By Michael A. Pfeiffer, Big Piney Ranger District, OSF National Forest

In 1928, the Ozark National Forest began construction on a small 1 acre nursery at Fairview in southern Newton County.  Difficulties in developing a source of water necessitated giving up this area and in the fall of 1929, a new site was located (Brian, Phillip H., 1931:1). This would be land leased from Arkansas Tech to the Northeast of Campus.  At that time State Highway 7 was El Paso street.

“As a final event related to the Tech farm, the board leased one acre of ground to the United States Department of Agriculture in the fall of 1929 for a tree nursery on which pines and some hardwoods were to be grown for the Ozark National Forest.”  At first, the nursery had a capacity of 200,000 seedlings.  The buildings and equipment installed included a nursery warehouse, a seed extractor for removing pine seed from the cones, a fanning mill to clean the seed and a sprinkling system to water the seedlings.  A little over a year later in March of 1931, the Ozark national Forest leased a total of 3.87 acres of Tech land for $100.00 a year to increase its production to one million seedlings a year, with the provision that the operation would also serve as a college laboratory for plant propagation. (Walker, Kenneth R., 1992:64-65)

“At the Ozark Nursery located on the Arkansas Polytechnic farm it is suggested that the labor be obtained from the male students who reside there.  The boys are all anxious to work and from their past records on fire suppression work are entirely satisfactory.  There are always sufficient boys in the summer months who are taking a summer course at the school to supply our labor needs at the nursery.  It is recommended that we use the Tech. Boys for our nursery labor at the Ozark Nursery.” (Brian, Phillip H., 1930:8).

“The original lease was for 1.08 acres and increased to 18.12 acres by 1937.  In January 1949, some of the forestry buildings constructed on this land were not being used, and the Ozark Forest was not planning to operate the nursery in the future.  In view of this, the board asked the forest service to transfer title of these unused buildings to Arkansas Tech at no cost.  However, the forestry service wanted to advertise these surplus buildings for sale.  Within a year or two, however, Tech acquired most of these buildings at no cost, and in may of 1952, Arkansas Tech entered into a new leasing agreement with the Ozark National Forest covering 1.7 acres of land. (Walker, Kenneth R., 1992:154)

The buildings of the forestry service located on the college campus (and leased to the U.S. Department of Agriculture) consisted of an office, a cold storage area, a drying kiln, a threshing and cleaning building, a tool hose, repair shops for motor equipment, and a motor pool for the Ozark National Forest. (Walker, Kenneth R., 1992:179)

In July of 1950, Tech acquired two surplus forestry service buildings on the campus from the Ozark National Forest.  The forestry service had wanted to advertise these buildings for sale, but Tech asked for time to complete the transfer of these buildings to Tech without sale.  This was finally accomplished with Tech only paying a nominal transfer fee.” (Walker, Kenneth R., 1992:186)

By March of 1934, this nursery had become the largest producer of short-leaf yellow pine seedlings in the United States.  At that time, it was producing approximately 2,000,000 pine seedlings.  These seedlings were sent out to various forests (including the Ozark, Ouachita, and others in Mississippi) in bundles of 4,000 seedlings to replace trees that had been cut.

“Because the forestry nursery was receiving so many orders for seedlings, the Ozark forestry service added more acres (with Tech's acquiescence) to the nursery.  By November of 1934, the forestry plant and nursery comprised 40 acres of Tech land.  By 1935, the nursery had the capacity to produce 4,000,000 seedlings annually and by 1937 6,000,000.  However after 1937, the demand for seedlings receded somewhat and production of seedlings was stabilized at 3,500,000 plants annually.” (Walker, Kenneth R., 1992:225)

The old Ozark National Forest Nursery complex appears to lie on the high line of ground now under the Corley Building and the parking lot to its immediate west.  That would currently be between North El Paso and North Boulder Streets, and north of West O Street.  It may have extended as far east as the Jones Residence Hall. It has been recorded as an historical archaeological site with the Arkansas Archeological Survey as 3PP0889.

The Ozark nursery supplied many seedlings for the Shiloh Civilian Conservation Corp Camp operated by the Soil Conservation Service.  That camp is located just north of Inter-State 40 and east of State Highway 7.