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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 Central California Redwood Company sold the largest tract of land to the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company. 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 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 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 meant for scientific research and experimentation in sustainable forestry and the restoration of the local ecology.
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 a sovereign state, sovereign or federated state, or territory (country subdivision), territory.
Background
State forests are forests that are Administration (gov ...
located on Bear Creek Road (Tulare County Route 220), northeast of Springville in Tulare County
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lake ...
, California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. 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'' (also known as the giant sequoia, giant redwood, Sierra redwood or Wellingtonia) is a species of coniferous tree, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae. Giant sequoia specimens are the la ...
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 sold the largest tract of land to the Hume-Bennett Lumber Company. 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 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 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 meant for scientific research and experimentation in sustainable forestry and the restoration of the local ecology.
See also
* Balch Park *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