Page 22 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 1 - Winter 2023

The Industry
that Started it All
While the property had always been used for forestry to some extent, the Parker family made its big entry into the industry in the 1900s with the boom of the turpentine industry. With over 40,000 acres of forestland, the Howard-Parker Company became a key producer of turpentine in the region. Through the first half of the 20th century, the product was used for a wide array of purposes, ranging from fuel to medicine.
“They used to say that you could walk from the Altamaha River all the way to Fort Stewart and you’d never step a foot off of Howard-Parker Company property,” said Parker.
Often referred to as “dipping gum,” the process of collecting the resin that would be distilled into turpentine was laborious. On one end of the property stood shotgun homes for laborers who would spend much of their summers chipping away at the pines to remove bark and create channels for the pine sap to flow into containers affixed at the base. Some of

the homes still stand today, including the original homes of Parker’s grandparents built in the 1930s.
Turpentine is still used in a number of products in the chemical industry, but the scope of its uses reduced significantly in the mid-1900s, and as a result, the industry as a whole scaled down. In the wake of these changes, the Howard- Parker Company decided to close up shop for good, selling off the majority of their land and splitting the remaining property between the two families.
When One Door Closes, Another Opens
Just as the turpentine business was winding down, a new opportunity arose — the extensive pine forests of South Georgia had attracted all kinds of forestry industry, with facilities popping up from Savannah to Valdosta. Still with nearly 6,000 acres of prime pine forest, the next generation of the Parker family jumped on the chance to start a new business venture harvesting timber.
Decades later, business is booming. In
2020 and 2021, as lumber market prices touched some of the highest rates in his- tory, the Parker family cut and harvested nearly 30,000 tons of wood.
Aside from one long-term lease on a few hundred acres by Weyerhaeuser, the rest of the property is solely managed by family operations. Parker cuts as he goes by gaug- ing the market and avoids touching any of the natural forests, hardwoods or pines, sticking solely to the planted pines for har- vests. On occasion, the natural pine woods need thinning to mitigate fire risks and ensure healthy forests, but beyond that, they remain free of human interference.
“The property is some of the premier ground for growing loblolly pine in the world. The growth is so much faster than anywhere else you’ll see,” said Parker.
The primary driver in the local market is the pulpwood industry — timber that is primarily used for making wood pulp for paper production. In southeast Georgia alone, there are six major pulp and paper mill facilities, many lining rivers for easier transportation, including one just on the other side of the Altamaha River from the Parker property.
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