History of the McLoud
Memorial Forest

The McLoud Memorial Forest is located southeastern Portage County in Central Wisconsin, near the towns of Almond and Bancroft. The Forest was donated to the College of Natural Resources in 1992 by E.S. and Catherine McLoud.

The first entry in the Abstract of Title to this property was made in November 11, 1854 from the United States to Robert Work. Prior to that time the land had been granted to Robert McQueen, a private in the Pennsylvania Militia during the War of 1812, for his services during the war. McQueen's legal heirs transferred the title to Robert Work. There were many title transfers between 1850 and 1920, when J.C. Fisher purchased the land and farmed it for over 25 years. On September 22, 1949, E.S. McLoud purchased the property where he conerted the corn and oat fields to a pine plantation.

Currently, the 80 acre parcel contains a well maintained road system that winds through approximately 70 acres of a red pine (Pinus resinosa) and white pine (Pinus strobus) plantation. The southwest five acres of the Forest is a native oak savannah that was never farmed.

The property is surrounded by agricultural fields to the south and west. The Carrie Frost School Forest surrounds the property to the north and northeast. Currently the Forest is used by several UWSP Forestry classes to study forest mensuration, forest soils and forest fire ecology.