Early Use of the Southern Forest 
The South’s “‘first forest’’ stretched from the Atlantic Coast 
to the plains of central Texas and Oklahoma. The forest was 
as rich in variety as in extent. There were longleaf and 
slash pine on the Coastal Plain; loblolly and shortleaf pine 
and oak on the Piedmont; oak, hickory, and chestnut in the 
mountains; and oak, gum, and cypress in the bottomlands. 
From the time of the first settlements in the South, the for- 
ests provided timber for home building and many other 
uses, a place for grazing livestock, and habitat for game. In 
colonial days, pine lumber produced by hand and in small 
water-powered mills, together with cypress lumber and 
shingles, were used for most local construction, as well 
as for limited exports from the region. Barrels and casks 
provided a means of transport of tobacco and other agri- 
cultural products. The naval stores industry furnished 
turpentine and rosin for the navies of Britain, the United 
States, and other countries. Shipbuilding and construction 
of port facilities rounded out the early commercial uses of 
both pine and hardwood timber. In addition, cutting timber 
for fuel represented a major use of southern forests. 
As migrating settlers pushed inland from the coast, they 
cleared considerable portions of the southern forest for crops 
and pastures, towns, roads, and other uses. By 1860, some 
43 percent of the total land area of the South was reported 
to be in farms. A substantial part of the land in farm hold- 
ings remained in forest, however, and both the original 
stands and subsequent regrowth of younger stands became 
a source of timber for the forest products industries. Since 
colonial times, farmers have also used forests, whether 
owned or not, for grazing livestock, with annual burning to 
improve forage a widespread practice. 
With continued expansion of settlement and the harvest of 
timber, the area of cropland and pasture continued to in- 
crease, reaching a peak around 1920. Thereafter, with the 
spread of the boll weevil and the agricultural depression of 
the early 1920’s, large areas of cropland and pasture be- 
came idle. In areas such as the Piedmont, cultivation led 
to severe erosion and additional cropland abandonment. Dur- 
ing the hard times of the 1930’s Depression and for a pe- 
riod after World War II, additional areas of croplands and 
pasture were left idle. A factor contributing to land aban- 
donment was Federal reclamation programs that irrigated 
western lands, which then grew cotton and other products 
in competition with southern agriculture. 
In time it also became clear that much of the soil in the 
South was not well suited for farming. Soils in the Coastal 
Plain and Piedmont are mostly strongly leached, rich in iron 
and aluminum oxide but deficient in many of the nutrients 
essential for the production of field crops. Most of the 
mountain areas are also unsuited for field crops. But these 
soils are suitable for growing trees, especially in the Coastal 
Plain and the Piedmont and in the valleys and coves of the 
mountains. Loess soil areas of the Mississippi Valley and 
bottomlands along the major streams have better soils for 
crops. However, because of wetness and periodic flooding, 
part of the bottomlands is also suitable only for growing 
trees. 
Because of uncontrolled fires and the lack of forestry pro- 
grams, only part of the cutover and idle cropland and pas- 
ture came back to forests. Trees did regenerate in many 
areas, however, and the early 1900’s marked the beginning 
of what became the South’s second forest—the forest that 
supplied the wood for the expansion of the pulp and paper 
industry in the 1930’s through the 1960’s. 
As the second forest was developing, a number of changes 
were taking place that had major impacts on the forest 
situation. Growing concern among forest industry and 
government leaders about timber supplies and the lack of 
regeneration of large areas of cutover and idle croplands 
and pasture led to (1) the development of programs of fire 
protection, technical and financial assistance, research, 
and education; and (2) the establishment of managed 
forests owned by the public sector, forest industry, and 
other private firms and individuals. Fire protection and 
the educational programs associated with fire prevention 
were particularly effective, and a large part of the cutover 
and idle cropland and pasture regenerated naturally to pine 
and mixed pine—hardwood stands. Research that led to ways 
to protect and regenerate forests and utilize southern pine 
timber for woodpulp and plywood also had major impacts 
on the resource and forest industries. 
These same forces continued to affect the timber situation 
for several decades. The programs of protection, technical 
and financial assistance, research, education, and manage- 
ment expanded, sometimes rapidly, from the 1940’s through 
the late 1970’s. The area of land used for crops and pas- 
ture continued to drop through the 1950’s, sometimes at 
rapid rates, and much of the area regenerated naturally. 
