3 collections related to Preston, Richard J. (Richard Joseph), 1905-2001

Correspondence and reports relating to the administration of the college, the southern pine beetle project, forestry research, associations, the pulp and paper foundation, short courses, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry Inc. (TAPPI), and state farm operations. The records are organized in 3 series 1929-1961 arranged alphabetically, 1962-1984 arranged alphabetically, and unprocessed materials from 1978-2020. The unofficial beginning of a forestry curriculum at North Carolina State University began in 1917 when J.S. Homes was appointed the first Extension Forester. In 1925, R.W. Graeber became an Extension Forester and provided strong leadership for the establishment of a formal forestry program. In 1929, the University formally established the Department of Forestry in the School of Agriculture. Dr. Julius V. Hofmann served as its first Director, starting early on to acquire land to create teaching and research forests. In 1931 the Department of Forestry was renamed the Division of Forestry, School of Agriculture and Forestry. Dr. J.V. Hofmann retired as Director of the Division in 1948 and was replaced by Richard J. Preston. During Preston's tenure, in 1950, the Division of Forestry was elevated to School status and named the School of Forestry. In 1952 the School moved to new quarters in Kilgore Hall. The School underwent another name change in 1968 to the School of Forest Resources. The administration changed the name to better reflect the broadening of its programs, including the addition of the parks, recreation, and tourism management curriculum transferred from the School of Education. In 1970 the School moved into the newly constructed forestry building Biltmore Hall, named after the nation's first school of forestry, the Biltmore Forest School. At the retirement of Dean Preston in 1971, Eric L. Ellwood, who was serving as head of the Department of Wood and Paper Science, became Dean, serving until 1989. The school became a college in 1987, and its name changed from College of Forest Resources to College of Natural Resources in 2000. Less

Collection includes correspondence, administrative files, reports, legal files, logging records, maps, photographs, and negatives, dating from 1869 to 2016. This collection documents the successful efforts of the North Carolina Forestry Foundation to acquire forest lands for North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering (later North Carolina State University) for demonstration, teaching, and research while at the same time operating the forest on a profitable basis. Materials range in date from 1869 to 2016. Julius V. Hofmann to set up the forestry program at North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering in 1929. One of his immediate goals was to acquire some forestland for laboratory, research, and demonstration purposes. Unable to secure funding from the university or the state of North Carolina, Hofmann determined the only recourse was to purchase the land on a self-liquidating basis. He and some of the college trustees incorporated the North Carolina Forestry Foundation on April 15, 1929, to manage and develop the Poole Woods, a 74.94 acre tract in Wake County, North Carolina, and the first forest obtained by the Foundation. Other properties the foundation has overseen include Hill Forest, Maclean Forest, and Hofmann Forest. Less