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This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve

by Lynn Roundtree, 2006

Weymouth Woods Sandhills State Nature Preserve, Southern Pines NC. Image courtesy of Flickr user Bobistraveling. Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, part of the North Carolina State Parks System, is a 676-acre natural area located one mile southeast of Southern Pines in Moore County. 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.

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, the pine barrens tree frog, and the bog spicebush.

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.

"James Boyd 1888-1944." N.C. Highway Historical Marker K-30, N.C. Office of Archives & History. https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program/Markers.aspx?sp=Markers&k=Markers&sv=K-30

Image Credit:

Weymouth Woods Sandhills State Nature Preserve, Southern Pines NC. Image courtesy of Flickr user Bobistraveling. Available from https://www.flickr.com/photos/bobistraveling/6689471107/ (accessed June 28, 2012).

Subjects: 
Post War 20th Century (1946-2000)
21st Century (2001-present)
Parks
Places
Authors: 
Roundtree, Lynn
Origin - location: 
Moore County
From: 
Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 2006 | Roundtree, Lynn