Page 29 - Wilkes County NCG 2024

Working With Nature improvements in all lines of equipment,

Meadows’ products and services are
recognized as high quality Meadows sawmills,
hammer mills, and stone burr mills.
Church & Church Lumber Co. are experts
in forest management and select and harvest
softwoods and hardwoods for the construction
industry: red oak, white oak, poplar, hickory,
maple, ash, beech, birch, sycamore, cherry,
walnut, white pine, Virginia pine, loblolly
pine, and Southern yellow pine trees are
processed for dimensional lumber, mulch,
chips, and sawdust.
Appalachian Lumber Co. was established
in 1982 to manufacture hardwood flooring,
paneling, stair parts, furniture parts, and
custom moulding, working with wholesalers
throughout the nation. Their experience in the
wood business gives them the ability to source
almost any species of wood – specializing in
the unique and hard to find.
“I am not sure that I have a favorite wood,
but walnut, ash and cherry are at the top
By Lydia Cobb Photos courtesy Times Treasured Photography of my list,” said William Church, president
of Appalachian Lumber Co., now a fourth-
generation forest products family. “Wood is
Sustainable forestry in Wilkes County powers an economy deeply a renewable resource. It is like all other cash
crops with a window of opportunity for the
rooted in high quality timber, building lumber, and furniture parts. optimum harvest.”
North Carolina has over 18 million acres
S ustainable forestry is about caring Rendezvous Mountain Educational State State Extension. In Wilkes County, more than
of timberland, according to North Carolina
Forest between 1984 and 2022. School
for and managing forests that
340,000 acres are devoted to timber, with an
provide us with wood. We also
children and landowners alike visited to learn
end mill-delivered value of more than $14.7
value forest habitats for wildlife
and providing stunning landscapes. about sustainable forestry. million in 2022, the most recent available
Like limbs of trees, generations of families in
statistics. The robust forest sector in
Sustainable forestry connects all parts of the Wilkes County have been involved in forestry the state supports forestry and logging
forest: trees, smaller plants, soils, wildlife, and timber. They are family owned and made operations, sawmills, furniture mills, and
and water with protection from wildfire, pests, in the USA:
and diseases, and preserving special forests. Meadows Mills, Inc. got its beginning pulp and paper industries. The forest sector
“Everybody needs paper and wood, but around 1900 at Pores Knob by a mechanically is a major contributor to North Carolina’s
there are best practices to protect the water inclined Baptist minister, Reverend W.C. economic wellbeing, supporting communities
and the ecosystem,” said Jeff Meadows. He designed and across all 100 counties in The Tar Heel State.
Matheson, superintendent of built a burr mill (grist mill)
Rendezvous Mountain with stones mounted
in Wilkes County – in a vertical position
a unit of the state Agriculture is North Carolina’s as opposed to the
park system. No. 1 industry. Agriculture and conventional flat
Once called agribusiness, including food, or horizontal mills
an “Educational generally used
Forest,” the 2,000- forestry, and fiber, contribute more at the time. He
acre park balances than $103 billion to the state’s patented the mill
naturally growing economy, according to the North and formed the
forested areas with Carolina Department of Agriculture W.C. Meadows
areas of regrowth Mill Company.
from logging and and Consumer Services. Through later
saw milling. The acquisitions, investors,
park was operated as and continuous

wilkeschamber.com Forestry Feature 25