Forestry Sciences Lab in Mercer County (Images of America)

Archer, William R Bill

ISBN 10: 1540246191 / ISBN 13: 9781540246196

Published by Arcadia Pub (Sc), 2021

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9781540246196

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Forestry Sciences Lab in Mercer County (Images of America)
• Publisher: Arcadia Pub (Sc)
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1540246191
• ISBN 13: 9781540246196
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

John F. Kennedy was profoundly moved by the tragedy of generational poverty after touring southernmost West Virginia during his presidential campaign. Six months after his election in 1961, President Kennedy established the President's Appalachian Regional Commission with the governors of all eight Appalachian Mountain states. On October 12, 1961, the Mercer County Commission joined forces with the president and the US Forest Service to donate a portion of the former Mercer County Poor Farm to develop the nation's first Forestry Sciences Laboratory. President Kennedy selected well-known forester Frank Longwood as director, and Longwood assembled a group of forest scientists who were dedicated to the task of restoring and marketing the Appalachian hardwood forest. With the same dedication that rocket scientists applied to fulfill Kennedy's dream of sending an American to the moon and back, timber scientists restored and marketed the great Appalachian hardwood forest. The US Forest Service left the site in 2016 but worked with the Mercer County Commission, the US General Services Administration, and the National Park Service's Historic Surplus Properties program to establish a site dedicated to history and public service.