During the 1920's the Office of the State Forester grew steadily, with state appropriationsgrowing annually, increased forestry staff, and more ambitious fire protection programs.In 1926 the Virginia legislature created the Conservation and Development Commission,with W. E. Carson as Chairman. The new commission took over the Office of the StateForester as well as the Geological Survey from the former Geological Commission. Thatsame year the state was organized into four forestry districts: Tidewater, Piedmont,Northwest, and Southwest. Each area had a headquarters office headed by a districtranger. In 1928 the Office of the State Forester embarked on a program of constructingsteel lookout towers throughout Virginia The first such tower to be built was an eighty-foot tower in Spotsylvania County.