History of School Forest
The land that is now used for the YSHS School Forest, in the nineteenth century was part of a farm that had corn plated on it. It was neglected and abandoned. Therefore, the topsoil washed away and gullies were formed, making it even more difficult to farm. Horace Mann then acquired it and there on the land was a maple tree under which he liked to sit and study. It is said that he would sit here and gaze at the towers of Kelly Hall, Antioch's main building. He found quiet here to collect his thoughts and plan for the future. Many years after Mann died, this tree was struck by lightening and in 1954 another maple was planted near the old one. Today, Mann’s statue stands near the land that was his farm.
John Bryan acquired the land from Mann, along with part of what is now John Bryan State Park. He was an atheist and when he died, he willed the land to the community with the provision that no religious services take place on it. Nobody would take it under these conditions, so the state assumed control of it. This provision was later ruled unconstitutional because it obstructed freedom of religion.
In 1925 the land become part of John Bryan State Park. In 1926 the Olio Division of Forestry planted 20 acres of evergreens and 20 acres of hardwoods on the site. It was part of a project to see what types of trees could survive on Ohio's alkaline soil and to see if trees could help rebuild the topsoil of a plot of land.
From the state, the land was acquired by Hugh Talyor Birch who later gave it, along with the rest of the Glen Helen to Antioch College in honor of his daughter. Around the same time (late 1920s), Theodore Laist, a faculty member at Antioch College, became interested in conservation. He wanted to start a nationwide annual holiday during which people would plant Christmas trees that would be harvested several years later. He wrote a letter to President Hoover, explaining his idea, to gain national interest. Hoover’s reply was: "I think your plan for Christmas tree planting and harvesting is a fine one.
Laist did succeed in establishing a small, annual celebration in Yellow Springs which lasted for a few years. During it people would plant trees on the corner of Xenia Avenue and Corry Street. Grade school children would parade through town, each carrying a tree which he or she then planted. However, because the holiday was so dependent on Laist’s organization, it was discontinued after he died.
In 1947 Antioch College leased 100 acres of its 1000 acre Glen to Bryan High School. Included in the leased land were the 40 acres that had been planted by the Ohio Division of Forestry in 1926. It was leased at a rate of one dollar for 99 years.
In the same year, Antioch also established a program with other colleges and universities for a fellowship in conservation. The student would spend half of his or her time in academic studies and half doing work in the Glen. This work could also provide a topic for their thesis. Alan Woog was the first person to take advantage of this program.
He and Kenneth Hunt, the Glen Helen director at that time, worked together to establish the School Forest. They obtained exclusive rights for the School Forest to sell Christmas trees in Yellow Springs. They also stirred up enthusiasm for the festival within the town.
It was Hunt who first thought of the possibility of a School Forest. Under his guidance, the first spring planting took place in 1947. The next winter each student who planted a tree, received one. The trees they received were the tops of the ones planted in 1926 by the Ohio Division of Forestry. This small festival was used to thin those trees.
In 1948 the first festival to which the public was invited to come and cut down their own Christmas trees was held. The tree festival became an annual event after the need for it was realized by the discovery of a group of nurses helping themselves to greens for a nearby hospital.
On May 6, 1949 the School Forest was officially dedicated as the first Class A School Forest recognized by the Ohio Forestry Association.
More coming soon...