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1785 -Treaty of Hopewell
The Treaty is negotiated in General Andrew Pickens’ front yard. His plantation becomes known as Hopewell Plantation.
1789 -Pendleton County is established
Pendleton County contains the lands of the present day counties of Oconee, Pickens and Anderson.
1800 - Transportation lines are established.
Wagon roads followed Native American paths. The remnants of the old stage road named the Keowee Trail are located within the Experimental Forest.
April 6, 1888, - Thomas Green Clemson dies.
In his will, Thomas Green Clemson, gives $80,000 and Fort Hill Plantation to South Carolina for the establishment of Clemson College.
1889 - Governor Richardson signed the bill accepting Thomas Clemson's gift
By Governr Richardson's signing og the bill, the Clemson Agricultural College was established. The trustees of the College became custodians of the Morrill Act which set the framework for the establishment and operation of the Clemson Experimental Forest.
1893 -Clemson College opens.
1860 to 1930 -Cotton dominanted agricultural crop
Land owners ruined the land through mass clearing of hillsides due to the lack of land rotation, contour plowing, fertilization, and a general attitude that land was expendable, cheap, and easily purchasable. Cotton was first dominant agricultural crop.
1909 to 1930 -Corn dominated
Bad erosion problems led to land’s vast decline.
1911 -Farm Loan Act passed
Farm Act provides for the establishment of federal land banks under Treasury Department supervision.
1914 -World War I begins.
1916 -Federal Farm Loan Act passes.
Act provides for low interest credit to farmers.
October 29, 1929 - "Black Tuesday"
R ecorded sales of shares hits 16,410,000. New York Times index of industrial stocks drops nearly forty points, the worst drop in Wall Street history to that point.
1930s - Farms were abandoned.
1933 - The "New Deal"
The Roosevelt Administration begins the “New Deal” programs. These new initiatives included agricultural programs and enabled visionary Dr. George Aull to improve land conditions and assist in improving the lives of others.
1934, Farmland purchased under Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act.
The federal government began to establish a program that was focused on the purchase of nearly 75 million acres of sub-marginal farmland throughout the country. This farmland was to be purchased under the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act.
August 7, 1934 – Dr. Aull’s proposal is accepted.
The proposal to the federal government is accepted under the condition that future ownership and management of the land be guaranteed.
September 1934 – Land was acquired.
Over 200+ parcels of land were acquired totaling nearly 30,000 acres at $13 per acre.
1939 -Clemson COllege took over supervision of acquired land.
Clemson College officially took over supervision of the property under a 95 year cooperative and license agreement with the federal government.
1946 - The first Clemson Experimental Forest Manager was hired.
The College hires its first forest manager, Norman B. Goebel.
1954 - The Clemson Land Utilization Lands were deeded to Clemson College.
The Clemson Land Utilization Lands (27,400 acres) were deeded to Clemson College for $1 with the help of Strom Thurmond and Charles Daniel, both S.C. Senators.
1955 - Public Law 237 passed.
Public Law 237 provided a means to sell or exchange lands within the forest property boundaries.
1956 - Proposal to construct Lake Hartwell and the Hartwell Dam.
The Army Corp of Engineers proposed to construct Lake Hartwell and the Hartwell Dam. Clemson harvested $167,000 worth of timber from the proposed lake bed and the Army Corp compensated Clemson $73,000 for the project.
1970 -Trail construstion in the Clemson Experimental Forest.
Beginning in the 70s and continuing through the 90s, equestrian, mountain biking and hiking trails were established throughout the Forest.
1976 -National Forest Management Act and Federal Land Policy Act are passed.
1978, Dr. Bob Allen requested that the Land Utilization Committee “…explore the possibility of how to best develop the overall management of the Forest in such a way that management is a research project in itself.” Dr. Allen’s ideas were put into policy under the leadership of Mr. Larry Reamer and helped create the Management Alternatives Research Project (MARP), which contains the primary guidelines for the management of the Forest.
1998, The Collaborative Adaptive Management Team (CAMT) was established to monitor the CEF Trail System.
1999, Under the supervision of Mr. Knight Cox, Dr. Gene Wood, using current GPS technology, remapped the existing trail system. This data was then plotted on GIS maps to create existing trial maps.