Forest, Field and Farm
Ki;
них
siiarpi:
Huge Columbus was noi flabby, but
it was ungainly. Its 939 square miles
were shackled by swamp, bay and
pocosin. mischievously interfering with
transportation and settlement.
First to harvest the land were tur-
pentiners, who did more to exploit
then to develop it, and its most enthus¬
iastic citizens say that even 30 years
ago it would have ranked as a back¬
ward section.
Today it is one of the great agri¬
cultural counties of America, its 1953
farm income estimated at S30.000.000
— 9th in North Carolina. Intelligent
use has increased both present and
potential value of its forests, still cov¬
ering 432.000 of its 610.000 acres
And industry, the missing link in
southeastern North Carolina’s econ¬
omy. is beginning to arrive in both
small and large chunks.
The topography is generally flat.
with gently tolling land hi some sec¬
tions. Three drainage systems divide
the county — those of the Cape Fear,
the Lumber and the Waccamaw rivers.
In the higher elevations, the streams
have managed lo cut shallow valleys
and provide adequate drainage along
their courses. But for the most part
they are sluggish, meandering fantas¬
tically - especially the Waccamaw,
which writhes, bends and doubles itself
incredibly as it oozes out of the county.
In spite of the volume of water they
carry they fail to give sufficient drain¬
age to a portion of the land, especially
the southeastern part. Here arc the
famous bays, peat lands and swamps.
Out of these lowlands rise higher
mounds and ridges locally known as
"islands." forming in some instances
insulated little farming communities.
The Atlantic Coastline tracks run
along the edge of the bay country in
eastern Columbus.
The presence of large swamps, such
as extensive Green Swamp, marks
Columbus as geologically youthful.
The soils are varied, most of them
derived from marine sediments,
though there are substantial deposits
also of vegetable matter.
Lake Waccamaw, covering nearly
9,000 acres and developed as a
modest resort, is a relatively young
lake, full of geological oddities (sec
story elsewhere). The county’s ground
water is described as plentiful, rated
as good to excellent for most purposes
Some sandy marl deposits containing
calcium carbonate, and fire clays,
occur in the county.
Forestry
Its forestry resources, exploited for
150 years, arc almost as great in most
Broad flallund, wide fields in huge groves and the ever present tobacco barn — this
typical Columbus landscape.
14
THE STATE. NOVCMOC» 20. 1954
