The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1948-04-22

rett Of Baltimore, to give to the state
approximately 1000 acres of forest
! land in Garrett County. provided an
agency be created to administer it,,
led to the establishment in 1906 OF
the old State Department of Forestry,
which later became the Department of
State Forests and Parks. This event
also marked the beginning OF an or
ganized movement to increase the
productivity Of Maryland's forests.
The present forest area of Garrett
! County is estimated at almost 100000
acres, or about II per cent Of the
total wooded area of the State. With
70 per cent of its land surface in
forests, Garrett has by far the largest
woodland area Of any county in Mary
land A high proportion Of all the
land in the county which is suitable
for growing trees and which is not
devoted to some other use, is now
covered with some kind Of forest
growth.
Despite the fact that nearly 60 per
cent Of the acreage Of all State forests
is concentrated in Garrett County, the
ownership Of its extensive forest area
is very unevenly divided between the
State and private interests. About
22S,000 acres Of timberland. or over
three-fourths Of the total, is in the
hands of private owners. Around "A,
600 acres are included in farm wood
lots, while the remaining $4,000
acres consist chiefly of large tracts
held by mining and lumber companies.
The three State forests in Garrett
County Savage River, Potomac, and
Swallow Falls-have an aggregate
area of 7O,7O7 acres. The former con
tains 51,517 acres, and the latter two
embrace 12.O57 acres and 1888 acres,
respectively.
The latest reports Of the L. s.
Census Bureau reveal that Garrett
County is still very important
source of forest products. These
records disclose that the 81 active
mills in the county in 1914 cut a total
of 1S,5O5,0 board feet Of lumber,
about 80 per cent Of which was saWed
from hardwood trees. Garrett is the
outstanding county Of the State in the
production of hardwood lumber, con-
tributing nearly a third Of the total
cut in 1914. The volume Of its lumber
output in that year was exceeded only
by that for Worcester County, Mary
lands leading producer Of softwood
timber.
Among the other principal products
obtained from the forests of Garrett
County are mine props, mine ties.
railroad ties, fence posts, pulpwood
maple products, and fuelwood. The
local coal mines require considerable
quantities Of props and ties. while the
large paper mill at Luke, in Allegany
County, provides a ready market for
all the pulpwood produced in that vi
cinity. The county's secondary forest
industries formerly supplied sub
stantial amounts Of lath, shingles,
cooperage stock, tanbark, and char
coal.
Although the heavy drain on the
county's timber reserves during the
wartime period undoubtedly exceeded
the annual rate Of growth, the outlook
for its forest industries is generally
encouraging. The possibility of dam
age by fire, the worst enemy Of the
forest, has been greatly lessened by
the fire-fighting and fire prevention
activities Of the Department Of State
Forests and Parks. The existence Of
large, continuous tracts of timber
simplifies the problems Of manage
ment, while the lack Of competitive
uses for much of the land is prompt
ing more and more of the owners to
take better care of their forest prop
critics. The control of fire and the
widespread adoption of better forest
ny practices will eventually enable the
forests to approach their former high
levels of productivity.
Mineral Resources
The chief source of mineral wealth
in Garrett County consists of its ex-
tensive reserves of high-grade semi
btuminous coal. Fire clay ranks next
in Importance, followed in order by
limestone and sandstone. Deposits Of
carbonate iron ore are found at sever
al places, and many years ago they
provided the basis for a local iron
Industry in the vicinity of Friends
vile.
About half of the county is under
lain with coal-bearing formations.
These occur in five well-defined
synclinal areas, or basins, which are
known as the Georges Creek, the
Upper Potomac, the Upper Youghio-
gheny, the Lower Youghiogheny, and
the Casselman Basins The western
part of the Georges Creek Basin and
the entire Maryland portions of the
other four basins are located in Gar
rett County.
The States early coal-mining ac-
tivities were confined exclusively to