Eldorado Rotary Club hears history of Shawnee National Forest

Shawnee National Forest Heritage Program Manager Mary McCorvie, along with public affairs assistant Sue Hirsch, attended Tuesday's Eldorado Rotary meeting, where McCorvie provided a brief history of the Shawnee National Forest.

McCorvie explained how cheap land prices attracted small farming families to the region. However, the hilly land was not suitable for row crop farming and many farms were abandoned as families moved to more urban areas.

Through the encouragement of L.O. Trigg, who was the publisher of the Eldorado Daily Journal at the time, and others, many abandoned farms were acquired by the federal government, who recognized the land officially as the Shawnee National Forest in 1939.

McCorvie and Hirsch were the guests of Rotary member Liz Garrett.