United States Department of Agriculture

James P. Barnett and Mason C. Carter

THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE 

FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 
AUTHORS

James P. Barnett, Emeritus Scientist, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Southern Research 

Station, Pineville, LA, 71360; 

jpbarnett@fs.fed.us.

Mason C. Carter, Professor and 

Dean Emeritus, Louisiana State 

University, now at Fort Collins, 

CO 80525; masoncarter@lsu.edu.

PHOTO CREDITS

Cover: The top photo represents millions of acres of cutover land early in the 

20th century in the West Gulf Region. At the time, reforesting this land was 

not considered feasible. The bottom photo depicts the land after successful 

forest restoration began. A small cadre of individuals was responsible for 

this land transformation.

Photo credits: Unless otherwise noted, the photographs are from collections of 

the U.S. Forest Service, the Louisiana Forestry Commission (now Louisiana 

Department of Agriculture and Forestry), and the Louisiana Forestry 

Association. Those cited as “Louisiana State University Archives” are from 

the Great Southern Lumber Company Collection, Louisiana and Lower 

Mississippi Valley Collections, Louisiana State University Libraries, Baton 

Rouge, LA. Those cited as “Southern Forest Heritage Museum Archives” 

are from the Anna C. Burns CCC Collection, Southern Forest Heritage 

Museum, Long Leaf, LA.

Forest Service

Research & Development

Southern Research Station

General Technical Report SRS-221

Southern Research Station

200 W.T. Weaver Blvd.

Asheville, NC 28804

www.srs.fs.usda.gov

June 2017
James P. Barnett and Mason C. Carter

THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE 

FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 
Abstract

In the late 19th century, virgin southern pine forests in the West Gulf Coast 

Region remained virtually untouched. After the Civil War, this land was 

made available by the government for homesteading and sale. Pine timberland 

was offered for sale at $1.25 per acre. Primarily northern lumbermen and 

land speculators purchased the land. Lumbering then became the economic 

driver for the recovery of the region. By the end of the first quarter of the 20th 

century, only isolated pockets of the old-growth forests remained. Landscapes 

once covered with majestic stands of virgin longleaf pines had become vast 

“stumpscapes” void of any prospect of forest regeneration. Then a small 

group began the effort to restore these forests. The effort was led by Henry E. 

Hardtner of the Urania Lumber Company, William H. Sullivan of the Great 

Southern Lumber Company, and Philip C. Wakeley of the Forest Service, 

Southern Forest Experiment Station. This is the story of that restoration effort.

Keywords: History of forestry research, old-growth forests, pine plantations, 

restoration of southern pines, seed and seedling physiology, southern pines.

HOW TO CITE THIS PUBLICATION: 

Barnett, James P.; Carter, Mason C. 2017. The dawn of sustainable forestry in 

the South. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-221. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 39 p.
Contents

1 PREFACE

2 INTRODUCTION

2 Lumber Supply and Demand in the Aftermath of the Civil War

4 Repeal of the Southern Homestead Act 

5 The Great Land Rush and the South’s Economy

7 THE TIMBER HARVEST

7 Logging Practices

8 Sawmill Operations

11 MILLIONS OF ACRES OF CUTOVER FORESTS

13 THE BEGINNING OF REFORESTATION

13 The Influence of Henry E. Hardtner

14 Early forest management practices

14 Collaborative efforts

16 Contributions of Hardtner

17 Advocacy for reforestation

17 Hardtner’s legacy

18 The Action of William H. Sullivan

18 The Great Southern Lumber Company

19 Attempts at diversification

20 The Bogalusa Paper Company

22 Establishment of a reforestation program

26 Legacy of the Great Southern Lumber Company

28 The Persistence of Philip C. Wakeley

28 Collaboration with Great Southern Lumber Company

29 Research at Stuart Nursery

30 Planting the Southern Pines document

30 Initiation of forest tree improvement programs

32 THE SPREAD OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY

34 CONCLUSION

34 Longleaf Pine Forests 100 Years Later

37 References

THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 1

PREFACE

In the mid to late 19th century, the virgin forests of the Northeast 

and Midwest were nearly exhausted of their best timber. 

Lumbermen begin to realize that they would have to find other 

areas of timber and relocate their operations if they were to supply 

the lumber needed for the Nation’s expansion westward.

Repeal of the Southern Homestead Act 1876 opened millions 

of acres of federally owned land in the Gulf Coast States for sale 

at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre, and much of this land was 

covered with heavy stands of virgin longleaf pine. Lumbermen 

and land speculators or their agents from across the country 

flocked to the Western Gulf States where the most and the best 

virgin pine forests were to be found. In Louisiana, where 44 

percent of all large sales occurred, buyers from the north and west 

outnumbered buyers from the South by nearly five to one.

The first three decades of the 20th century came to be known 

as the “golden age of lumbering” in the South. Between 1904 and 

1929, over 327 billion board feet of southern yellow pine lumber 

was shipped to the markets of the world, with nearly 62 billion 

board feet harvested from the forests of Louisiana alone. The 

clear majority of this timber was harvested with a cut-out and 

get-out policy with total disregard for the regeneration of this 

magnificent resource. The millions of acres of desolate cutover 

land that resulted were envisioned to have a disastrous effect on 

the Nation’s economy and perhaps even its climate. 

In Louisiana where some of the more serious effects of 

aggressive harvesting occurred, a few individuals took the 

initiatives that brought the hope of reforestation. The effort was 

led by a visionary who convinced others that reforestation was 

feasible, followed by a pragmatic industrialist who committed 

his company to develop the necessary technology, and supported 

by a scientist who refined and documented the technology for its 

application across the South. 

This publication describes the development and application 

of natural and artificial regeneration technology that restored the 

South’s denuded forests and made them the “wood basket” of the 

Nation and a global leader in the practice of sustainable forestry. 

The first three decades of 

the 20th century came to be 

known as the “golden age of 

lumbering” in the South. 
2 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

INTRODUCTION

In the early 20th century, the harvest of the South’s virgin pine 

forests was underway on a massive scale. The demand for lumber 

was enormous as the Nation expanded westward opening of 

markets in the Midwest and Western United States to build farms, 

homes, factories, and cities. In about 25 years, the harvest of 

millions of acres of the South’s old-growth forests was completed. 

What brought this about and how were the South’s forests reestablished and made sustainable?

Lumber Supply and Demand in 

the Aftermath of the Civil War

Following the capitulation of the Confederacy, the government 

and businesses of the victorious Union rapidly redirected 

their energies to the growth and expansion of the Nation. 

Implementation of the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 and 

completing the transcontinental railroad became a center of 

attention for the Nation and work began in earnest. With the 

driving of the last spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, in May 

1869, the vast area stretching from the 100th meridian to the 

Rocky Mountains was opened for settlement. Huge amounts of 

building materials would be needed, and in the mid to late 19th 

century the main building material was wood. The railroads 

consumed copious amounts of wood for cross ties, bridges, and 

trestles, which in those days before chemical preservatives were 

developed, required frequent replacement. Homes, barns, stores, 

offices, factories, essentially all rural and small town structures 

were built with wood. And the area from the 100th meridian to 

the Rockies was essentially treeless! 

The importance of wood in the developing Nation is indicated 

by the fact that the U.S. Census of 1880 included a special report 

on the status of America’s forests and timber resources. Prepared 

under the direction of Harvard College Professor Charles S. 

Sargent, the 600-plus page report represented the best available 

assessment of the Nation’s forest resources and future timber 

supply (Sargent 1884). At that time, white pine (Pinus strobus) 

In about 25 years, the 

harvest of millions of acres 

of the South’s old-growth 

forests was completed.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 3

was the preferred species for the construction of buildings. The 

Lake States were the center of white pine lumber production with 

Michigan by far the leading producer. Sargent’s report confi rmed 

what many industry executives and public offi cials feared; at the 

current rate of harvest, the best and most accessible supplies of 

white pine would be exhausted in a little more than 10 years. 

To supply the needs of a rapidly expanding Nation, the lumber 

industry would have to relocate from the Lake States to the South 

or West where an abundance of virgin forest still remained. 

For northern lumbermen, the most desirable timber nearest 

to existing operations and anticipated future markets were the 

extensive stands of virgin longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) stretching 

across the Gulf Coast States from Alabama and western Florida 

to Texas. Sargent (1884) claimed these forests, “... contain 

suffi cient material to long supply all possible demands which can 

be made upon them.” And much of these millions of acres that 

had been virgin longleaf pine was public land recently opened for 

sale at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre!

Longleaf pine stands such as these were 

typical of the over 300,000 acres of Great 

Southern Lumber Company forest lands. 

(photo from Louisiana State University 

Archives)
4 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

Repeal of the Southern Homestead Act 

In the decades following the Civil War, the economy of the 

South was in shambles—its agrarian society had been destroyed. 

Millions of former slaves were landless and destitute. The 

entire Nation was suffering from major war debt. Congress was 

desperate to find an affordable means to promote the economy 

and relieve the suffering of people, especially those in the war-torn 

regions of the South. At the time, the Federal Government owned 

nearly 46 million acres in the five southern public land States 

(Gates 1979), and Congress passed the Southern Homestead 

Act of 1866 hoping to provide a pathway to land ownership and 

generally improve the economy of the region (Lanza 1990). The 

Act enabled freed Blacks and loyal Whites to apply for up to 80 

acres of land to homestead in one of the five public land States in 

the South.

However, implementation of the Southern Homestead Act 

was beset with problems, even after the discrimination against 

former Confederates was lifted in 1867 (Gates 1940). A number 

of factors inhibited successful homesteading, but the greatest by 

far was the fact that the majority of the available public land was 

not suited for row-crop agriculture. The best agricultural land 

had long since been removed from the public domain by colonial 

land grants and nearly 100 years of Federal land sales and grants 

to States and individuals. What remained was covered with heavy 

stands of timber and/or swamps (Gates 1940).

After a decade, less than a third of the original 46 million 

acres had been homesteaded and many of these were patented 

by employees of lumber and mining companies who quickly 

turned their claims over to their employers. Thus, in 1876, 

Congressmen from the South anxious to promote development 

of the region’s timber and mineral resources, joined with a group 

of Congressmen from the North wanting to promote regional 

harmony, or in a few cases, speculate on land in the South, 

and the Southern Homestead Act was repealed. The remaining 

unpatented Federal land was first offered for sale by auction, 

but the auctions were disappointing with only a little more than 

121,000 acres sold. In 1880, the remaining public land in the 

South was opened for sale at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre.1

1 For more information on the functioning and repeal of the Southern Homestead Act 

and the aftermath see Carter and Barnett (in press). 

Implementation of the 

Southern Homestead Act 

was beset with problems 

that inhibited successful 

homesteading.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 5

The Great Land Rush 

and the South’s Economy

Lumbermen and other capitalists seized upon the opportunity to 

speculate in timberland acquisition. Timber cruisers, mill owners, 

and land agents descended on the Gulf South in droves, causing 

one to comment, “The woods are full of Michigan men bent on 

the same mission as myself” (Gates 1979). In Louisiana, where 44 

percent of all large sales (5,000 acres or more) occurred, buyers 

from the North outnumbered buyers from the South by nearly fi ve 

to one. Some of the large purchases were by lumbermen from the 

North planning to relocate their mills. But most large sales were 

to lumberman and other capitalists planning to hold the land and 

sell later when the stumpage value increased.

Map of Louisiana by Sargent (1884) 

illustrating the status of forested pine 

land within the State. 
6 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

The sale of Louisiana and Mississippi public lands was 

intended to promote development of the region’s timber 

industries and increase local wealth. However, little of the 

valuable timberland was acquired by residents of the region. The 

greatest wealth derived from the lumber business was from the 

appreciation in stumpage values, not from the manufacture of 

lumber (Lacey 1909). The average stumpage price for yellow pine 

increased more than 10-fold between 1880 and 1904. Thus, land 

that sold for $1.25 per acre in 1884 was worth between $25 and 

$30 per acre for the timber alone by 1904. But few cash-stressed 

southerners could afford to buy timberland and hold it for 10 or 

more years before realizing any significant return.

Although most of the profits from increased stumpage values 

went to out-of-State speculators, State citizens and State and local 

governments received some of the benefits. Millions of dollars were 

invested in lumber manufacturing facilities, and infrastructure 

was built to move logs to mills and lumber to markets. Mainline 

railroad tracks increased from 650 miles in 1880 to 5,554 miles 

by 1910. Every parish except Cameron had one or more rail line 

passing through it (Foster 1912, Fricker, n.d.).

Logging and sawmill operations provided jobs, and lumbering 

became an economic driver for the South’s economy. However, 

out-of-State mill owners generally brought their skilled craftsmen 

and supervisory personnel with them, leaving mostly the lower 

paying jobs for local residents (Stokes 1954).

Brister (1968) summed up the benefit from the mills this way: 

A sawmill in Central Louisiana was looked upon as 

a town’s greatest asset as well as benefactor because it 

provided opportunities for work. Even though the hours of 

work were long and the wages were small when compared 

to the profits made, and when compared to wages and hours 

for similar work at this time, having a job in order to feed and 

clothe a family was the important thing.

A sawmill in Central 

Louisiana was looked upon 

as a town’s greatest asset 

as well as benefactor 

because it provided 

opportunities for work.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 7

THE TIMBER HARVEST

The period of 1900 to 1920 has been described as the “golden age 

of lumbering” in the Midsouth (Caldwell 1975). Louisiana grew 

some of the finest pines in the South. The vast virgin pine forests 

in the State’s upland regions southwest and north of the Red 

River and in the Florida parishes were mainly longleaf pine often 

in 100-percent pure stands with extremely dense growth (Mohr 

1897). These magnificent forests became the source of intense 

lumbering efforts across the State because newly developed 

railroad logging could extend into every portion of this virgin 

forest. The combination of steam-powered logging and milling 

technology resulted in a massive harvest of the forests that drove 

the South’s economy for decades.

Logging Practices

In the late 1800s, the development of steam-powered logging 

and milling equipment flourished due to the great demand to 

harvest the huge acreages of virgin southern pines (Foster 1912). 

In addition to the steam locomotives that could move tremendous 

quantities of logs from the forests, rail mounted skidding and 

loading equipment allowed the companies to load and move the 

timber to the mills as fast as it could be cut. Temporary railroad 

spurs could be quickly moved into new areas of the forests. 

Steam-powered log skidders and loaders were massive pieces 

of equipment. At one setting, one skidder could pull cut trees 

to the railroad track from a 30- to 40-acre area. Two types of 

skidders were used and both were self-propelled so they could 

move along the track over short distances. They, too, could be 

towed behind a locomotive. Although these machines appear 

to be large and cumbersome, they were true workhorses of 

their day. The Clyde skidder was capable of retrieving logs from 

four different points at the same time. Each cable, or lead, was 

approximately 1,000 feet in length. Once the logs were attached 

and a clearance signal was sent for retrieval, they could be skidded 

at a speed of 1,000 feet per minute. Working conditions around 

these machines were very dangerous.

The vast virgin pine forests 

of Louisiana became the 

source of intense lumbering 

efforts across the State 

because newly developed 

railroad logging could extend 

into every portion of this 

virgin forest. 
8 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

The Clyde skidder pulled logs to the track and usually a 

McGiffert or Barnhart log loader followed along on the tracks 

and loaded logs onto rail log cars. The Lidgerwood skidder was 

a larger piece of equipment which not only brought logs to the 

landing from the cutting site, but loaded them onto railroad cars 

as well, making it both a skidder and loader. The Lidgerwood 

was capable of operating on both sides of the track, enabling the 

loggers to “clean up” from the spur about one-third of a mile of 

timber (Quick 1946). At each setting, each machine could skid 

and load timber from 30 acres of land. Even with the use of the 

Lidgerwood, however, a McGiffert loader was typically used to 

load short logs and pick up timber along the right-of-way.

Sawmill Operations

Sawmills and their accompanying towns sprang up across the 

State. It is estimated that as many as 1,300 such mills were 

developed in Louisiana alone in the early 20th century. Almost 

every town or community had one to several sawmills. 

TOP: A Great Southern Lumber Company 

Clyde skidder with the employees 

needed to operate the skidder and man 

the cables that pulled logs to the railroad 

right-of-way. (photo from Louisiana 

State University Archives)

BOTTOM: A McGiffert steam-powered 

log loader in operation. (photo from 

Louisiana State University Archives)
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 9

These mills became viewed as a double-edged sword. They 

provided employment of a large percentage of employees in the 

local areas, but within 20 years most of these mills had harvested 

their timber and closed their doors with many of the mill towns 

becoming ghost towns. When the timber cutout occurred, mill 

owners typically abandoned their towns and the mill-owned 

land reverted to the State due to unpaid taxes. Large lumbering 

operations were common in Louisiana and the aggressive nature 

of their logging methods resulted in extensive areas of cutover 

timberland with limited possibility for natural regeneration.

In the early 1920s, 23 mills were operating along a railroad 

section in western Louisiana with each producing more than 

100,000 board feet a day. By the end of the decade, all had been 

shut down and abandoned. Sixty years later, even the foundations 

of buildings were gone and finding the original locations of the 

mills was difficult (Stokes 1954). R.D. Forbes, Louisiana’s first 

state forester, described the situation in 1923 stating, “the plain 

truth of the matter is that in county after county, in State after 

State of the South, the piney woods are not passing but have 

passed” (Forbes 1923). 

The mills varied greatly in size. At the time, two of the 

largest sawmills in the world were built and operated in 

Louisiana: (1) the Great Southern Lumber Company at Bogalusa, 

and (2) the Gulf Lumber Company at Fullerton (Barnett and 

Blomquist, in press).

Both the towns of Bogalusa in Washington Parish and 

Fullerton in Vernon Parish resulted from northern industrialists 

buying large quantities of timberland in the late 1800s and 

building towns to support the operation of their huge mills. 

The owners of both mills knew their timber resources would be 

harvested in about 20 to 25 years. They brought, however, an 

unusual commitment to build towns and provide housing and 

educational opportunities for their employees. 

The land base for the Gulf Lumber Company at Fullerton was 

such that the timber was depleted in 20 years. No options existed 

but to close the mill when the timber base was depleted. No effort 

had gone into trying to diversify the company. S.H. Fullerton and 

manager M.L. Fleischel could see no other alternative—this fate 

was typical for most of the early large lumber companies. The 

mill and what was described as “one of the most modern and 

picturesque towns in the State” was dismantled and sold. 

There were, however, exceptions. The city of Bogalusa 

continues to exist and thrive. W.H. Sullivan and the Goodyear 

The aggressive nature 

of their logging methods 

resulted in extensive 

areas of cutover timberland 

with limited possibility for 

natural regeneration.
10 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

family of the Great Southern Lumber Company were determined 

to fi nd means to keep the town alive after the virgin longleaf pines 

were harvested. 

The Great Southern Lumber Company attracted national 

interest because of its size and the attitude of its leadership. The 

American Lumberman sent reporters and photographers to the 

“magic city” on more than one occasion. One reporter wrote 

in 1922: “This mill, by the way, is the largest sawmill in the 

world. At the time of our visit it was working on the basis of two 

10-hour shifts and was turning out daily about 750,000 feet of 

lumber. The capacity of the mill is something over 1 million feet 

daily. Six logs go through the mill every minute, and one day’s 

work will strip 60 acres of timberland.” According to the reporter, 

about 3,000 men were employed by Great Southern (Curtis 1973). 

The Great Southern Lumber Company 

sawmill in operation in the early 1900s. 

The stacks projected up from boilers 

where waste material was burned to 

provide power for the mill and city of 

Bogalusa. (photo from Louisiana State 

University Archives)
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 11

MILLIONS OF ACRES 

OF CUTOVER FORESTS

Fueled largely by out-of-State capital, the lumber boom 

dramatically changed the look of rural Louisiana. With a policy 

of “cut out and get out,” large sections of the State became 

“stumpscapes” of barren cutover land as mill owners moved on 

to yet another stand of virgin timber elsewhere in the country. 

In a relatively short period of time, some 4.3 million acres of 

Louisiana virgin timber was clear cut—a land area roughly the 

size of the State of New Jersey (Fricker, n.d.). In his dissertation 

“Lumbering in Southwest Louisiana”, George Stokes (1954) aptly 

concludes: “The rapidity with which big-time lumbering had 

entered Louisiana was matched by the speed of its departure.” 

The early to mid-1920s is generally given as the ending date for 

the great lumber boom in Louisiana—it is then when almost all 

of the big mills had run out of timber and closed down. The great 

lumber boom was over.

As the 20th century began, steam-powered logging and milling 

equipment had become very effi cient, and in 25 to 30 years most of 

the millions of acres of virgin pine forests had been harvested. Spur 

Louisiana map drawn in 1921 by State 

Forester R.D. Forbes providing data by 

parish on the acreage of both virgin 

timber and cutover land (Forbes 1921). 

(map courtesy of Louisiana Department 

of Conservation).
12 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

rail lines were quickly taken up and moved to the next cutting site. 

The combination of devastation from the use of steam-powered 

skidders and the belief that there was no benefi t in leaving small 

trees or seed trees resulted in barren cutover land. Millions of acres 

of cutover forests remained, and efforts to develop other uses of the 

land were generally unsuccessful. Lumbermen gave little thought 

to the potential of future forests because the trees being harvested 

were 150 to 200 years old—how could growing more trees be 

considered economical? Thus, millions of acres of cutover forests 

remained barren and tax delinquent. 

The Cutover Land Conference of the South (1917) was held 

in New Orleans, LA, to seek uses for the massive acreage of 

cutover forest land. Of 340 people registered, only four were 

foresters. Most were representatives of railroads, lumbermen, and 

specialists in all lines of agriculture. Although timber growing 

was recommended by some as a solution for the cutover land 

problem, the sentiment of the meeting was in favor of converting 

forest land for livestock grazing (Barnett 2011).

There was widespread condemnation of the lumbermen for 

stripping the land. In 1904, Gifford Pinchot of the Forest Service, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture stated, “It is evident that never 

before has forest destruction been so rapid as the present, that we 

have never been so near to exhaustion of our lumber supply and 

that vigorous measures have never been as urgently required as 

now” (Heyward 1958).

The commercial use of cutover land for 

farming was not successful, and the 

resinous nature of the stumps following 

harvest presented an additional 

problem. Decades later, the harvest 

of these pitch-laden stumps for naval 

stores products provided an income to 

landowners.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 13

THE BEGINNING OF 

REFORESTATION

It is both interesting and ironic that the prophet who began 

promoting reforestation of the cutover land came from a remote 

area in north Louisiana. Philip C. Wakeley is quoted as saying of 

Henry Hardtner, the visionary, “He had an old rattle trap mill 

and Urania, the town, was nothing to look at. ... Around Urania 

was the center of the Yale camp for years, and having started this 

program he utilized the full advice of Chapman and others of the 

Yale faculty. So, there was a nucleus, a focus of happy affection, so 

to speak, at Urania, dating back roughly to 1912” (Wakeley 1971).

The Influence of Henry E. Hardtner

How did the son of a German immigrant who settled in Pineville, 

LA, with a $1,000 investment in a small sawmill become known 

as the “father of forestry in the South?” Henry E. Hardtner 

bought a sawmill and a small amount of timberland in 1896. 

He named the site Urania—it was a “heavenly” place to him. 

The new operation built a railroad to the new stand of timber. 

Hardtner’s rail line—the Natchez, Urania and Ruston Railroad—

was a total length of 8 miles. But, Hardtner, a keen businessman, 

listed it on his mill letterhead. As a railroad president, he enjoyed 

pass privileges to other lines (Burns 1978). 

Hardtner had an innate curiosity of and love for trees. He once 

said, “I was born in the forests and have had a close association 

with them since childhood. What I know about them cannot be 

learned in schools or colleges. To me they are as humans and I 

know trees as I try to know men” (Blackwell 1964).

Although he bought a small tract of virgin timberland, 

Hardtner typically purchased cutover land that had some 

scattered old-growth trees and small understory pines. There was 

enough old growth remaining on the land to supply his small mill. 

He could buy this type of land for about $1 per acre. He became 

convinced that another merchantable crop could be grown in 

about 60 years. This belief, he expressed as early as 1905, ran 

Henry E. Hardtner. (photo from 

Southern Forest Heritage Museum 

Archives)

“I was born in the forests 

and have had a close 

association with them 

since childhood. What I 

know about them cannot 

be learned in schools or 

colleges. To me they are as 

humans and I know trees as 

I try to know men”

—Henry E. Hardtner
14 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

contrary to the beliefs of typical lumbermen, and he was ridiculed 

for his statements (Burns 1978).

Early forest management practices

On his land, Hardtner initiated some basic stand management 

practices. He instructed his timber cutters to watch for smaller 

trees, to leave all trees below 12 inches in diameter, and leave 

four seed trees per acre for natural regeneration. This was at a 

time when large lumber companies were clear cutting their lands 

with use of steam-powered skidders that destroyed all standing 

trees. He also initiated a primitive fi re protection system. Later, he 

began fencing young longleaf pine stands to protect them from the 

rooting of hogs. Annual burning of the woods and free-ranging 

hogs were found to be major problems in regenerating longleaf 

pine (Hardtner 1935). Hardtner was fortunate that his forests 

consisted of a signifi cant proportion of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) 

which is easier to regenerate naturally than longleaf pine.

Collaborative efforts

Hardtner, in addition to his study of forest conditions, read 

forestry literature and began in 1909 contacting the Forest 

Service in Washington for advice. At his request, the Chief of the 

Forest Service sent to Urania over a number of years the most 

knowledgeable forestry specialists in the country. The fi rst of 

these was W.R. Mattoon, a pioneer extension forester who in 

1913 drew up a preliminary plan for experiments in thinning 

and fi re protection. He was succeeded by Samuel T. Dana, who 

following Mattoon’s plan established a series of plots in 1915 

to evaluate fi re and thinning regimes (Blackwell 1964). These 

were the fi rst of their kind of research studies in the South (Kerr 

1958, Mattoon 1939). In addition, Austin Cary and W.W. Ashe 

were other early Forest Service pioneers who visited and advised 

Hardtner at Urania. It is interesting to note that they found 

Hardtner’s knowledge ahead of the professional understanding 

at the time. Subsequently, their involvement increased his 

professional reputation (Barnett 2011). 

Another important collaborative effort of Hardtner was 

establishing Urania as the site for the spring fi eld camp at Yale 

University School of Forestry. In 1917, his belief in research and 

education became the basis for locating the annual 3-month camp 

there. In 1921, Hardtner built a permanent location for the camp 

where it continued annually until 1942. Professor H.H. Chapman, 

who supervised and trained the camp students, conducted 

Henry E. Hardtner (right) with 

Carl A. Schenck who headed the 

Biltmore Forest School at Asheville, NC.

Hardtner initiated some 

basic standard 

management practices, 

as well as a primitive fi re 

protection system.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 15

research efforts with Hardtner which clarifi ed the role of fi re in 

longleaf pine management and established early growth and yield 

guidelines for southern pine species (Chapman 1939, 1947). 

When the Forest Service established the Southern Forest 

Experiment Station in New Orleans, LA in 1921, a branch offi ce 

was set up in Urania where valuable fi eld studies were conducted 

for years. The Federal foresters found him to be unusually 

approachable, genial, and receptive to new ideas. These traits led 

him to be showcased as an exemplary lumberman (Demmon 1935). 

Typical forest conditions on the Urania 

Forest. Scattered old-growth pines 

supported the mill while younger trees 

grew to harvest size. The size of the 

forest grew to over 100,000 acres. 

(photo from Southern Forest Heritage 

Museum Archives)
16 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

Hardtner became the leading advocate for reforestation in the 

South and spent a great deal of time studying reforestation and 

conservation in general. His brother, Q.T. Hardtner, was in charge 

of the sawmill operation (Demmon 1935). Henry Hardtner was 

responsible for Louisiana being one of the first Southern States to 

pass legislation encouraging the practice of forestry (Greeley 1951). 

He had a strong influence in getting other legislation enacted.

Contributions of Hardtner

In Forestry in the U.S. South: a History (Carter and others 

2015) describe Henry Hardtner’s contributions thusly:

It was not solely Hardtner’s successful demonstration of 

sustained-yield management of southern pine that earned him 

such a prominent place in the history of forestry in the South. 

He was a dynamic activist and advocate for forestry, tireless in 

his efforts to promote forestry among his fellow lumbermen, 

politicians, and the public. He had a hand in the passage in 1904 

of the first forestry legislation in Louisiana, providing for the 

establishment of a department of forestry, fire suppression, and 

forestry education. Unfortunately, no funds were appropriated to 

implement the provisions of the act. In 1908, he was appointed 

chairman of the first Louisiana Commission for the Conservation 

of Natural Resources. Two years later the commission released 

a comprehensive report which included a six-point forestry 

program recommending: (1) protection of cutover lands from 

fire, (2) prevention of wasteful logging and injury to young 

trees, (3) establishment of state forest reserves, (4) correction 

of the system of taxation on growing timber, (5) initiation of 

taxation on timber when cut, and (6) creation of a department 

of forestry staffed by professional foresters. It took several years 

for the Louisiana legislature to provide funds, but eventually 

the commission’s recommendations became the ‘cornerstone 

of forestry in the state.’ The earliest legislation based on these 

recommendations authorized reforestation contracts between 

the state and owners of cutover lands whereby the owners 

agreed to dedicate the land to growing timber and protect it 

from fire in return for an adjusted tax assessment. Hardtner 

signed the first contract with the state under the new law. 

Hardtner died in August 1935 in an auto-train collision while 

en route to the State capitol in Baton Rouge, LA, to argue his 

The legacy of Henry 

Hardtner to forestry 

is remarkable. As a 

lumberman he began to 

understand the potential 

for reforesting cutover 

lands. He promoted his 

ideas and used his forest 

land to demonstrate the 

sustainability of southern 

pine forests. 
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 17

case with Governor Huey P. Long’s administration, which was 

attempting to break the reforestation contract with his company.

Advocacy for reforestation

Urania became the mecca for those interested in learning 

the potential of reforestation. Visitors from all over the country 

came to Urania to talk to Hardtner. One of the most signifi cant 

visits was when the Great Southern Lumber Company’s general 

manager and Board of Directors came to Urania 1920. William 

H. Sullivan and his directors were so impressed with Hardtner’s 

results that they decided to establish a reforestation effort for 

their lands. They chose to reforest the vast area cut over by hand 

planting their Bogalusa operations, believing that waiting for 

natural pine regeneration as Hardtner had done would entail too 

much delay (Heyward 1958). However, other lumber industry 

executives in general believed that this project was entirely 

impractical, and many public foresters considered it purely a 

publicity stunt.

Hardtner’s legacy

The legacy of Henry Hardtner to forestry is remarkable. As a 

lumberman, he began to understand the potential for reforesting 

cutover lands. He promoted his ideas and used his forest land 

to demonstrate the sustainability of southern pine forests. In 

addition as a Louisiana state legislator, he led a program to 

provide tax relief for those wanting to reforest their land. He 

also led an effort to develop and introduce a timber severance 

tax that would provide for forest fi re protection programs across 

the State and fund the Louisiana Division of Forestry.

In the afternoon of April 27, 1939, all businesses and schools 

in Urania were closed for the dedication of a bronze plaque and 

stone tablet presented by the Society of American Foresters, Yale 

School of Forestry Alumni, and Hardtner family in memory of the 

life and achievements of Henry E. Hardtner. The inscription on the 

memorial briefl y summarizes his contributions (Chapman 1939):

HENRY E. HARDTNER

pioneer of southern forestry 

• Founded Urania Lumber Company, 1898. 

• Chairman, Louisiana Conservation Commission, 1908-1912.

• Author, Louisiana Reforestation Act, 1910.

• Sponsor, fi rst severance tax law in United States, 1910.

• Co-operation with U.S. Forest Service in research, 1913.

 A bronze plaque embedded in a stone 

tablet presented by the Society of 

American Foresters, Yale School of 

Forestry Alumni, and the Hardtner family 

in memory of the life and achievements 

of Henry E. Hardtner.
18 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

• Initiated reforestation on Urania forests, 1915.

• First permanent remeasured sample plots in South, 1915.

• Co-operated with Yale School of Forestry at Urania, 1917.

• Branch of Southern Forest Experiment Station est. 1921.

• Experiments in controlled burning for longleaf pine, 1928.

• An inspired leader in forest conservation.

• A courteous and beloved friend, 1871–1935. 

At the memorial service were many of the most infl uential 

foresters of the United States. Comments from a number of these 

were published in the 1939 volume of the Journal of Forestry. His 

accomplishments were many and his friendship was coveted. 

As an indication of the signifi cance of his contributions, 

in June 1934, the Urania Lumber Company became the fi rst 

company in the United States to be accredited for sustained yield 

forestry under the conservation provisions of the then lumber 

code (Demmon 1935). 

The Action of William H. Sullivan

When convinced that Henry Hardtner’s ideas on reforestation 

were sound, William H. Sullivan, the general manager of the 

Great Southern Lumber Company in Bogalusa, began an 

aggressive reforestation program. The company would use natural 

regeneration when possible, but also develop techniques to grow 

and plant southern pine seedlings. 

The Great Southern forestry operation began in the winter of 

1920-21 with full approval of the directors. Eight hundred acres 

were fenced, seed beds were prepared by plowing, and loblolly 

pine seeds were direct seeded. At the same time, fi re protection 

was established on 5,000 acres, and seed trees were marked to 

be left on the lands being logged. The portion of the saw-milling 

equipment which sawed small logs was shut down, and skidder 

crews were told to protect the remaining seed trees or get out of 

the woods (Garrison 1952).

The Great Southern Lumber Company

In 1905-06, Frank H. and Charles W. Goodyear, lumber 

barons from New York, purchased 300,000 acres of virgin 

longleaf pine timberland and in 1906 began building a mill 

and town. But, this was not a typical lumbering operation. The 

William H. Sullivan, general 

manager of the Great Southern 

Lumber Company. (photo from Louisiana 

State University Archives)
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 19

sawmill was built with steel and was meant to become the largest 

mill in the world—capable of processing a million board feet 

of lumber per day. The sawmill, log pond, and lumber stacks 

occupied nearly 200 acres. The log pond alone covered 27 acres. 

The powerhouse was equipped with 13 boilers, all fired with 

planer mill refuse. Here power was generated to run the sawmill 

and the paper mill, and furnish the needs of the city. 

When construction of the mill was completed in 1907, it was 

a magnificent structure. Paul M. Garrison, later chief forester for 

Great Southern and then the Gaylord Container Corporation, 

described it thusly in 1952: 

There was, of course, all the other equipment necessary 

to produce 1,000,000 board feet of lumber and timber in 24 

hours. Back of this were the forests, railroad, Shay and rod 

locomotives, log cars, Lidgerwood and Clyde skidders and 

McGiffert loaders to supply the raw material to satisfy this 

hunger monster. Here in Bogalusa was invested $15,000,000 

in forests, houses, and sawmill and logging equipment before 

one thin dime of revenue was taken out.

The town was also exceptional. Harvey Murdock, who had 

planned several real-estate developments on Long Island and in 

the environs of New York City, was engaged to draft plans for the 

city of Bogalusa (Goodyear 1950). The final draft of Murdock’s 

map showed three residential areas: (1) a business section; (2) 

plots for public buildings, such as a city hall, a hospital, and 

schools; and (3) several parks, the largest of which was to be 

called Goodyear Park. Bogue Lusa Creek divided the town site 

and was the basis for the town being named Bogalusa. To the 

south of the creek, the Company proposed to build 850 homes to 

be sold or rented to employees. 

From the onset, the sawmill town was planned to become a 

permanent city. Sullivan and the Goodyear brothers provided the 

needed infrastructure and amenities. Sullivan once stated: 

All my life, I’ve built sawmills and sawmill towns. I’ve 

come into virgin forests with my men and their wives and 

children. I’ve seen the young folks marry and have children 

of their own. I’ve seen them attending churches and schools 

I built. Then, even in the biggest operations, we’d come to 

the end of the cut. I’ve seen the whole town pulled up by the 

roots and moved. Worse, I’ve seen it stand empty, another 

When convinced that 

Henry Hardtner’s ideas on 

reforestation were sound, 

William H. Sullivan, the 

general manager of the 

Great Southern Lumber 

Company in Bogalusa, began 

an aggressive reforestation 

program. 
20 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

American ghost town. So, when I started building Bogalusa in 

1906, I swore by the Lord that it was going to be one sawmill 

town that would last—Quick,1946

To accomplish this, they soon began to seek to diversify its 

economy.

Attempts at diversification

The Great Southern Lumber Company began massing large 

quantities of cutover forest land and began efforts to fi nd uses 

for this land. With some misgivings, the Goodyear brothers 

tried to put a part of the cutover lands to use for farming 

and livestock production, but the land was not suitable for 

agricultural purposes and, too, hundreds of resinous stumps per 

acre needed to be removed. The livestock effort failed as well. 

Cattle did not do well on the cutover sites (Goodyear 1950).

In the late 1920s, Great Southern planted thousands of 

acres of tung plantations. The tung or tung-oil tree (Vernicia 

fordii) is native to central China. The oil from the nut had 

traditionally been used in lamps in China, but in modern times 

as an ingredient in paint, varnish, and caulk. It is also used 

as wood fi nish for furniture and other wooden products. The 

climate along the Gulf Coast seemed ideal for the species, and 

the company invested in plantations and the facilities needed to 

process the nuts for oil. But, freezing weather and hurricanes 

destroyed much of their plantations, and with increasing foreign 

The Bogalusa Commissary was built to 

provide merchandise for the citizens of 

Bogalusa. Privately owned businesses 

also provided supplies and materials 

to citizens. (photo from Louisiana State 

University Archives)
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 21

competition for producing the oil, this effort ended (Wikipedia 

2016). Although the trees are now occasionally used for 

landscaping purposes along the Gulf Coast, they are listed as an 

invasive species in Florida.

The Bogalusa Paper Company

In 1912, a pioneer paper mill, the Louisiana Fibre Board 

Company, was developed in Bogalusa by a group of investors 

from the Midwest. The mill was built to produce sulfi te pulp 

using waste material from the Great Southern Lumber Company 

sawmill. This effort was unsuccessful until it converted to the 

sulfate process, at which time it became quite profi table.

The Goodyear’s had investigated the development of a paper 

mill in the 1890’s and were anxious to convert more of their 

Bogalusa sawmill waste to profi t, so they engaged a consulting 

fi rm to explore the possibility of an additional paper mill in 

Bogalusa. The consultants concluded there was enough sawmill 

waste to manufacture nearly 800 tons of paper per day with a 

profi t of $20 per ton utilizing the sulfate process. As the result 

The Great Southern manager 

D.T. Cushing (left) and 

Lamont Rowland in a stand of 

one of the tung-oil plantations. (photo 

from Louisiana State University 

Archives)
22 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

of this report, a subsidiary, the Bogalusa Paper Company was 

formed and in October 1916, construction began on a mill to 

produce 100 tons per day of Kraft container board. Three years 

later, Bogalusa Paper Company acquired Louisiana Fibre Board, 

and Bogalusa became the most important paper manufacturing 

center in the South (Oden 1973).

Papermaking could assure the life of the company and the 

community once the Great Southern Lumber Company sawmill 

had exhausted the available supply of sawtimber, provided a source 

of raw material other than sawmill waste could be found.

Establishment of a reforestation program

In the fall of 1917, Great Southern became the fi rst forest 

products company in Louisiana to employ a professional forester 

when they hired Harry B. Krausz, a member of the Yale School of 

Forestry class of 1916 (Anon. 1917). According to the Yale Forest 

School News (1918a): 

... One of his [Krausz’s] chief jobs is to bring about the 

reforestation of the cut-over lands belonging to the company. 

Ten acres ... have been set aside for a nursery at the 

The Bogalusa Paper Company facility 

in the late 1920s. (photo from Louisiana 

State University Archives)
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 23

company’s farm. ... He is planning to use considerable slash 

pine. ... He plans to set out one year stock and carry the rest 

over for another year. ... Pine seedlings will be grown on a 

large scale to be furnished free to settlers in the region ... . 

The company is acting as a demonstrator in the farm forestry 

work carried on by the States Relations Service in co-operation 

with the Forest Service. ... In addition to his reforestation 

work Krausz has two fi re patrolmen ... and is also the proud 

possessor of a horse and saddle.

For unknown reasons, Krausz did not stay long in Bogalusa. By 

the summer of 1918, he was employed as a farm forestry specialist 

in North Carolina (Yale Forest School News 1918b). 

Great Southern’s reforestation plans appear to have been in 

limbo until 1920 when the president, A.C. Goodyear, general 

manager, Will Sullivan, and the entire board of directors of Great 

Southern visited Henry Hardtner at Urania, LA, where they 

acquired the information needed to modify the company’s logging 

and milling practices and justifi cation to begin a reforestation 

program. Upon returning to Bogalusa, Sullivan ordered that the 

use of the steam-powered skidders be changed so that smaller 

timber and seed trees were left to facilitate natural regeneration. 

However, the thousands of acres that had been cutover without 

leaving seed trees would have to be planted to establish a second 

crop. Sullivan anticipated that a second crop of trees would meet 

the future needs of the paper mill and hoped that trees would be 

large enough to supply the sawmill before all of the company’s 

old-growth timber was harvested. 

Once a decision was made by the company, lack of funding 

to carry out the proposed program was never a problem. To 

replace the departed Harry Krausz, Sullivan appointed J.T. “Jake” 

Johnson as forester and F.O. “Red” Bateman as ranger to carry 

out his plans. Neither had any forestry training or experience, 

but they served the company admirably. Johnson spent much of 

his time in public relations—convincing local residents about the 

need for fi re prevention. Bateman took the lead in developing 

reforestation techniques. Their efforts began in 1919-20. 

One early decision in 1920-21 was to begin leaving seed 

trees in their harvesting efforts and to take advantage of natural 

regeneration. In 1920, Bateman noted that a bumper crop of 

longleaf pine cones was in place in an area to be logged and 

obtained Sullivan’s permission to fence an area of 10,000 acres 

to protect it from hogs in order to obtain natural regeneration. 

F.O. (Red) Bateman contributed 

greatly to developing reforestation 

technology for southern pines. Here he is 

standing in a tung plantation. 
24 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

This effort was successful and became a beautiful stand of 10,000 

acres of longleaf pine—a great example of a modifi ed shelterwood 

regeneration system (Wakeley 1976). Outside of the fenced area, 

hogs had reduced the original catch of thousands of seedlings per 

acre to two or three seedlings per acre.

To increase their amount of reforested land to supply their 

papermill, Great Southern began buying naturally reseeded forest 

land. While the idea was opposed at fi rst—they had more than 

enough cutover land—the company eventually agreed to purchase 

additional land with young, established stands (DeKalb 1921). 

Eventually, 120,000 acres of naturally regenerated forest lands 

were purchased and protected from fi re (Garrison 1952).

By 1923, Bateman had nursery and planting techniques for 

loblolly and slash (Pinus elliottii) pines pretty well under control. 

He had worked out the essentials of the general practices still 

employed today—slit planting of bare-root seedlings grown at 

moderate seedbed densities in the nursery without shade. He 

developed a planting tool (or “dibble”) that is still used to plant pine 

seedlings. The 6- by 8-foot spacing he chose as most suitable and 

economical for southern pines was the almost universal standard 

throughout the South for decades. Before the Great Depression 

halted the planting operations in 1933, Bateman had planted 

12,700 acres of pine seedlings. With only one exception—the 

Biltmore Estate in North Carolina—there was no other successful 

southern pine plantation of more than 100 acres (Wakeley 1976).

The Great Southern reforestation program quickly gained 

signifi cant international recognition and numerous foreign visitors. 

An example was the visit of Dr. Tor Jonson of Sweden. He was 

at the time one of the world’s most knowledgeable and respected 

foresters. Wakeley commented, “I think that Red Bateman 

communicated with Jonson with greater understanding of forests 

than did most of the professional foresters” (Wakeley and Barnett 

2011). It is interesting to note that within 5 years after initiating a 

reforestation program, Great Southern was recognized as one of 

the world’s most progressive lumber companies and a pioneer in 

developing reforestation technology.

In 1928, Henry Hardtner wrote to Sullivan praising the Great 

Southern’s reforestation program (Southern Lumberman 1929). 

Hardtner wrote in part: 

I have watched with interest and enthusiasm the 

development and progress of reforestation at Bogalusa... . I 

knew the land in its naked, desolate state only a few decades 

Within 5 years after 

initiating a reforestation 

program, Great Southern 

was recognized as one of 

the world’s most progressive 

lumber companies and 

a pioneer in developing 

reforestation technology.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 25

ago, and now that same land... is covered with a mantle of 

green thrifty pine trees, growing rapidly and rearing their tops 

heavenward. Your success is beyond my greatest expectations, 

and your greatest diffi culties are over. You have done more real 

reforestation work than any other organization in America.

The combination of the harvest of the last of the virgin longleaf 

pine and the impeding effects of the Great Depression resulted in 

the ending to the reforestation program in 1933. Sullivan’s hope 

that second-growth forests could be grown to the size needed to 

continue to supply the sawmill did not occur—a gap of 10 to 12 

years remained. The Goodyear’s and Sullivan had sought a source 

for timber to maintain the operation of the mill until their forests 

could grow to meet their need. Sullivan (Southern Lumberman 

1928) in an address to his sales staff justifi ed the company’s effort 

to ship redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) timber from the west 

coast as: 

We found that between the time our standing timber was 

cut out and the new timber would be ready for the mill, there 

would be a lapse of 10 to 12 years, and what should we do to 

The group that met Tor Jonson at 

Bogalusa on September 15, 1925. From 

left to right, kneeling: R.D. Forbes, 

Director of the Southern Forest 

Experiment Station; Roy Hogue, State 

Forester of Mississippi; W.R. Hine, 

State Forester of Louisiana. Standing: 

J.K. Johnson, Great Southern; Norman 

Core, Louisiana Division of Forestry; 

Tor Jonson; Harry L. Baker, U.S. Forest 

Service; Mr. Johansson (interpreter); 

F.O. (Red) Bateman; and E.L. Demmon, 

who succeeded Forbes as Director of the 

Southern Station.
26 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

fi ll in these years and keep Bogalusa going? The Goodyears 

were willing to spend more money to accomplish this end and 

went west to look into redwood, in which our neighbors were 

interested, but lacked the money to go into it in a big way. 

We had it and today it is invested in this project in order that 

Bogalusa might live, in order that the Great Southern Lumber 

Company might continue to live... . 

It was soon found that the cost of transporting redwood logs 

by a fl eet of ships to be cut into lumber at Great Southern 

was an unprofi table venture. This problem was enhanced by 

the oncoming economic impact of the Great Depression. The 

redwood effort soon had to be abandoned (Garrison 1952). 

In early 1935, all of the then 472,000 acres of Great Southern 

lands, including their administration and management personnel 

were transferred to the Bogalusa Paper Company, and in 1936 the 

reforestation program resumed. In 1937, Robert Gaylord, Inc. and 

the Bogalusa Paper Company merged and the resulting company 

became the Gaylord Container Corporation (Garrison and 

The Great Southern Lumber Company 

sales staff gathered in Bogalusa in 

front of an early shipment of redwood 

logs from California.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 27

Bercaw 1953). Using their past experience as a guide in bringing 

cutover land back into production, the new directors agreed 

to continue an aggressive forest policy. The company has since 

changed ownership several times, but has always maintained its 

commitment to progressive and sustainable forestry practices.

Legacy of the Great Southern Lumber Company

In April 1938, the last log processed by the Great Southern 

Lumber Company was cut by sawyer Ben Sellers who had cut 

the fi rst log 30 years earlier. Seven months later, the company 

began liquidation (Goodyear 1950). Although the Great Southern 

Lumber Company ceased to exist almost 80 years ago, the forests 

it created continue to be productive today. Hardtner’s Urania 

Forest was deemed fi rst in having a sustainable forestry program. 

Great Southern achieved sustainable forestry status soon 

thereafter by developing both natural and artifi cial reforestation 

technology and applying it across their land ownership. Their 

paper mill provided a market for their growing amount of raw 

material. The forests developed by Great Southern remained 

sustainable through several different land ownerships and have 

fulfi lled DeKalb’s (Dekalb 1921) prediction that Great Southern 

was developing a “perpetual timber supply” that would become 

the basis for industrial permanency. 

It is notable that before its old-growth timber supply ended, 

Great Southern launched one of the fi rst, largest, and most 

successful forest restoration efforts in the country.

William H. Sullivan did not live to see the closure of his 

company—he died unexpectedly in January 1929. There was 

a great outpouring of sorrow for his death and pride of his 

accomplishments. Seldom has one individual made such an impact 

on a community, a business, a State, and left a legacy that has 

continued for over a century.

In 1954, the Gaylord Container Corporation, successor to the 

Great Southern Lumber Company, planted its 100 millionth pine 

seedling in 110,500 acres of plantations (Heyward 1963). This 

became the largest privately owned man-made forest in North 

America, and the fi rst planted forest of signifi cant extent to reach 

merchantable size. This forest is a lasting testimony to W.H. 

Sullivan’s vision and the energy and dedication to carry out his 

vision in a practical way. 

Photo taken in 1939 of slash pines 

which were hand planted in 1924-25. 

Paul M. Garrison, chief forester of 

Gaylord Container Corporation, stands 

in an area where 7 cords of pulpwood 

per acre have been thinned, leaving 

27 cords per acre (Goodyear 1950).
28 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

The Persistence of Philip C. Wakeley

Philip C. Wakeley, a native of New York and graduate from 

Cornell University, was recruited by the Forest Service, Southern 

Forest Experiment Station at New Orleans, LA in 1924. He was 

immediately assigned to Bogalusa to work in collaboration with 

the Great Southern Lumber Company’s reforestation program. 

Wakeley had the opportunity to work with Johnson and Bateman 

until Great Southern ended their reforestation program in 

1933. Wakeley considered Bateman to be one of the greatest 

silviculturists that the South has known. Thousands of acres of 

Great Southern’s second-growth longleaf, all their plantations, 

and in a real sense, most of the plantations in the South, stand as 

a monument of Bateman’s genius (Wakeley 1976).

When Philip C. Wakeley began his reforestation research 

at Bogalusa in 1924, the Southern Forest Experiment Station 

had been in existence for only 3 years, and the Station’s area 

of responsibility included all of the South’s Coastal Plain from 

east Texas to the Carolinas. Wakeley’s fi ndings, developed in 

collaboration with Great Southern, were then to be applied to the 

entire Southern Coastal Plain. He began an intensive collaborative 

effort to understand and develop southern pine seed collection and 

processing, seedling nursery culture, and planting technology. One 

of Wakeley’s responsibilities was to document and communicate 

this information to the general forestry community.

Collaboration with Great Southern Lumber Company

The results of Wakeley’s cooperative research with the Great 

Southern on nursery production spread to other organizations 

interested in reforestation. A number of forestry companies 

developed small nurseries to evaluate the potential for beginning 

reforestation efforts. In 1929, Wakeley decided to write a bulletin 

on the results of their seed, nursery, and planting research. 

He decided to visit nurseries in other organizations to gain a 

prospective from their nursery managers. The survey included six 

nurseries: Louisiana State University School of Forestry at Baton 

Rouge, Louisiana Division of Forestry at Woodworth, Industrial 

Lumber Company at Elizabeth, Long Bell Lumber Company at 

DeRidder, and the Texas Forest Service nurseries at Kirbyville and 

Conroe, TX (Wakeley and Barnett 2011). 

Philip Wakeley’s collaboration with Johnson and Bateman at 

the Great Southern Lumber Company ended in the early 1930s 

Photo of Philip C. Wakeley taken 

in the 1930s while working at the 

Stuart Nursery.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 29

with the advent of the Great Depression. During Wakeley’s 

association with Great Southern, he began developing information 

for seed collecting, processing, and treating; on seedling stock 

specifications; and a variety of nursery cultural treatments. With 

the demise of the Great Southern forestry program, Wakeley’s 

reforestation research program was moved to the Forest Service’s 

new Stuart Nursery at Pollock in central Louisiana.

Research Stuart Nursery

The Stuart Nursery was established in 1934 by the Kisatchie 

National Forest (KNF) in conjunction with the creation of the 

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Although KNF employees 

managed the nursery, nearby CCC camps with 200 young men 

each provided manpower for its operation and field planting 

(Barnett and Burns 2012). Nursery seedling production was about 

25 million annually with most of these seedlings shipped to CCC 

projects that had reforestation emphases. Wakeley’s research, now 

located at the nursery, took advantage of the CCC crews to apply 

a variety of nursery cultural practices and to establish outplanting 

studies. Over the 9-year duration of the CCC involvement 

and support, nearly three-quarters of a million tree seedlings 

were planted in research studies on the newly formed Palustris 

Experimental Forest (Barnett and others 2011).

By the end of the 1930s, Wakeley and his colleagues were 

able to publish guidelines for southern pine seed (Wakeley 1938a) 

and seedling production (Huberman 1938, Wakeley 1938b) and 

planting technology (Wakeley 1935). Early versions of these 

publications were used by the organizations using CCC crews 

to grow seedlings for reforestation projects. Most of these CCCrelated projects ended with the closure of the CCC program at the 

beginning of World War II. However, the availability of the CCC 

program provided an opportunity to field test seed, seedling, and 

planting research results and pioneer reforestation guidelines for 

southern pines. 

Planting the southern pines document

The technology developed at the Great Southern and Stuart 

nurseries facilitated the development of Wakeley’s southern 

pine seedling grade specifications and other cultural guidelines 

that were needed to successfully produce and plant seedlings. 

After World War II, Wakeley reviewed the forestry literature 

and analyzed all the research data from his studies. With 

this information he published his classic book, “Planting the 

Wakeley’s research took 

advantage of the CCC crews 

to apply a variety of nursery 

cultural practices and to 

establish outplanting studies.
30 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

Southern Pines” (Wakeley 1954). The document provided the 

information necessary to begin and conduct artifi cial regeneration 

programs across the South. It became one of the most referenced 

publications in the history of the Southern Forest Experiment 

Station. 

Initiation of forest tree improvement programs

In the “Planting the Southern Pines” publication, Wakeley 

reported on a study he installed at Bogalusa in 1926 that 

evaluated effects of four different seed sources on stand 

productivity. At 15 years in plantation age, the local source had 

produced more than twice as much pulpwood per acre as either 

of the two most distant sources (Wakeley 1944). In addition, 

conspicuous and economically important differences in resistance 

to disease appeared among the different sources.

Wakeley’s photographic documentation of the 1926 study 

results did much to infl uence foresters on the importance of seed 

source selection and led to the formation of the Southern Forest 

Tree Improvement Committee (SFTIC). One of the fi rst important 

undertakings of SFTIC was to establish the Southwide Pine Seed 

Source Study under his direction.

The Southwide Pine Seed Source Study was a gigantic 

undertaking. Thirty-three of the studies 57 plantations were 

established during the winter of 1952-1953. At each plantation 

site, seedlings of loblolly, shortleaf, slash, and longleaf pines, 

representing a wide geographic range of seed-collection sites, were 

planted (Wells and Wakeley 1966). The signifi cance of this study 

The Forest Service’s Stuart Nursery 

was built and operated by CCC crews 

with Kisatchie National Forest 

supervision. It produced 25 million 

seedlings annually to support the 

planting needs of the Forest Service 

sponsored camps in several States.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 31

can be understood by its description by leading forest pathologists 

who called it a “gift from the gods” (Wakeley and Barnett 2011). 

They recommended that the outplantings be followed to gain an 

understanding of the biology of insect and disease pests that could 

affect pine plantation performance.

Thus, Wakeley was not only responsible for the guidelines 

for reforesting the South’s pine forests, but his work also led to 

the southern pine tree improvement programs that have greatly 

increased the productivity of these forests and enhanced their 

sustainability. 

Carter and others (2015), paraphrasing Winston Churchill, 

said of Wakeley and his colleagues, “never in the history of 

forestry have so many benefi ted so much from the work of 

so few.” Although there have been many refi nements and 

improvements in southern pine nursery technology over the last 

century, the basic guidelines developed through the collaboration 

of Jake Johnson and Red Bateman of Great Southern with Phil 

Wakeley of the Southern Forest Experiment Station remain as the 

foundation for these practices.

The geographic results of Wakeley’s 

seed source study convinced many 

of the importance of seed selection 

and infl uenced the establishment of 

the much larger Southwide Pine Seed 

Source Study and development of major 

tree improvement programs.

Wakeley was not only 

responsible for the 

guidelines for reforesting the 

South’s pine forests, but his 

work also led to the southern 

pine tree improvement 

programs that have greatly 

increased the productivity of 

these forests and enhanced 

their sustainability.
32 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

THE SPREAD 

OF SUSTAINABLE 

FORESTRY

By the end of the third decade of the 20th century, the best and 

most accessible virgin stands of longleaf pine along the Gulf 

Coast States were gone. With the onset of the Great Depression, 

worldwide demand for lumber plummeted. Southern yellow pine 

lumber production reached its lowest point of the century in 1932. 

But the actions and accomplishments of Henry Hardtner, Phil 

Wakeley, and Will Sullivan were beginning to resonate across the 

region and across the country.

In the early 1920s, Congress enacted legislation to expand 

forestry research and to provide Federal assistance to States to 

provide forest fi re protection, build tree nurseries and provide 

seedlings for reforestation, and encourage landowners to practice 

forestry. States began to follow Hardtner’s persistence and 

Louisiana’s example by enacting seed tree laws to encourage 

natural regeneration, protecting forests from wildfi re and 

providing ad valorem tax relief to encourage landowners to 

practice forestry. Federal economic recovery programs such as the 

CCC followed techniques pioneered by Great Southern Lumber 

Company and refi ned and documented by Phil Wakeley and his 

associates, to build nurseries and plant millions of pine seedlings 

on cutover forest and abandoned farmland (Wakeley 1954). The 

Agricultural Conservation Program, Soil Conservation Service 

(now Natural Resources Conservation Service), and Forest Service 

in cooperation with State Foresters, Forest Extension Specialists, 

private industry, and consulting foresters brought education and 

assistance to thousands of private landowners resulting in many 

planting trees and practicing sustainable forestry.

The Bogalusa Paper Company and other fl edgling Kraft pulp 

and paper manufacturers were among the very few industries that 

continued to make a profi t and, in some cases, expand during the 

Great Depression. Most followed the Bogalusa Paper Company 

model, acquiring their own timberlands and practicing sustainable 

forestry to ensure their future supply of raw material.

Wakeley’s “Planting the Southern 

Pines” became the basis for the South’s 

reforestation programs following 

World War II.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 33

A “golden age of industrial Forestry in the South” began 

following the end of World War II. In 1953, with the postwar boom in full swing, the first nationwide scientific forest 

inventory was completed. It showed that there were about 88 

million acres of pine forest in the South, of which 3 million acres 

were plantations and the rest originated from natural seeding, a 

remarkable example of the resiliency of the ecosystem aided and 

abetted by the practice of forestry. By the end of the 20th century, 

the South was producing 60 percent of the total U.S. harvest of 

industrial roundwood. In 2007, nearly 18 billion board feet of 

southern yellow pine lumber was produced, the highest in history 

and nearly 2 billion board feet more than in 1909, the highest 

year of production during the “golden age of lumbering.”

As the 21st century began, decreasing demand and increasing 

global competition spawned widespread consolidation and 

disintegration of the pulp and paper industry. The Great 

Recession of 2008 disrupted the housing industry. Thus, the 

harvest of conventional forest products from the South’s forest 

has declined in recent years. However, the forest products 

industry remains a major driver of the economy of Louisiana 

and the region. In 2012, there were 14.9 million acres of forest 

in Louisiana, of which, about 85 percent was privately owned. 

Forestry in Louisiana was an $11 billion industry with forestryrelated employment accounting for 2 percent of all jobs in the 

State (Tanger 2014). Henry Hardtner, Will Sullivan, Phil Wakeley 

and those who followed in their footsteps would be justly proud.

The forest products 

industry remains a major 

driver of the economy of 

Louisiana and the region.
34 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

CONCLUSION

Longleaf Pine Forests 100 Years Later

The millions of acres of longleaf pine that once covered most of 

the Gulf Coastal Plain all but disappeared in a remarkably short 

period of the early 20th century. Man and nature working in 

harmony rapidly restored forests to the region, and by the end 

of the century sustainable new pine forests covered the entire 

Southern Coastal Plain. These forests continue to be a leading 

driver of the South’s economy. This is an amazing achievement 

and the Great Southern Lumber Company played a major role in 

this accomplishment. 

However, longleaf pine, once by far the dominant species, has 

been replaced by other pines in the restored forests. The botanical 

characteristics of longleaf pine, a reduction in wildfire, and the 

presence of hogs—domestic and feral—rendered longleaf far less 

competitive than loblolly and slash pine with which it shared 

most of its original range. Both loblolly and slash pine are more 

prolific seeders; produce smaller, more easily dispersed seed; have 

a high seedling survival rate; and initiate height growth the very 

first year. Neither loblolly nor slash seedlings are consumed by 

hogs which seem to consider the carrot-like tap root of longleaf a 

delicacy. 

Frequent burning gives longleaf a distinct advantage over 

other species of southern pine. Once past the cotyledon stage, 

a few weeks after germination, longleaf seedlings can tolerate 

repeated burning. Slash and especially loblolly seedlings are 

readily killed by surface fires until they are 8 to 10 years old. 

Apparently, ubiquitous burning of the forest by both Native 

Americans and European immigrants maintained longleaf as the 

dominant species of the southern pinelands. 

The 1953 forest survey found 88 million acres of pine forest 

in the South, 3 million acres of which were plantation and the rest 

derived from natural seeding. Of the total, 51.8 million acres were 

loblolly-shortleaf pine and 26.9 million acres were longleaf-slash 

pine (Oswalt and others 2014). There is little doubt that most of 

these acres were dominated by longleaf at the beginning of the 

20th century. 

Man and nature working in 

harmony rapidly restored 

forests to the region and 

by the end of the century 

sustainable new pine forests 

covered the entire Southern 

Coastal Plain.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 35

As plantation forestry accelerated during the second half 

of the 20th century, longleaf was seldom the species planted. 

Longleaf seeds are large; have thin seed coats; and are more 

diffi cult than other southern pine species to collect, process, and 

store while maintaining good seed viability. The lack of suffi cient 

quantities of quality seeds limited the amount of seedlings that 

could be produced. 

Longleaf pine plantation success is low with nursery-grown, 

bare-root seedlings. If seedlings must be stored and shipped, 

initial survival is especially poor. Hogs commonly destroy 

longleaf planting. They seemed to relish the succulent nurserygrown seedlings. 

Longleaf pine seedlings regenerated 

by direct seeding in the early 1960s 

(Barnett 2014). They have emerged from 

the grass stage and have begun active 

height growth.
36 THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH

Once planted, longleaf seedlings may remain in the so-called 

grass stage for several years before they begin height growth. 

Inadequate site preparation and lack of competition control after 

planting can prolong the grass stage. Lower survival and slow 

early growth invariably results in lower yield and lower return on 

investments in longleaf plantations than can be achieved by slash 

or loblolly pine. Even the Great Southern Lumber Company chose 

to plant slash or loblolly on lands where once grew magnificent 

stands of longleaf. During the second half of the 20th century, 

thousands of acres of second growth longleaf was harvested and 

replanted with slash or loblolly pine. 

Longleaf pine forests, which are reported to have occurred 

on about 90 million acres across the South, have been reduced 

to about 4 million acres and the longleaf ecosystem is considered 

endangered. There is hope, however, that the remaining acreage 

can be maintained and even expanded. 

Seed-related problems which limited the production of 

longleaf pine seedlings early in the 20th century have been 

overcome by research and improved technology (Barnett and 

McGilvray 2002). Sufficient quantities of quality longleaf seeds 

are now available to meet current needs.

Within the last two decades, production of longleaf pine 

seedlings has shifted from bare-root to container seedling 

nurseries (Barnett 2004). This new technology results in excellent 

field performance. Cost-sharing programs are now available 

to encourage the restoration of longleaf pine on private land. 

Agencies across the South are promoting the unique values of 

longleaf pine and encouraging its planting on appropriate sites. 

So, there is hope that this ecosystem will continue to expand, 

providing an economic asset as well as a recurring vision of the 

beautiful and inspiring forests that once covered so much of the 

South’s forested landscape.

There is hope that the 

longleaf pine ecosystem 

will continue to expand, 

providing an economic asset 

as well as a recurring vision 

of the beautiful and inspiring 

forests that once covered 

so much of the South’s 

forested landscape.
THE DAWN OF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IN THE SOUTH 37

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