Chronology of National Forests Established Under the Weeks Act

The first national forest created from lands acquired under the Weeks Act was the Pisgah National Forest, officially created by proclamation from President Woodrow Wilson on October 17, 1916. This was followed up by the Alabama National Forest on January 15, 1918, and then the White Mountain, Natural Bridge, and Shenandoah forests all on May 16, 1918. Below are lists organized by year and by state of national forests created directly from land purchased under the Weeks Act.

1916
Pisgah (NC)

1918
Alabama (AL) [name changed to William B. Bankhead, 1942]
Natural Bridge (VA) [transferred to George Washington, 1933]
Shenandoah (VA, WV) [name changed to George Washington, 1932]
White Mountain (NH, ME)

1920
Boone (NC) [transferred to Pisgah, 1921]
Cherokee (NC,TN)
Monongahela (WV)
Nantahala (NC)
Unaka (NC, TN, VA) [transferred to Pisgah, 1936]

1923
Allegheny (PA)

1928
Huron (MI)

1930
Kisatchie (LA)

1931
Hiawatha (MI)
Osceola (FL)
Ottawa (MI)

1932
Green Mountain (VT)

1933
Chequamegon (WI)
Nicolet (WI)

1936
Angelina (TX)
Apalachicola (FL)
Bienville (MS)
Chattahoochee (GA)
Conecuh (AL)
Croatan (NC)
Davy Crockett (TX)
DeSoto (MS)
Francis Marion (SC)
Holly Springs (MS)
Homochitto (MS)
Jefferson (VA)
Sabine (TX)
Sam Houston (TX)
Sumter (SC)
Talladega (AL)

1937
Cumberland (KY) [name changed to Daniel Boone, 1966]

1938
Manistee (MI)

1939
Clark (MO) [transferred to Mark Twain, 1976]
Mark Twain (MO)
Shawnee (IL)

1951
Hoosier (IN)
Wayne (OH)

1961
Delta (MS)
Uwharrie (NC)

1985
Finger Lakes (NY)

National forests established from Weeks Act purchases, by state:

Alabama
Alabama (1918) [name changed to William B. Bankhead, 1942]
Conecuh (1936)
Talladega (1936)

Florida
Osceola (1931)
Apalachicola (1936)

Georgia
Chattahoochee (1936)

Illinois
Shawnee (1939)

Indiana
Hoosier (1951)

Kentucky
Cumberland (1937) [name changed to Daniel Boone, 1966]

Louisiana
Kisatchie (1930)

Maine
White Mountain (1918)

Michigan
Huron (1928)
Hiawatha (1931)
Ottawa (1931)
Manistee (1938)

Mississippi
Bienville (1936)
DeSoto (1936)
Holly Springs (1936)
Homochitto (1936)
Delta (1961)

Missouri
Clark (1939) [transferred to Mark Twain, 1976]
Mark Twain (1939)

New Hampshire
White Mountain (1918)

New York
Finger Lakes (1985)

North Carolina
Pisgah (1916)
Boone (1920) [transferred to Pisgah, 1921]
Nantahala (1920)
Unaka (1920) [transferred to Pisgah, 1936]
Croatan (1936)
Uwharrie (1961)

Ohio
Wayne (1951)

Pennsylvania
Allegheny (1923)

South Carolina
Francis Marion (1936)
Sumter (1936)

Tennessee
Cherokee (1920)

Texas
Angelina (1936)
Davy Crockett (1936)
Sabine (1936)
Sam Houston (1936)

Vermont
Green Mountain (1932)

Virginia
Natural Bridge (1918) [transferred to George Washington, 1933]
Shenandoah (1918) [name changed to George Washington, 1932]
Jefferson (1936)

West Virginia
Monongahela (1920)

Wisconsin
Chequamegon (1933)
Nicolet (1933)

Note that eight national forests were created in the East from public domain lands prior to the passage of the Weeks Act: the Arkansas (AR) in 1907; the Choctawhatchee (FL), Ocala (FL), Minnesota (MN), and Ozark (AR) in 1908; and the Marquette (MI), Michigan (MI), and Superior (MN) in 1909. Four other forests were established from lands acquired under the 1937 Bankhead-Jones Act: the Oconee (GA), Tombigbee (MS), and Tuskegee (AL) in 1959, and the St. Francis (AR) in 1960.