His father, having retired from the ministry, engaged in the lumber business and located his principal mills on the Tioga river in the southern part of this State. Here and at his father's mills in Canada, he learned the details of the lumber business. Later, in connection with his own mills in western Pennsylvania and those of his brothers in the upper peninsula of Michigan, he acquired knowledge and experience in buying and selling timber and timber lands and of the various products of the saw mill and the planing mill. This training was of great value in his later life.

When the first Forest Commission was established and organized the first appointment made was that of Colonel William F. Fox, on November 1, 1885, to the position of Assistant Secretary. On account of his association with the official forestry work from the beginning, first as Assistant Secretary, later as Assistant Warden and finally as Superintendent of Forests, he was familiar with all the various policies, laws, plans and developments that took place in working out our State forest policy.

The Legislature of 1883 passed an act prohibiting the further sale of land owned by the State in ten of our Adirondack counties. This was the tangible beginning of our present forest preserve. This step having been taken, some policy necessarily had to be decided upon, and the State Comptroller was authorized to appoint an investigating committee. They made a careful examination and in 1885 reported advocating the establishment of a Forest Commission. Their recommendations were acted upon favorably, and the Commissioners were appointed by the Governor. It was this Commission which first appointed Colonel Fox. The Commissioners served without pay and, therefore, upon him fell the brunt of the work. One can hardly appreciate his position at that time, confronted with so much that was new and no resource upon which to draw for reliable information. Yet the report for 1885 shows that he had a clear insight into the requirements. The law of 1883 placed 715,267 acres of land under the control of the Commission. This land was widely scattered over ten counties, the boundaries poorly marked and was being seriously trespassed upon. The organization of a fire protection force, ejecting “squatters upon the lands and enforcing the law, all with a small untrained force were initial problems.

From 1888 to 1891 we find him as Assistant Forest Warden, actively engaged in executive, administrative, field and routine work.

In 1890 the first appropriation ($25,000) for the purchasing of Adirondack land was made under the condition that not more than $1.50 per acre could be paid. He, with assistants, examined and reported upon the land offered, and under the act 16,320 acres were acquired.

With the establishment of the Adirondack Park in 1892 a new and larger field of usefulness opened to him. It placed this work upon a substantial basis. Under this same act leasing of camp sites and the idea of producing a revenue from the forest was inaugurated. Until the passing of this act, since 1887, it had been possible to sell or exchange detached portions of outlying lands for forest land in the park, and many valuable acquisitions were made to the State holdings in this way.

In 1893 the Commission became the subject of legislative investigation, and as a result a new forest law was passed and a new Commission appointed. However, it is pleasing to note that this same act particularly specified that the present Superintendent should be continued in office.

At this time the necessity for an accurate map of the Adirondacks, not only showing topography but all the intricate details of land allotment. and finally the location of State land thereon became apparent, and in this connection Superintendent Fox prepared a very exhaustive article entitled "Land Grants and Land Patents of Northern New York." His researches in preparing this monograph were most skillfully made, and have been of great value in locating our lands and mapping the extensive area.

The new law of 1893 permitted the sale of "spruce and tamarack not less than twelve inches in diameter three feet above ground, standing in any part of the forest preserve." But the Constitutional Convention the following year inserted in the newly prepared Constitution a clause prohibiting the cutting or removal of any trees on State land.

In 1895 another change came in the management of forestry affairs. Two separate bodies, viz., "The Forest Commission" and "The Fish and Game Commission" were consolidated under the name of "Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission." At this time Colonel Fox became engineer with duties similar to those he had under the old Commission as Superintendent. The powers of this Commission in relation to the forest preserve

were greatly increased, and he had added responsibilities. After a few years his title was changed to Superintendent of Forests. This same legislative act greatly lessened the fire danger by making it a misdemeanor to set fires to clean land during certain periods of danger.

During the summer of 1897 the Forest Preserve Board was organized to acquire land for an Adirondack Park. Colonel Fox was the expert advisor of the Board and in the performance of these duties two million dollars worth of land was acquired.

In 1901 a further change came in this organization. The Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission and the Forest Preserve Board were consolidated and called the Forest, Fish and Game Commission. Also the fire law was made much more effective by creating the office of Chief Firewarden who had general supervision of the nearly seven hundred town and district firewardens. Under this organization Colonel Fox became a great factor in forestry work. Since this reorganization, the work accomplished by the Department has been most effective and satisfactory.

This general summary of the development of a forest preserve and a forest policy in this State has been given because a careful examination shows it largely to be the work of Colonel Fox.

It is most interesting to read the former reports, which are largely from his pen, and note what improvements and policies he advanced for the benefit of the State. In these matters he was always first.

He began years ago to collect statistics showing the lumber cut, and saw clearly what was happening, also the result. He established a system of fire protection and fire law which was generally copied by other States. He continuously advocated the purchase of land as a forest preserve on the grounds of benefit to the State and at the same time a business investment. He desired to see our State lands put under scientific forest management, and made working plans for a portion of the State lands. Nearly fifteen years ago he advocated the reforesting method which is now in operation. He appreciated the probability of water storage and was much interested in any such movement. He was quick to appreciate the value of a skilled force and employed the first graduate of the first forestry school in this country.