Visitors to Gator Fest will get to see – and throw – some special axes made at Lake Waccamaw.
Council Tool Co. is celebrating its 140th anniversary and America’s 250th by replacing the usual date stamp on select axes with an 
American flag. The Liberty Axes will be special, limited run axes celebrating the county’s oldest continually operating industry as well as the nation’s founding.
The company was founded by John Pickett Council, who began making his own tools for farming and naval stores applications in the wake of the War Between the States. Starting from a blacksmith shop at Council Station on the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherfordton Railroad in Bladen County, Council experimented with different steels and techniques to make even better products.
As the quality of his work became known, Council established Council Tool Co. in 1886. He eventually moved the operation to Wannanish at Lake Waccamaw, and was instrumental in bringing the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to the area. ACL had a freight stop at Council in 1902. By 1910, it was estimated that 90 percent of the forestry tools in the U.S. were Council.
Today the company still makes all its axes, firefighting, gardening and camping tools from American steel and American wood at the Lake Waccamaw facility.
At Gator Fest Saturday, Council will have an axe throwing trailer for visitors, as well as displays of the company’s work. The council Flying Fox Woodsman’s hatchet will be available for “test drives” at the throwing trailer. The Flying Fox has been used by winners of the World Axe Throwing Championship for two years in a row.
A company video about the axes can be seen here:
