Evening star., 1927-10-23
VIRGIN WOODLAND
SPARED FROM AK
Part of Penn's Great Forest
Still Stands Untouched
in Pennsylvania.

: ouire both as a recreation ground and
as a watershed in controlling floods
on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers,
lies a tract of growing timber which
is the same today as when the In
tiians and wild animals roamed
through il long before white men set.
tied in northwestern Pennsylvania.
This beautiful piece of virgin forest.
once a part of Penn's Woods--the
great territory which William Penn
purchased from the Tndians-nowa-
Gavs is called Heart s Content" a
name which those who know it say is
eminently appropriate.
Assistant Forester T.. F. Kneipp of
the United States Forest Service has
visited and inspected Hearts Con-
tent" He said yesterd y that it is
one of only two examples of virgin
white pine and hemlock woods re-
manning of all the once vast timber
lands of the Eastern part OF the
United States.
Forest Long Protected.
One of the most interesting things
about Hearts Content" is that it is
owned today by two families. whose
= members have been associ2 ed in the
lumber business in three Eastern
States almost f. OH the beginning OF
that industry in this country. Long
before the Federal Government en-
tered upon its present policy of ac
quirinS forests and protecting them
against fire and other forms of de
sfruction. the owners of Hearts
Content" had adopted, of their own
accord, a system of fire protection IN
connection with their timber cutting
NanI sawmill business. They were
pioneers in forest protection and
scientific numbering.
Although their business was to cut
down trees and convert them into use
full products Of manufacture. the
. Wheelers and Dusenburys became
convinced more than 80 years ago OF
the Importance to the Nation, as well
as t. their own business, Of properly
protecting forests and using them in
systematic manner, calculated u
permit reforestration and an lndeh'
mite prolongation of the lumber in
dustry. The system they inaugurated
( is now recognized throughout the land
as essential to the preservation, for
many reasons, of at least part OF
, that vast forest which once covered
so much of the great region between
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Moved 10 new 1Ofk.
= Three generatio of Wheelers and
Z four generations of DuSenburys have
Z been associated in the lumber busi-
ness. The firm name today is the
/ wheeler & Dusenbury Co. They be-
I gan their cutting and sawmill oper-
tions four generations ago in the
Z Maine woods. For many years they
conducted their operations in the Pine
GlnnnCp6
that they had "cut out" all their
&timber there they moved to New
York State and set up their lumber
business. Both families grew in
wealth and prominence. One of their
number, Nelson Platt Wheeler, who
was afterward a member of the ma
s.tional House of Representatives from
Pennsylvania, was born in Portviile,
IN. Y, in 1841. His son, n. p.
Wheeler, of Endeavor. : a., is the
present head of the company.
y. Again coming to the conclusion that
they had "cut out" all of the valuable
timber from their New York holdings.
they began to look around for new
forests to acquire. The grandfather
of tho present head of the business
rode on horseback from New York
State into northwestern Pennsyl'
vania and located a tract of fine white
pine and hemlock. interspersed with
hardwood trees. The company bought
as 900 acres of this land and moved
its headquarters into Pennsylvania.
There, within the borders of this
tract, was developed the fine little
logging town of Endeavor.
Reforestration Started.
Year after year the Wheelers and
Dusenburys shipped enormous guam
titles of white pine and hemlock to
the Eastern markets. Most OF 1t was
RATED down the Allegheny River to
Pittsburgh in the early days. They
developed a great sawmill and general
lumber industry in the town, where
today there are So manufacturing
plants using lumber. IT was that same
Wheeler who had ridden on horse
hack into the new res :on, who soon
came to realize the Importance of pro-
tecting the new holdings from fire and
planning for reforestration, by allow
ing Young trees a chance 10 grow on
the cut-over land.
The policy inaugurated so early has
: been developed by the later genera
.tions Of Wheelers and Dusenburys. For
10 wears they have had a technical.
drained forester in charge of their
cutting operations and system or pro-
lection.
"They are practicing as practical a
kind OF forestry" said Mr.. knelpp,
s'as is consistent with economic condl-
tions. OF course. the standing white
;pine and hemlock has been greatly
diminished. Today about 900 acres
of the virgin timber are left in War
ron County. and this is the tract
4, Hart g Content '
1T lies on the main highway from
Pittsburgh to New York State. along
which upward of 100,0 persons travel
annually. IT is a very charming sec
ton. Of great recreational value" ="
Mr.. Kneipp said that the only other
tract OF virgin white pine and hem
lock timber in the East is TO be found
q few miles south of Hearts Con
Tent" also in Pennsylvania. It is
known as the Cook Forest Steps
have already been taken by the State
aof Pennsylvania TO acquire il for a
State forest.
Chestnut disappearing.
An investigation Of the trees in the
EHeart's Content" tract shows that 1t
contains white. pine. hemlock, beech,
birch. maple. cherry. ash, cucumber,
chestnut, red oak. white oak and hick-
ory. The chestnut trees, however.
have nearly disappeared. 1t was in
this part Of the country that the
chestnut bl' 2ht began its ravagcs
upon these beautiful and valuable
trees. Spreading South. it attacked
chestnut trees in Maryland. Virginia
and States farther South Nearly all
of the old chestnut trees in Maryland
and Virginia in the vicinity Of Wash
incton have been killed by il,
! The white pine trees in Heart $
Content" range in diameter from 10
10 a. inches, breast high. very few Of
them being under - inches in diam
eter. while their height ranges from
so to l-0 feet The hemlock IA angcs
from 10 Ia 40 inches IN diameter and
from 20 to 120 feet I'm height. The
bardvo9ds range from 10 10 SO inches