In the Forests of a ‘New Norway’

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In the forests of “New Norway”… . #History: When the emigrants entered the Susquehannock forest in 1852, it did not look like they had imagined it. They were looking for fertile ground to grow cereals and vegetables. Instead, a virgin forest of giant hemlocks, pines and maple trees presented itself before them. The forest was a natural habitat where wild animals such as brown bears, coyotes, bobcats, locusts and rattlesnakes lived. . However, during what was later defined as the Timber Age (1850s-1900s), due to the lack of legislation regulating the usage of the forest, most of the old-growth was cut down, making the Allegheny mountains look barren and naked. In the following years, the need for laws regulating tree cutting became apparent and trees have been replanted making the forest thrive again. Today only a small portion of the giant, secular hemlocks remained untouched, protected from the lumberjack's speculations in the Hammersley Wild Area. . #TracesofNorth follows @giulia_mangione ‘s journey back through Norwegian journeys to the USA. Find out more: www.tracingthespirit.com @the.nordics #tracesofnorth #history #norway #documentary #utopia #travel #research

A post shared by TracingTheSpirit (@tracingthespirit) on Sep 20, 2019 at 4:59am PDT