The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1919-12-18
THE STATE FOREST RESERVES
OF GARRETT COUNTY, MD.
They Total $3.50 Acres and Make
Public Playground For All.


Gus State Forest Reserves of Mary
land and within the covers of the little
booklet there is description of the
States public playground of more
than two thousand acres which is To-
Gated in Garrett county and within
easy distance of Oakland. The book
let is illustrated and contains superb
views of various scenes in the Garrett
county reserve. Being unable to OBJ
tain the illustrations since the de-
struction by fire of the records of the
Forestry service when Mccoy Hall,
Baltimore, was obliterated by flames,
The Republican presents to it's readers
today what Forester Besley has writ
ten in his little booklet with refer
ence to the Garrett county reserve:
"In the county of Garrett, the State
of Maryland has four reserves. In
1906, Robert and John W. Garrett
gave to the State, in three tracts,
nearly 1000 acres of mountain forest
land for public use as a reserve. It
was a valuable gift, but it was made
conditionally and wisely. The condi-
ton was that there should be formed
State Board of Forestry to have the
work of protecting, improving and
caring not only for the lands, but for
all forest lands inside the State. This
was done, and the areas, two close to-
gether, one trifie further off, be-
came the property of the public, set
aside for the public's use. One is
now known as the Skipnish Reserve;
the second, near it, as the Swallow
Falls; the third as the Kindness Re-
serve. They contain respectively 1888.
1923 and 206 acres.
That is not all. In 1917, Messrs.
Henry and Julian Leroy White donat-
ed to the State for public enjoyment
their Garrett County estate. liar
rington Manor" To this was added,
by purchase, a desirable located block
Of 81 acres more. By its location it
joins the State Reserves of Harring-
Manner and Swallow Falls. The Man
or Reserve lies along Harrington
Creek, four miles north west of Oak
land nea r the Oakland GAINESVILLE
road, and bordering the Hutton
Switch road. 1t consists of CSC acres,
OF which 400 are woodland, largely
virgin hardwoods, 1876 acres glade pas
ture land, and 100 acres cleared. On
the latter are a substantial home stead
and other buildings. The newer Re-
serves just touches the Swallow Falls
Reserve, and is but one and one-half
miles north of Kindness. making all
four OF the Garrett county properties
closely connected group of access
slble, attractive, free-use lands. Thev
totle $3.50 acres and make a public
playground whose advantages are as
great as the means for ENJOYING them
are moderate.
mat no more people have not seen
them IS not so strange, for they are
not part of thickly peopled district
Recently, however, with the acoui-
sition of the new Patapsco State Re-
serve, the Maryland Board of For
estry, IN whose charge these lands are
placed, became convinced that if the
people of Maryland had a better un-
derstandlng of how to enjoy the five
large forest parks within their reach
the knowledge would stand them in
good stead when it came to the invest
ing OF vacation which might be
spent on any part of several thousand
acres offered free for use and readily
and cheaply accessible from any point
Since the greater number of va
catlonlsts come from Baltimore, that
city Is taken for purposes of illustra-
ton. Though to many the nearness
OF the Patapsco is a deciding factor.
the other reserves are not so remote
as to place them out of easy reach
OF any portion of the State. Located
IN Garrett County, in the higher al
tltudes of Western Maryland, the
Skipnish, Swallow Falls, and Harring-
ton Manor Reserves will appeal to
those who like their vacations seas
oned with little wild life, dash of
the woods and the mountains, and
Wlthal a vivifying atmosphere.
1t IS IN Garrett County that the
highest altitude of the Allegany Noun
tains in Maryland are reached. Al
nlne-mile plateau tops the Summit
between Altamont and Oakland. and if
is on this plateau that is located the
famous Deer Park Hotel, with its
charming forest reserve of over 800
acres, and Mountain Lake Park. a
famous Chautauqua gathering-place.
These two resourts are only three
miles apart, and Oakland, three miles
farther west, is the getting-off place
for the State Reserves. These places