| 1975 DNR Trail Map Photos Images donated by Cathy Cooper |
| HISTORY 1870 First timber claims in what would become Capitol Forest. 1880 A Utopian society from Brooklyn, New York takes up residence in the forest. Most of the members do not last past the first winter. 1880-1890's Start of logging in the forests of the Black Hills. 1889 Washington becomes the 42nd state, and Congress grants it 5,000 acres in the area that would become Capitol Forest. 1898 Start of logging camp that would become the town of Bordeaux. 1902 Devastating forest fires. 1906-1940 The forest is harvested by railroad logging companies. More than 80 percent of the forest is logged; some major forest fires burn and re burn over part of the Black Hills. Over 100 miles of railroads were built through out the Black Hills. Many rail beds later became trails and roads that are still used today. 1920-1930's Logging town of Bordeaux, in what is now Capitol Forest has a population of 300-500. 1933 With support from foresters, the Legislature acts to assure the long-term timber supply, and starts what would become Capitol State Forest by authorizing: Purchase of 52,000 acres of logged, burned-over land for 50 cents per acre. Transfer of suitable, tax-defaulted lands from the counties to the state Forest Board, to be managed FOREVER as commercial forest. 14,000 acres are eventually transferred. 1941 Bordeaux becomes a ghost town. 1938-1942 Civilian Conservation Corps plants 7 million seedlings in Capitol Forest from Wedekind Planting Camp. The public is kept out of Capitol Forest to prevent devastating wildfires. 1955 Capitol Forest opens for public recreation and other uses, provided they do not conflict with meeting the needs of the resources and the trusts. 1956 Cedar Creek Corrections Camp is created. Inmates help in forest management, planting thinning, fighting forest fires and trail maintenance. 1957 Forest management continues under the newly created Department of Natural resources. 1960 First commercial thinning of forest to promote a healthier forest. 1970 15,000 acres added to the forest. 1980 Capitol Forest becomes the first block of state land in Washington to have its own sustainable harvest described and regulated under a forest plan. 1989 10,000 acres added to the forest. 1996 Since 1980 forest timber has increased 1 billion board feet. 1997-1999 Scientific studies of ecological relationships, harvest patterns, aesthetics, economics, and forest stand growth are begun in the forest. Information from the studies will help DNR develop a new plan to manage Capitol Forest. 2000 DNR maps historic sites in Capitol Forest to protect remnants of its heritage. 2004 Historical video Austin Hildreth and Jim Graham out for a bike ride with big southeast views from low C-7000 no longer visible due to the healthy and rapidly growing reprod Douglas Fir. More Historical Videos Here. |
| CAPITOL FOREST...the Forest that Came Back (122mb) 1975 DNR Published Capitol Forest History File Donated by Dale Van Kirk |
| Capitol Forest History |
| Photo by Derek Pearson |
