Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve [1]
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve
by Lynn Roundtree, 2006
[2]
Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve [3], part of the North Carolina State Parks System [4], is a 676-acre natural area located one mile southeast of Southern Pines [5] in Moore County [6]. Established in 1963 as the first nature preserve in the state parks system, the original 400 acres of Weymouth Woods were a gift to the state of North Carolina from Katharine Lamont Boyd, widow of the novelist James Boyd [7].
The natural area deeded by the Boyds to the people of North Carolina preserves a part of the ecosystem of the Sandhills, a region marked by sandy ridges of longleaf pine and scrub oak between hardwood-filled bottomlands. Early settlers in south-central North Carolina called this area the "pine barrens" because of its extensive forests of longleaf pine. In addition to sizable stands of old-growth longleaf pines, Weymouth Woods is home to rare and endangered species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker [8], the pine barrens tree frog [9], and the bog spicebush [10].
Reference:
North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve (1996).
Additional Resources:
NC Division of Parks and Recreation, Weymouth Woods Sandills Nature Preserve: http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/wewo/main.php [3].
NC Historical Marker, James Boyd: http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=K-30%20-%20JAMES%20BOYD%20%281888-1944%29 [11]
Image Credit:
Weymouth Woods Sandhills State Nature Preserve, Southern Pines NC. Image courtesy of Flickr user Bobistraveling. Available from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobistraveling/6689471107/ [2] (accessed June 28, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Roundtree, Lynn
