He was dispatched in 1785 by King Louis XVI of France and his Queen Marie Antoinette to gather plants for the Royal Gardens.

They clear cut the forests and left behind nothing but dried tree tops and rotting stumps.

The sparks of passing steam locomotives ignited wildfires that prevented the formation of second growth forests.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a piece of legislation in 1897 that authorized the purchase of "unseated lands for forest reservations."

Remnants of the charcoal days can still be seen in the state forest as the land where the kilns burned for so many years has yet to fully recover.

Visitors to the park will notice these areas as large grassy meadows that are surrounded by the woods of Michaux State Forest.