Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest (MHDSF) is a 
The forests of Mountain Home were used by local Native Americans in the summer to camp, hunt, and gather food. An interpretive exhibit at Sunset Point leads visitors through an archaeological site with evidence of occupation dating back 8,000 years.
European settlers first arrived in the Mountain Home area in the early 1860s. The local forestry industry boomed following the construction of the first sawmills. Sheep and other livestock were also brought to graze upon the many grassy meadows of the forest.
The forest was also a popular retreat for the people of Central Valley. Many small summer cabins were built and the forest saw about 600-700 annual visitors. In 1886, Andrew and Sarah Doty founded the small resort community of Mountain Home, drawing more visitors to the forest.
By the 1890s, the local forestry industry began to wane. In 1907, the
The Friends of Boggs Mountain
The California Department of Forestry: "statewide Demonstration Forests"
{{Protected areas of California, SR California state forests Protected areas of Tulare County, California
state forest
A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory.
Background
The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example:
* In Australia, a ...
located on Bear Creek Road (Tulare County Route 220), northeast of Springville in Tulare County, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. The protected land covers an area of with an elevation range between and . The forest is best known for its namesake giant sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...
grove, Mountain Home Grove, which is home to some of the largest giant sequoias in the world.
The forests of Mountain Home were used by local Native Americans in the summer to camp, hunt, and gather food. An interpretive exhibit at Sunset Point leads visitors through an archaeological site with evidence of occupation dating back 8,000 years.
European settlers first arrived in the Mountain Home area in the early 1860s. The local forestry industry boomed following the construction of the first sawmills. Sheep and other livestock were also brought to graze upon the many grassy meadows of the forest.
The forest was also a popular retreat for the people of Central Valley. Many small summer cabins were built and the forest saw about 600-700 annual visitors. In 1886, Andrew and Sarah Doty founded the small resort community of Mountain Home, drawing more visitors to the forest.
By the 1890s, the local forestry industry began to wane. In 1907, the Central California Redwood Company
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
sold the largest tract of land to the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company
The Hume-Bennett Lumber Company was a logging operation in the Sequoia National Forest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company and its predecessors were known for building the world's longest log flume and the first multiple-arch ...
. Shortly thereafter the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company declared bankruptcy and the land was once again up for sale. There were no takers and so the land lay commercially dormant and open to visitors without restriction.
In 1930, Donald Sutch bought the rights to log the forest deadfall of the land once owned by Hume-Bennett. Sutch worked the land until 1941, when efforts to sell the property began anew.
The Michigan Trust Company
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
owned the property at the time. Jack Brattin, the company’s executive who handled the property, had determined the land was no longer commercially viable to log, so he offered all 4,800 acres for sale to the U.S. Forest Service - only to be turned down. Undeterred, Brattin decided to create a compelling reason for a public agency to buy it. He authorized Dude Sutch and two commercial lumber companies to start felling live sequoia trees. This caused public outcry and forced the U.S. Forest Service and the State of California to negotiate the purchase of the land. The Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West
The Native Sons of the Golden West is a fraternal service organization founded in the U.S. state of California in 1875, dedicated to historic preservation, documentation of historic structures and places in the state, the placement of historic p ...
was especially outspoken about the need to preserve the giant sequoias of Mountain Home.
In 1946, the State of California purchased the land and established the Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest, the first California State Forest. It was also the first demonstration forest
Demonstration may refer to:
* Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting
* Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought
* Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
meant for scientific research and experimentation in sustainable forestry and the restoration of the local ecology.
See also
*Balch Park
Balch Park is a county park in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California that features a grove of Giant Sequoia trees. It also has archaeological sites relating to the early Native Americans of the area, and to the late 19th- and earl ...
*List of giant sequoia groves
This is a list of giant sequoia groves. All naturally occurring giant sequoia groves are located in the moist, unglaciated ridges and valleys of the western slope of the Sierra Nevada range in California, United States. They can be found at el ...
Footnotes
External links
The Friends of Boggs Mountain
The California Department of Forestry: "statewide Demonstration Forests"
{{Protected areas of California, SR California state forests Protected areas of Tulare County, California