Morristown National Historical Park - Disturbed Lands

Disturbances to the park’s forest resources are caused by both natural and human factors. Examples of natural disturbance are the chestnut blight which killed most of the chestnut trees in the park in the early 1920s and the gypsy moth infestations of the 1960s and 1970s. An example of human disturbance at Morristown NHP is the clearing of approximately 600 acres of forest land by George Washington’s soldiers to build over 1000 soldier huts. Some of the land that was cleared for soldier huts was kept cleared and used for agricultural purposes while the rest was allowed to reforest.