State

A May Canoe Trip on Merchants Millpond A fairyland of brniily you'll soon be ablo to visit. Hut don't try this canoe trip yet. By SHELBY HOWELL How docs one describe Merchants Millpond? Fairyland describes the cy¬ press eaves and crayfish castles but doesn't convey justice to the wild splen¬ dor. Garden of Eden hints at the un¬ spoiled wilderness but. somehow, leaves out the poetry of Spanish moss and pagan chapels. A. B. Coleman of Moyock, who has donated some 1.065 acres of earthly heaven for a North Carolina State Park, calls it the most beautiful spot in the world. And. Coleman has seen the world. Merchants Millpond is queen. Cypress Gardens, the Ever¬ glades and Okcfcnokcc are mere prin¬ cesses. The millpond defies description. We can only start at the beginning and give a mortal account of a visit to Gates County's wonderland. The Wilderness A trip through "the rough" of Mer¬ chants Millpond is not for everyone. Soon — after State Parks lays board¬ walks. marks nature trails and provides expert guides — Gates County, the state and the world can journey through the wilderness. Until then, the average Л STATE PARK IN YOUR FUTURE North Carolina's proposed state park at Merchants Millpond in Gates County is a long-term project which began in April 1972. Located in the geographical center of the Northeastern county, the area is described by the North Carolina Parks Division as. "a slow moving, dark-water coastal plain stream which flows through a narrow, virgin Bald cypress swamp into an area of old second-growth cypress-gum swamp, terminating in a large, placid millpond studded with heavily buttressed gum and cypress trees and containing numerous small islands.** The idea of millpond park development began with A. R. Coleman of Moyock. owner of a large tract of pond property. In April 1972. Coleman guided a canoe parly of parks division officials through five miles of wilderness and pond. It was the first of many canoe trips and parks per¬ sonnel compiled an 18-page “In-Depth Study of Merchants Millpond," ending with a recommendation for park development. A total of $420,000 was appropriated for land acquisition and develop¬ ment at the Millpond by the 1973 North Carolina General Assembly. Additional federal park funds are expected in the form of matching con¬ tributions for land gifts. A gift of a deed for 1,065 Millpond State Park acres was transferred to the Slate of North Carolina November 28. 1973 by the owner, A. B. Coleman of Moy ock. Georgia-Pacific Corp. conveyed 925 acres of potential park property to Nature Conservancy, a non-profit conservation group, which will, in turn, pass the gift on to the state. 'I he State Parks Division and the Department of Administration arc now negotiating with surrounding property owners for additional park land. The proposed boundary surrounds approximately 3,300 acres of pond, swamp and highland. Following land negotiations, the parks division will begin working on a master plan for park development. Modern ort or о bod drcom? You eon »cc either you prefer in Mcrchonti Millpond's enchonted forest 111 greatest <mct it •oricty, ranging from wildcrneu to beoutiful cypress forests, growing in navigable woters. sightseer should stay clear. Possible al¬ ternatives are death from snakebite and becoming hopelessly lost in the swamp. Taking a five-hour six-mile canoe trip through the millpond area on a sunny May day were A. B. Coleman, experienced naturalist, outdoorsman and guide; John Floars of Sunbury, photographer (color slides); Mrs. Nina Parker of Gatcsville. science teacher and a lover of nature; and Shelby Howell, female reporter who loves na¬ ture but is more at home in a tub of warm bubble bath than in a swamp. On the plus side: Coleman normally runs two miles first thing in the morn¬ ing just to get going. No one in the party is repelled by snakes. No one in the party has a known allergy to poisonous vines. All wanted very much logo through Merchants Millpond. The trip began at 10:30 a.m.. Cole¬ man shouldering the canoe through a wooded area near Sunbury, Floars, Parker and Howell, all unencumbered, trying hard to keep pace. Our light, aluminum canoe was launched in a creek haven of juniper water running beneath an arcade of cy¬ press. gum, maple and beech trees. After a few minutes of easy paddl¬ ing. we were greeted by lavender wild irises and white tree blossoms, favoring wild cherry. May is the mating season for the millpond’s numerous water moccasins and we hadn't long to wait before we were rewarded with a photographer's dream. They posed for us. lying sun- warmed, fat and beautiful on moss- covered fallen logs. This pair was the t is i THE STATE. MAY I 97 a