I. D. FAIRCHILD STATE FOREST. I. D. Fairchild State Forest is a 2,896-acre forest in five tracts, the largest of which is located along U.S. Highway 84, thirteen miles west of Rusk in Cherokee County. It is the largest of the five Texas state forests. Its original 2,360 acres was transferred from the state prison system in 1925 and named for state Senator I. D. Fairchild of Lufkin. In 1963 an additional 536 acres was added from the Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. The area was logged over in 1909-10. During the Great Depression a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was located there. The forest provides fishing, hiking, and picnicking for day use.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hattie Joplin Roach, A History of Cherokee County (Dallas: Southwest, 1934). Texas State Travel Guide (Austin: State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, 1992).
