Ranger Owen B. Hurley and his wife, Hazel, made a lasting impact to the Fredericktown, Mo., area.
Ranger Hurley collected data, made preliminary maps, and wrote a report that helped establish the St. Francois Purchase Unit in 1935. Hazel was very civic-minded.
Owen B. Hurley came to Fredericktown on Feb. 1, 1935, to set up the organization necessary to buy and manage the lands in the new purchase unit.
Ten months later, a detailed map of the whole area had been made and 110,000 acres were under option to buy. This purchase unit officially became part of the Clark National Forest in 1939.
Today, a part of this original purchase unit is now the Fredericktown Unit of the Mark Twain National Forest.
