Biltmore Estate North Carolina Buck Spring Lodge Mount Pisgah George Vanderbilt 1905 Real Photo Postcard
Mount Pisgah, a prominent peak rising to 5,749 feet in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, is central to one of the nation's earliest conservation efforts. The land comprising much of the future Pisgah National Forest, including Mount Pisgah, was originally part of George W. Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate. Vanderbilt, with figures like Gifford Pinchot and Dr. Carl Schenck, pioneered scientific forestry in America, establishing the Biltmore Forest School in 1898 on his estate.
Following Vanderbilt's death, his widow Edith sold over 87,000 acres of the estate to the federal government in 1914, forming the nucleus of the Pisgah National Forest, one of the first national forests in the eastern United States. This period saw a rise in both scientific land management and nascent tourism. The lodge-like structure visible, possibly an early iteration of the Pisgah Inn (established 1919), catered to visitors, while the presence of sheep reflects a blend of local pastoral economy and early recreational use in the evolving landscape of this historic protected area.
Following Vanderbilt's death, his widow Edith sold over 87,000 acres of the estate to the federal government in 1914, forming the nucleus of the Pisgah National Forest, one of the first national forests in the eastern United States. This period saw a rise in both scientific land management and nascent tourism. The lodge-like structure visible, possibly an early iteration of the Pisgah Inn (established 1919), catered to visitors, while the presence of sheep reflects a blend of local pastoral economy and early recreational use in the evolving landscape of this historic protected area.
