Devil's Backbone State Forest is a
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, ...
in
Shenandoah County, Virginia
Shenandoah County (formerly Dunmore County) is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 44,186. Its county seat is Woodstock. It is part of the Shenandoah Valley region of Virgini ...
.
It lies on the slope of
North Mountain in the drainage area of
Cedar Creek near
Star Tannery west of
Strasburg. The forest was established by a grant by John and Bernice Hoffman, who owned the land since 1950.
The forest is managed by the
Virginia Department of Forestry, with a focus on research relating to the re-establishment of
American chestnut
The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...
trees. Public access is not permitted.
[
]
History
Although much of future state forest was too steep and the soil too thin for agriculture, it nonetheless was part of a growing Virginia economy. The first industry to use the forest was iron furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric p ...
s established in the mid-18th century and existing until after the Civil War. Isaac Zane, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, built the first two of these furnaces (Zane's Old Furnace 1768-74 and The Marlboro Works 1772-95) and received grants of forest land which included the future state forest to be used to make charcoal as fuel.
In 1868 a tannery
Tanning may refer to:
* Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
* Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
** Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
** Sunless tanning, application of a stain or d ...
was constructed and consumed the forest for the tannin-rich bark on the trees. The tannery eventually moved on, leaving only its name attached to the nearby community of Star Tannery. Afterwards, inhabitants cut firewood and timber for charcoal-fueled kilns that produced quicklime
Calcium oxide (CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term "'' lime''" connotes calcium-containing inorganic ...
from limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
in the Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Rid ...
. By the middle of the 20th century very little forest remained on the slopes of North Mountain.
John and Bernice Hoffman established the current forest on the land by planting timber stands of loblolly pine
''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine. U ...
and encouraging natural regeneration of native hardwoods. They also worked to re-establish the American chestnut
The American chestnut (''Castanea dentata'') is a large, fast-growing deciduous tree of the beech family native to eastern North America. As is true of all species in genus Castanea, the American chestnut produces burred fruit with edible nuts. ...
, formerly a dominant tree in the Appalachian forest prior to the outbreak of the chestnut blight
The pathogenic fungus ''Cryphonectria parasitica'' (formerly ''Endothia parasitica'') is a member of the Ascomycota (sac fungi). This necrotrophic fungus is native to East Asia and South East Asia and was introduced into Europe and North America ...
in the early 20th century. John hopes his trees will help restore the chestnuts to their former glory and that some of them will resist the blight.
See also
*List of Virginia state forests
The Virginia state forest system includes 26 state-managed forests covering a total of . They are managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry.
The system was created to manage and maintain forests for wildlife, timber production, recreation, ...
References
External links
Virginia Department of Forestry: Devil's Backbone State Forest
Virginia state forests
Protected areas of Shenandoah County, Virginia
State forests of the Appalachians
1995 establishments in Virginia
Protected areas established in 1995
{{ShenandoahCountyVA-geo-stub