As they heal, it’s harder to see the emblematic “whiskers” that led to them being called catfaces, but these scarred pines gave life to a labor-intensive industry that was integral to American shipping and employed thousands in Southern Georgia until the early 1960s.
“Catface” describes the scars on the trees that remained after they were notched for the collection of resin, aka sap. The main reason for the demand for resin was its use for waterproofing ships, hence the term “naval stores”. Turpentine had myriad uses beyond the naval stores industry.
In the 1800s, trees were “boxed”, a process in which the collection receptacle was cut into the tree itself, and eventually killed it after all the resin was extracted.
UGA professor Charles Herty developed the “Herty Method” in 1901, which produced a better product and allowed the trees to live after they were sapped out.
In this process, a section of bark was removed and an angled notch, or streak, was cut into the wood. Below the notch, metal strips were placed to direct the resin into a collection vessel, sometimes a terra cotta “Herty cup” or a tin cup.
When the first notch stopped producing, a new one would be cut directly above it. This process could be repeated several times, and since the streaks, looked like cat whiskers, the remnant scars were known as catfaces.
Trees involved in the naval stores industry can still be found, if you know where to look.
Most of the characteristic scars have “healed” over time, a testament to the ability of the pines to survive, and have left behind interesting variations. As these trees age and die, there won’t be any new catfaces, so if you see one, you’re seeing something special.
Since most turpentine stands are on private property, the red-blazed trail at Laura S. Walker State Park near Waycross, where I photographed these examples, is one of the best places to see these fascinating landmarks.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 