WOODLAWN, S.C.- James Mason enjoyed countless idle afternoons at his family farm off S.C. Hwy. 28, surrounded by the white oaks and antebellum outbuildings that his ancestors called home.
When he died in the driveway of his Augusta residence 15 years ago, it was no surprise to those who knew him that his will included a request to be buried in a family cemetery on the land he loved.
There was a surprise in his simple will, however: Mason bequeathed his entire 2,000-acre farm -stretching from the banks of the Savannah River into the pine-studded hilltops several miles away - to the people he admired the most: hunters and fishermen.
"To be honest, it really caught us off guard," said wildlife biologist Billy Fleming of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, which manages the Mason Tract and nearby Sumter National Forest lands for public use. "It was quite a gift, but not anything we knew about or were expecting."
Mason's will, drafted on New Year's Eve 1970, specified that his land was to be deeded to the state "to hold in perpetuity as a wildlife reservation for hunting and other recreational purposes," and that it be open to the public.
"He was a sportsman himself, so in his will he made that stipulation," Fleming said. "He left it all to the people of South Carolina."
Mason, described as a loner with few relatives, was viewed by some as an eccentric man. Fleming - who has worked for the DNR for three decades - can recall seeing Mason along the roadside working on his land.
"He'd be out there with a machete, just sort of piddling, cutting back brush or working on gates or fences," he recalled. "He'd wave back if you waved to him."
His death on Oct. 9, 1989, was an accident. Mason, 85, according to his obituary, was known as a timberman.
Yet he rarely cut his timber, which averaged at least 70 years old at the time South Carolina took control of the property in 1992. Today, some of the mature timber has been cut or thinned, providing revenues needed to build roads for better access.
"Mr. Mason cut very little timber and didn't use fire, so we had fairly old trees with a lot of debris underneath, which made it very susceptible to wildfire," said Tim Ivey, the DNR's assistant wildlife management division chief.
The closed-canopy environment also left minimal vegetation at ground level, which meant the land was not as conducive as it could be for deer, turkey and other wildlife, so DNR went to work on a long-term management plan that has transformed the tract into a different world today.
Today, the entrance to the site off S.C. Hwy. 28 sports a bright, new sign acknowledging Mason's gift. Inside the property, miles of gravel roads offer seasonal access for deer and turkey hunters and a glimpse of the Savannah River across from the new Champions Retreat golf course in Columbia County.
"At the time we took it over there was no real road system," Fleming said. "In the past few years, with thinning of trees and cutting of some of the timber, there is a lot more vegetation and both the deer and turkey populations have improved significantly."
The land is situated above the Fall Line but lies within the northernmost range of the longleaf pine, which is a desirable, historic species of the lower river basin. To date, more than 5,000 longleafs have been planted on the Mason tract, with more plantings planned for the future.
Wildlife management efforts include food plots along some of the newly cut roads. Grain sorghum, partridge peas, bearded wheat and other crops help control erosion and also benefit wildlife as both cover and a food source.
The property is open to the public at all times for hiking or mountain biking, and some internal gates are unlocked during during hunting seasons.
About 620 acres of the site remain under a long-term hunting lease to a private club, but those acres will revert to public used when the lease expires in June 2006, Fleming said. The small family cemetery where he is buried will be maintained in perpetuity as part of the legacy of a kind man's gift.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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