1. TOUR IDENTIFICATION SIGN:
You are now inside the Mark Twain National Forest. A forest not only for scenic beauty,
but also for wildlife, hunting, fishing, cattle grazing, recreational use and timber
management.
2. HADEN BALD:
Forty acres of glade designated as a State Natural Area. This area will never be grazed,
but will be burned every 4 to 6 years to maintain its natural state.
3. SMOKE TREE SCENE:
Directly across the hollow is a grassy glade dotted with brightly colored Smoke Trees
(known locally as Yellowwood). The glade soil is less than six inches deep over solid rock
and capable of supporting only a limited amount of vegetation, mostly native prairie
grass. The view to the South shows the hills near Gainesville, some 20 miles away in the
background.
4. ARKANSAS VIEW:
The mountains in the far South are in Arkansas, some 40 miles away.
5. WATERSHED DIVIDE:
This ridge is the division between the Beaver Creek Watershed and the Little North Fork
Watershed.
6. CANEY TOWER:
Once regularly manned, a house stood on this site and a towerman lived at the tower base.
Now abandoned, the tower is only used as a buzzard roost.
7. CANEY PICNIC AREA: (Barbecue Dinner Area)
The bare knobs you see a short distance away are called balds. It was knobs of this kind
where the famous Bald Knobbers met and planned their raids. There is a cave north of the
parking area that may be of interest.
8. MRS. MURRAY'S GOLD MINE:
The story goes that a lady living in Kansas City had a vision to dig on Pinnacle and she
would find gold. Although she never found it, evidence of her digging remains. Local
mountain people used to gather of the Pinnacle on the first Sunday in May for church
services. It was not unusual for a crowd of 500 hill people to come to these all-day
events.
9. HOUSEPLACE:
The first settlers in this area were hunters. Then settlers, lured by cheap land, moved in
until the depression years. Because of the depression, the settlers moved on. A
schoolhouse at the Skyline Drive junction had over 40 children attending in the 1930's.
10. CEDAR TREE:
This tree can survive where few other species can. The waxy blue berries, eaten by birds,
are spread quickly. These berries are also used for making gin. Cedar trees have separate
sexes which is why berries are seen only on half the trees.
