Gailen Forest Reserve

80-acre Gailen Forest Reserve has its roots in the steep-sided ravines of southeastern Perry County - once a center for coal mining, oil production, and timberlands. Two of the preserve’s three tributaries flow into Indian Run. The third, known as Dusky Hollow, flows into Johnson Run. All three streams lie in the Sunday Creek Watershed. The 139 square-mile Sunday Creek watershed has been heavily impacted elsewhere by acid mine drainage and other pollution sources. Gailen Forest Reserve’s intact streams contribute fresh clean water to Sunday Creek, helping to mitigate the effects of impaired water sources originating elsewhere in the watershed

Gailen’s History. Gailen Maxwell, the preserve’s namesake, grew up as a Perry County native. His parents operated a general store in Drakes, Ohio - a wide spot in the road on OH-155 between Shawnee and Corning. Through the span of the Great Depression the Maxwells helped struggling families in their region and occasionally bought a farm to add to their holdings. Surrounded with so much land to get lost in, Max, as he was often called, became an avid outdoorsman at a young age - hunting, fishing, and exploring the hills and hollows.

Max was drawn into the armed services during World War II and after returning home, married his wife, Pat, and turned his military mechanical training into a livelihood in Columbus. There he became an automotive mechanic and ran Stapleton’s Parts and Service for many years. In 1959, he purchased his grandfather’s Perry County farm, eventually buying additional parcels until it encompassed 276 acres. In 1972 Gailen enrolled his property as “Shagbark, the Maxwell Family Tree Farm,” in Ohio’s Tree Farm program.

A Passion for Planting Trees. The extended Maxwell family eventually owned nearly 2,000 acres of land, and Gailen became the chief land steward of the family’s holdings. Max was a naturalist on the order of Aldo Leopold. He loved his towering old trees, and was equally curious about the ferns, mushrooms, flowers, and creatures that the trees sheltered. He was also devoted to conservation and he believed that wise use and sustainability were the cornerstones of good land stewardship. Gailen, Pat, family, and friends are estimated to have planted over 250,000 trees on strip-mined lands before reclamation was a legal mandate. After the reclamation law passed, Gailen and Pat shifted their attention to planting trees on strip-mined lands that had been reclaimed in grasses. Gailen had a special place in his soul for the forest.

Gailen was a stickler for details, preferring to do physically demanding forest work himself even into his seventies because then he knew the work would be done to his high standards. It was hard for him to thin his white pine plantations. He believed thinning was necessary to keep the plantations vigorous and healthy, but it was hard because he cared about each and every tree. After he completed a thinning one time, the plantation was hit by a severe storm. When he next visited he saw many of his beloved trees snapped like matchsticks in the openings he had created. That was the last time Gailen ever permitted thinning on his lands. The lost trees hurt him viscerally because they were individuals to him, hand-planted with his own hands and those of his family and friends. In 1990, Gailen and Pat Maxwell were selected as Ohio’s Tree Farmers of the Year for their premier stewardship of Shagbark Tree Farm.

The Birth of the Gailen Forest Reserve. Gailen Maxwell passed away in 2017. One of Gailen’s favorite forests, now known as the Gailen Forest Reserve, was purchased by the Arc of Appalachia in 2024 from Gailen’s dear friend, Dean Berry, an Athens County resident and professional forester. Dean had been Gailen’s forest advisor for several years, developing an admiration for Gailen’s forested holdings as well as forming a deep friendship with Gailen, himself. The Forest Reserve still shelters Max’s favorite white oak ( a massive tree!) and showcases beautiful woodlands with many mature trees. Gailen trusted that Dean would take the steps necessary to ensure that the trees on this tract would never be cut. Dean determined that the Arc of Appalachia would be the best organization to protect the Forest Reserve in perpetuity.

Gailen’s Friend, Dean Berry. Besides being a professional forester, Dean Berry is also an Ohio Tree Farmer and shares a rich history with the Ohio Tree Farm community. As a consulting forester, his advice was sought by fellow tree farmers on how best to meet their customized goals. Ohio’s Tree Farm community recognized Dean as Ohio Tree Farm Inspector of the Year in 2005 and 2010, and in 2011 he was selected by the American Tree Farm organization as a Regional Inspector of the Year, one of only four such recognitions in the entire country.

Lasting Legacies. Gailen Maxwell and Dean Berry demonstrate faithful stewardship through their respective tree farm legacies. Gailen Forest Reserve, nestled in the heart of Wayne National Forest, is a place of perpetual repose for Max’s treasured white oaks and the community of wildlife this elegant forest supports. We like to think that Gailen is pleased with the outcome.