![]() Loading cut timber (likely oak) for hauling to the center operated sawmill. ![]() Jerome Relocation Center, Denson, Arkansas. The wide-open, damaged land led to wildfires, destroying much of the remaining forest land and leaving Arkansas forests nearly completely devastated. Nearly 20 million acres of forest had been clear-cut. It is estimated that the lumber industry employed nearly 75 percent of all factory wage earners at the height of the industries’ reign in 1909.īy the late 1920s, many companies moved out and headed west and left behind the grim, scarred land. Lumber companies bought land, built short line railroads and began clear-cutting large tracts of land. In southern Arkansas, some of the logs were sold to the already booming sawmills located in Louisiana.Īrkansas Timber Industry – 1896, Photo by Library of Congress, Public DomainĪs the railroad slowly expanded across the state, lumber companies began to see forests as a means of great profit. The forest land comprising 95% of the state was initially cleared for farming and settlement, with lumber often used for building projects in blossoming towns and homes of settlers. In the 1800s, the vast amounts of forest land across Arkansas paved the way for a booming lumber industry. While oak holds the prize for being the most prolific, the pine tree, which officially became the state tree in 1939, plays a particularly important role in the economy and physical makeup of The Natural State. As the official state tree of Arkansas, the pine stands proud alongside the nearly 12 billion trees that cover over half the land in the state.
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