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Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy

Chapter Fourteen: 1940 - 1949
Columbia Forestry School

In 1947,
state officials estab-
lished the Columbia
Forestry School
(CFS) in Lake City,
then known as the
“Forestry Capital of
the World,” not only
because of the large
forest near the city,
but also because so
many of the city’s
leading citizens had
been involved for
generations in the tim-
ber business, whether
in turpentining, log- Students at the Columbia
ging, or sawmill op- Forestry School in the 1950s
erations. The school
was similar to the Wanakena Ranger School in the Adirondack Moun-
tains of New York State. The Florida school, only the second in the
nation at that point, used structures left over from a World War II pilot
training air base. According to a history of the school by Dr. Susan
Summers, the first chairman of the board of the school, Gordon
Granger, a timberman, financed the school with bonds sold to local
citizens. The dormitory on the campus today is named Granger Hall in
his honor. 38

According to the paper by Dr. Summers (“Forest Technol-
ogy Program, Lake City Community College”), the first director of
the school, county forester Clarke “Click” Mathewson, is hon-
ored in the name of the Mathewson Building for teachers and admin-
istrators. The entering class of 1947 had twelve students, who helped
decide the college mascot (the timberwolf - see next page for a photo)
and school colors (green and white).

177

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