Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve |
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 Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve
Location in North Carolina
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| Location | Moore, North Carolina, United States |
| Area | 915 acres (370 ha) |
| Established | 1963 |
| Governing body | North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation |
| Website | Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve |
Weymouth Woods-Sandhills Nature Preserve is a special state park in North Carolina. It's located in Moore County, near the town of Southern Pines. This park covers about 915 acres (3.7 square kilometers) of land. It's found in a unique area of North Carolina called the Sandhills region. This preserve helps protect a very important forest type: the longleaf pine forest.
Contents
History of the Preserve
Early Forests and Settlers
In the mid-1700s, people from the Scottish Highlands came to live in the Sandhills area. Back then, the forests were full of huge longleaf pine trees. These trees could grow as tall as 100 to 120 feet (30 to 37 meters).
Merchants, who were like business people, cut down many of these trees. They used the wood for timber. Some of the best trees were even used as tall masts for the ships of the Royal Navy.
People also collected a sticky liquid called resin from the longleaf pines. This resin was very important for something called the naval stores industry. This industry made products needed for sailing ships.
Resin from the longleaf pine was used to make four main things: tar, pitch, turpentine, and rosin. By 1850, North Carolina's pine forests were making one-third of the world's supply of these naval stores.
To get the resin, workers made V-shaped cuts in the tree trunks. The resin would drip out and be collected. This resin was then turned into turpentine, which was used as a cleaner and for lighting. Tar, pitch, and rosin were used to seal the wooden parts of ships, like their hulls, decks, and ropes. This helped keep the ships waterproof.
Logging and Preservation Efforts
When railroads came to the Sandhills in the 1870s, it became much easier to cut down and move large amounts of timber. Because of all the logging and naval stores work, most of the original longleaf pine forests were gone by 1900. If you see older trees in the preserve today, you might notice scars on their trunks from where resin was collected long ago.
In the early 1900s, a man named James Boyd became famous for his writing. His grandfather bought a large piece of land east of Southern Pines. He did this to save the longleaf pines from being cut down. He named his land "Weymouth" because the pine trees reminded him of trees in Weymouth, England.
In April 1963, James Boyd's widow, Katharine, gave 403 acres (1.6 square kilometers) of this land to the state. This gift created the very first natural area in the North Carolina state parks system. Later, more land was added to the preserve. This included a separate area of 153 acres (0.6 square kilometers) called the Boyd Round Timber Tract, which was added in 1977.
Wildlife and Waterways
Life in James Creek
James Creek flows through the middle of the preserve. This creek is home to some special fish. You can find the rare mud sunfish here. The sandhills chub is another fish that lives only in the Sandhills region.
Other fish in the creek include brown bullhead and bluegill. The creek is also one of the northernmost places where the dollar sunfish can be found.
Blackwater Creeks
Like many creeks in this area, James Creek is a "blackwater" creek. This means its water looks dark, almost like tea. This dark color comes from natural plant materials called tannins. The water in these creeks is also very acidic. This special environment allows many unique plants and animals to live and grow here.
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve Museum
The preserve has a museum located in its visitor center. It's open every day. The museum's exhibit hall teaches visitors about the natural history of the longleaf pine forest.
You can learn about the geology of the area, which is how the land was formed. You'll also discover the different plants and animals that live in the forest. One important part of the exhibits explains how "prescribed fires" are used. These are controlled fires that help keep the forest healthy.
There's also an exhibit that shows how pine resin was used in the naval stores industry long ago. Experts called naturalists work at the museum. They offer fun and educational programs for both the public and school groups. These programs help people learn more about nature and the environment.
