states, "The Chattooga River and its major tributary, the West Fork,
fully meet the criteria established by the Wild and Scenic River Act," and
recommended "that the Chattooga River, from Tugaloo Lake ... to a point near
Cashiers, NC, . . . be designated as a unit of the Wild and Scenic River
System."

In 1972, the movie Deliverance, written by James Dickey and directed by John
Boorman, was released.  Starring Burt Reynolds and Jon Voigt, filmed on the
Chattooga, this movie caught the eye of adventurous Americans, and floating use
on the river increased from an estimated 800 people in 1971 to 7600 in 1972 and
continued to 27,000 in 1974. Sixteen people drowned in the four-year period.
Rescue squads were kept busy hunting the lost, injured, and killed.

The relatively peaceful and undisturbed communities of Mountain Rest and
Long Creek were virtually overrun by people from metropolitan areas going to the
river. All too often "outsiders" demonstrated little regard for the mountain
ways of life which they encountered. "Baptizings" by local churches had been
held in the river for many years. There were instances where floaters shouted
obscenities at congregations participating in worship services on the river.
There also were instances of people shooting at boaters from the banks.

On May 10, 1974, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was amended to include the
Chattooga River.

In the meantime, Maxie Gates, who had been the District Ranger since 1961
transferred to the Tallula Ranger District at Clayton, Georgia, and was replaced
by Jim Barrett, who served in that position from 1972 to 1974. Barrett moved
into a timber staff position in Gainesville, Georgia. Bill Craig (William S.)
became Ranger in 1974 soon after the Chattooga was designated.

One of the first tasks awaiting the new ranger was closing the roads
leading into the Chattooga River corridor; eventually, fifty miles of roads were
smoothed, drained, and seeded with grass to prevent erosion. Large earth mounds
with signs--"Closed to Motorized Vehicles"-were erected. Road Closures were
enforced, and citations were issued to violators. The controversy increased. An
April 1975 Keowee Courier article stated:

The Forest Service also is blocking roads leading to the river.
Ultimately there will be only four ways to reach it.
The Oconee County Council has approved a resolution calling for
the lifting of federal regulations. Councilman Hercial Moore said the
restrictions discriminate mostly against the people who were born and
reared near the river.

"We are not claiming the river for ourselves but it is ending up
that no one can use the river unless they want to go out there in boats
and canoes," he said.

Most persons owning property near the river will be unable to use
that land, much of which has stayed in families for generations.

"The movie didn't do Oconee County any good at all," he said. "Itwas very inappropriate for our section and it has brought the river tothe attention of a lot of people."

Environmental Legislation
Other federal laws affected National Forest Management in Oconee County at
almost the same time. Over 3,000 acres of land in the northern corner of the
Andrew Pickens was designated as part of the National Wilderness System by
President Gerald Ford in January 1975. This was considered additional federal
restrictions on the freedoms of local people.

In August 1976, the Forest Service released plans for managing the Chauga
River Drainage. The plan, which had been started in 1971, called for closure of
74 miles of roads in the 37,000 acre area. The plan included construction of
trails, hunter camps, campgrounds, as well as production of timber and wildlife.
It was immediately opposed by elected officials and residents of the area
because it was viewed as additional constraints on traditional life styles.

A May 9, 1977, Charlotte Observer news release said that the Sierra Clubhad presented a formal proposal to the SC Appalachian Regional Planning and
development Commission to designate an 8-mile strip along the Carolinas' border
into a National Recreation area.  The Planning Commission, headquartered in
Greenville, was designed to coordinate development in a six-county area of the
upstate section of South Carolina. The proposal would have also included sixteen
counties in North Carolina.  In a November 1977, Asheville Citizen release,
Representative Lamar Gudger of North Carolina was quoted,  "We have had
sufficient response from the citizens in the . . . counties that were proposed
to be included ... to recognize that there is general opposition to the plan.
He asked Representative James R. Mann of South Carolina to exclude North
Carolina from the proposal. This proposal again raised fears of local residents
about what was becoming of the area and their traditional way of life.

In 1978, due to lawsuits' halting timber sales and continuing wildernessdebate, the Secretary of Agriculture ordered the Forest Service to hold public
meetings to determine if there were any additional national forest lands which
might qualify for Wilderness Designation. The project was dubbed "Roadless Area
Review and Evaluation" (RARE II). During the process anyone was permitted to
recommend areas of national forest land, which should be studied. Four areas
totaling approximately 15,000 acres were proposed on the Andrew Pickens Ranger
District.  Subsequently, Forest Service recommendations to the Secretary of
Agriculture were that 1900 acres adjoining Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area did
meet the criteria established by the Secretary and should be included in the
Wilderness System. The Long Creek area south of Highway 76 did not qualify and
should be dropped from further consideration, and two areas comprising
approximately 11,000 acres known as Ellicott Rock Extension (between Burrell's
Ford Road and Highway 28) and Persimmon Mountain (between Highway 107 and the
Whitewater Road) will be studied further in the Sumter Land Management Plan.
This plan required by the National Forest Management Act of 1976 will determine
the Forest Service recommendation on future management of the two areas. This
plan is to be offered to the public for their review and comment in late 1984.

RARE II was strongly opposed by many who reside, use, or work in national
forests. Additional wilderness could, in some areas, result in additional road
closures (this is not true in Ellicott Rock Extension). Timber purchasers and
elected officials were and still are concerned about possibly declining timber
sales which could result in loss of jobs and revenues to the local economy.

The "environmental movement" of the 1960s and 1970s increased legislation
which has significantly affected traditional life styles of people who have
lived in or near national forests since the Weeks Law was passed in 1911.
With the rapid succession of changes during the 1970s came a significant
increase in arson in the National Forest. Between 1969 and 1973 the District
averaged five fires and eighteen acres burned each year. From 1974 to 1979 the
District lost an average of 687 acres from twenty-three fires. Numbers of fires
declined to an average of six per year, which burned 162 acres in the five-year
period from 1979 to 1983. Many of the fires from 1974 to 1978 were attributed to
anger, frustrations, and resentment over road closures and the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act.

One reason that acreage losses were so high during 1974-78 was the JumpingBranch Fire, which burned 2,800 acres in April 1978. The narrative report of the
fire summarizes:
The Jumping Branch Fire occurred in an area of heavy fuels during a
short period of very high and extreme fire danger when district
personnel were fatigued from fighting numerous small fires.

The initial attack resulted in containment to an area of ten acres.
However, due to heavy fuels, steep terrain, extreme fire danger and
numerous other fires which were being mopped up at the same time, the
fire escaped and made another run.

The fire was again contained the next morning at 177 acres, but
again escaped and made several long runs during the heat of the day.

After mobilizing about 600 men assisted by bulldozers, plows,ground and aerial tankers and directed by an experienced, skilled
regional overhead team from the Ouachita National Forest the fire was
controlled at 2856 acres five days after it started.

Several factors contributed to the size of the fire. District fire crews
had fought nine fires within a three-day period before the Jumping Branch Fire
escaped and began its major run.

There had not been any rain for nine days prior to the fire. Relative
humidity was extremely low, and winds were 12 with gusts to 22 miles per hour
during the period when the fire was burning fastest.

About 600 acres of tornado-damaged timber was in the path of the
blaze. (This is the only known tornado ever to hit the mountains of Oconee
County.)  Downed timber and debris fueled the flames and hampered crews and
equipment in fire line construction.

Over 600 Forest Service fire fighters from across the nation were brought
in to help with the effort. Mountain Rest Community Club was used as fire camp
to supply and feed the men working on the blaze. National Guard cooks prepared
meals at field kitchens on the grounds.

One of the humorous events occurred when one of the Mexican-Americans from
a California crew asked for hot sauce (Texas Pete) to go on his grits. Mess hall
personnel were astounded when he proceeded to turn his grits red with the sauce.
People could not understand anyone who would treat grits with such disdain.

Some other interesting facts:
The Andrew Pickens Ranger District constitutes approximately 60% of
the total land area described in this book as the Mountain Rest
Community.

For the past five years, the national forests in South Carolina have
operated at a net profit. 1983 total budget was about $9.8 million to
manage about 610,000 acres of land in the state. Timber sales to private
companies sold for over $13 million.

The U.S. Forest Service paid $454,559 to Oconee County in lieu of
taxes in 1983.

About 19% of the total land area in Oconee County is owned by the
federal government.

An estimated 500,000 people visited the Andrew Pickens Ranger
District in 1983. 55,000 people boated on the Chattooga River in
1982. On June 14, 1907, Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S.
Forest Service, said, "There are many great interests on the National
Forests which sometimes conflict a little. They must all be made to fit
into one another so that the machine runs smoothly as a whole. It is
often necessary for one man to give way a little here, another a little
there. But by giving way a little at present they both profit by it a
great deal in the end.

"National Forests exist today because the people want them. To make
them accomplish the most good the people themselves must make clear how
they want them run."

There are some people who would say that the people of Mountain Rest have
given more than a little. There are others who would say the relationship has
been mutually  beneficial.  Eighty-one years ago, national forests were
established to provide the resources which would be needed for future
generations. Few of the original goals of the agency have changed, but the
"lands nobody wanted" have changed tremendously and are in great demand to
provide services expected by the American people.

Bill Craig became a recreation staff officer for the Francis Marion and
Sumter National Forests in Columbia, SC, in Nov. 1979.

Joe Wallace (Joseph P.) became District Ranger on the Andrew Pickens
Ranger District in November 1979.

[References: Acts 1901, South Carolina State Legislature No. 346, Approved
Feb. 21, 1901, Anderson Independent, 8 Mar. 1981, "Mountain Refuge"; Atlanta
Journal and Constitution Magazine, "Can We Keep the Chattooga Wild?" Sept. 22,
1968; Book N.P. 106, Pendleton Deeds, South Carolina Archives microfilm; Dana,
Samuel Trask, Forest and Range Policy (McGraw-Hill, 11956); Eleventh Census,
Dept. of Archives, Columbia, SC; Keowee Courier, 24 April 1935, "Railroad
Commissioners' Map of South Carolina"  (Chicago: George F. Cram, ca. 1900);
Pendleton Deeds Book P, page 73, South Carolina Archives microfilm; Pendleton
District Book A-L, p. 43, South Carolina Archive microfilm; Reach, p. 6, 14 Feb.
1981, Walhalla, SC; Seneca Journal, 16 Sept. 1970, p. 1B, "Sale of Historic
Russell's Marks Passing of Era"; Seneca Journal, 11 Aug. 1976, p. 1, "The
Russell Home Historic, Yet Vandalized"; Shands, William E., and Robt. G. Healy,
"The Lands Nobody Wanted," A Conservation Foundation Report, Washington DC;
Tenth Census (1880), South Carolina (n.p., microfilmed by Bureau of Census
n.d.) microcopy no. T-9, roll no, 1236, Oconee County, enumeration district no.
122, p, 2); Tract 424A, M.H. Lee, USDA Forest Service files, Andrew Pickens
Ranger District, Walhalla, SC; USFS, 13 March 1979, Cultural resource overview(
2360 special interest areas; Williams, Edward B., and Archer D. Smith, Case
History of the Brasstown Fire," presentation at the National Fire Behavior
School, San Dimas, California, 1962.]