[1] It lies on the slope of North Mountain in the drainage area of Cedar Creek near Star Tannery west of Strasburg.

The forest is managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry, with a focus on research relating to the re-establishment of American chestnut trees.

[1] Although much of future state forest was too steep and the soil too thin for agriculture, it nonetheless was part of a growing Virginia economy.

Afterwards, inhabitants cut firewood and timber for charcoal-fueled kilns that produced quicklime from limestone in the Shenandoah Valley.

John and Bernice Hoffman established the current forest on the land by planting timber stands of loblolly pine and encouraging natural regeneration of native hardwoods.