150 



CONDITIONS BY COUNTIES. 



Present Forest Conditions. 



The forests that remain in the county lie in an irregular 

 semicircle on the north, east and west of the rich and. highly 

 improved limestone lands of the central plateau region. There 

 are now approximately 140,000 acres of virgin forest and 105,000 

 acres of cut-over forest. The largest areas of both virgin and 

 cut-over forests lie on the waters of Meadow and Cherry rivers 

 in the north and northwest and on the western slope of the Al- 

 leghany mountains east of the Greenbrier river. 



Most of the land now in forest is unfit for agriculture and 

 will be vastly more profitable to the citizens of this and other 

 counties if left in its present condition, or preferably in a con- 

 dition that will result from a careful protection of the forests 

 against fires and wasteful methods of lumbering. 



HAMPSHIRE COUNTY. 



Location and Area. 



Hampshire, the oldest county in West Virginia, was formed 

 in 1754. At that time the outlines of the area were not definitely 

 defined but included most of the South Branch valley and an 

 indefinite boundary to the west. The area was reduced in 1785 

 by the formation of Hardy county, which then included Grant 

 and a portion of Pendleton ; in 1820 when Morgan county was 

 formed ; and again in 1866 by the formation of Mineral county. 

 Hampshire touches Morgan county on the northeast, Maryland 

 on the north, Virginia on the east and is bounded on the south 

 west and north by Hardy and Mineral counties. Its area is 662 

 square miles or 423,680 acres. 



Topography. 



The principal mountains of the county are Mill Creek moun- 

 tain, South Branch mountain, Short mountain, Sandy Kidge, 

 Great North mountain and Cacapon mountain. The main trend 



