The story of industrial-scale timber harvesting is what would become Corbett and Hungryland WMA's begins with one of the largest land purchased in Florida history. In 1902, the Southern States Land and Timber Company, a New Orleans-based firm, purchased approximately 2-million acres in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee for .25 cents an acre. This massive acquisition made Southern States one of the largest landholders in the region and positioned the company to exploit the virgi

Much to no one's surprise, I have been deep in thought on the lumber industry in Palm Beach and Martin Counties circa the 1940s. What did it look like before the trees were felled? Were the pine forests more spread out? How did the lumber makes its way out of the swamp and sloughs of Palm Beach and Martin County? The other night, I was perusing the 1940-1950s aerials from UF's database and I followed a trail south off the old Jupiter-Indiantown grade. I realized the trail was