Olivia McClure
Major Jordan Gray Lee Sr.’s expertise was in forestry. After graduating from LSU in 1888, he became assistant director of the North Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, later known as the Calhoun Research Station, which closed in 2011. In 1898, Lee was appointed commissioner of the Louisiana Bureau of Agriculture and Immigration, a predecessor to the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, serving in that role until 1906.
Lee eventually made his way back to the LSU campus, taking a job as a horticulture professor. In 1911, he taught “The Elements of Forestry,” the first course on the subject to be offered at LSU. He would go on to lead the expansion of the forestry curriculum and ultimately become head of the newly created Department of Forestry in 1926.
“Because Lee taught the vision of reforestation and its importance to future generations, he was termed a pioneer in reforestation and in advanced methods of horticulture,” wrote James P. Barnett in “Faces From the Past: Profiles of Those Who Led Restoration of the South’s Forests.”
A firm believer in hands-on experience, Lee shepherded his students on expeditions into Louisiana forests for summer camps.
In 1927, the Great Southern Lumber Company donated more than 1,000 acres near the Washington Parish community of Sheridan to LSU’s fledging forestry program. That property is now known as the Lee Memorial Forest. Continuing the tradition set by Lee, today’s faculty and students in the School of Renewable Natural Resources use the forest for classes and research projects. It’s perhaps best known as the place where students grow and harvest Christmas trees that are sold on campus every year for a fundraiser.
Olivia McClure is a writer, editor, photographer and videographer in AgCenter Communications.
This article appears in the summer 2024 edition of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.
Major Jordan Gray Lee Sr. was a forestry expert at LSU. Photo courtesy of LSU Photograph Collection, Louisiana State University Archives, LSU Libraries, Baton Rouge
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