The Complete Guide to Indiana State Parks

Nathan D. Strange

Description

Whether you are looking for a weekend hike in the woods, a family outing, or great locations to study the local flora and fauna, Indiana state parks provide something for everyone. Visiting all 25 state parks in Indiana, Nathan Strange and Matt Williams profile and photograph the features that make Indiana parks beautiful and unique. Each park profile includes an engaging history of the park's origins and interviews with dedicated staff members about their favorite landscapes, wildlife, and adventures available in each park. This complete guidebook also offers extensive descriptions of the best park trails, along with the authors' hiking experiences, helpful maps, and directions. Featuring 109 exquisite full-color photographs and inside facts, The Complete Guide to Indiana State Parks is a must-have for every Hoosier and visitor to the state.

Preface
Introduction
1. McCormick's Creek State Park
2. Turkey Run State Park
3. Clifty Falls State Park
4. Indiana Dunes State Park
5. Pokagon State Park
6. Spring Mill State Park
7. Shakamak State Park
8. Brown County State Park
9. Mounds State Park
10. Lincoln State Park
11. Tippecanoe River State Park
12. Versailles State Park
13. Shades State Park
14. Whitewater Memorial State Park
15. Chain O'Lakes State Park
16. Ouabache State Park
17. Harmonie State Park
18. Potato Creek State Park
19. White River State Park
20. Summit Lake State Park
21. Falls of the Ohio State Park
22. Charlestown State Park
23. Fort Harrison State Park
24. O'Bannon Woods State Park
25. Prophetstown State Park

Sujets

• Special Interest
• Campgrounds
• Midwest
• Medio Oeste de Estados Unidos
• Mensajería instantánea
• Interest group (disambiguation)
• Travel
• Midwestern United States
• United States
• Parks
• Middle West
• IN
• OH
• MI

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 14 mars 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253036339
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO
INDIANA
STATE PARKS

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO
INDIANA
STATE PARKS
NATHAN D. STRANGE
Photographs by MATT WILLIAMS
This book is a publication of
Quarry Books an imprint of Indiana University Press Office of Scholarly Publishing Herman B Wells Library 350 1320 East 10th Street Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA iupress.indiana.edu
2018 by Nathan Strange All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences- Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Manufactured in China
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Strange, Nathan D., author. | Williams, Matt (Photographer) photographer. Title: The complete guide to Indiana State Parks / Nathan D. Strange ; photographs by Matt Williams. Description: 1st edition. | Bloomington, Indiana : Quarry Books, an imprint of Indiana University Press, [2018] Identifiers: LCCN 2017020637 (print) | LCCN 2017019266 (ebook) | ISBN 9780253031518 (e-book) | ISBN 9780253025197 (pbk.) Subjects: LCSH: Parks-Indiana-History. | Indiana- Description and travel. | Indiana-History, Local. Classification: LCC F527 (print) | LCC F527 .S86 2017 (ebook) | DDC 977.2-dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017020637
1 2 3 4 5 23 22 21 20 19 18
This book is dedicated to the people of Indiana, visitors, employees, and volunteers who strive to maintain these inherited natural lands and public spaces, first given to the people of Indiana as a gift for generations to cherish forever. Many people have dedicated their lives to the preservation of these parks, and it has been a great honor to work with the people that see the importance of not only saving natural resources and historic locations but also the archives from which much of the research for this book was derived .
Along the quiet trails through these reservations, it is to be expected that the average citizen will find release from the tension of his overcrowded daily existence; that the contact with nature will refocus with a clearer lens his perspective on life s values and that he may here take counsel with himself to the end that his strength and confidence are renewed.
-INSCRIBED ON THE ORIGINAL STATE PARK MAPS
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
1 | McCormick s Creek State Park
2 | Turkey Run State Park
3 | Clifty Falls State Park
4 | Indiana Dunes State Park
5 | Pokagon State Park
6 | Spring Mill State Park
7 | Shakamak State Park
8 | Brown County State Park
9 | Mounds State Park
10 | Lincoln State Park
11 | Tippecanoe River State Park
12 | Versailles State Park
13 | Shades State Park
14 | Whitewater Memorial State Park
15 | Chain O Lakes State Park
16 | Ouabache State Park
17 | Harmonie State Park
18 | Potato Creek State Park
19 | Summit Lake State Park
20 | Falls of the Ohio State Park
21 | Charlestown State Park
22 | Fort Harrison State Park
23 | O Bannon Woods State Park
24 | Prophetstown State Park

PREFACE
While other states might rival the size of Indiana s state park system, one thing is for sure-Indiana prides itself not on the number of parks it operates but by the quality in which each one is preserved. While currently home to 24 state parks, each offers a unique perspective on the state s history and diverse environmental antiquity. Spread across 23 counties, these lands represent the very best parts of the state, held safe from urban development and set aside for recreation and to educate the public about the natural world.
This book is a culmination of investigative research from Indiana s extensive collection of historical records and archives from public libraries, the historic Working Men s Institute Museum and Library in New Harmony, Indiana, and the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis, as well as information collected from visiting all 24 Indiana State Parks. After traveling over 5,200 miles to experience every single one of Indiana s state parks, I discovered more than an outlet for outdoor exploration. The state of Indiana and its treasured parks are rich and diverse with fascinating history, stunning landscapes, irreplaceable artifacts, historic buildings, distinctive architecture, and people proud to call themselves Hoosiers.
Indiana is a place full of various types of people from all walks of life. Connected to four different states and made up of three unique regions, the state has roughly 550 square miles of water running through its sandy glaciated north, crossing fertile rolling plains of its central cities, and cutting through the gorges of its hilly, southern expanse. Home to over 6,570,902 people, the once unspoiled state owes its legacy to the Native Americans who once ruled the land, and for whom the state is aptly named Indiana: Land of the Indians. Stretching 36,420 square miles, the state of Indiana holds a wealth of natural wonders, preserved for everyone to enjoy-now and in the future.
The purpose of this book is to offer an in-depth overview of the history, location, trails and activities, and amenities of each one of Indiana s 24 state parks. Each chapter will begin with a history of landownership, the individuals responsible for the park s creation, the staff that was involved, and unique stories that make each park special. Information about the park s location will be described, along with geological and environmental information highlighting the unique sights that make each park biologically diverse. Other activities offered will be listed in a brief explanation, as well as any special amenities offered by each park, such as a lodge or cabins-including a history of the buildings and people for who they are named. Since this is a book primarily focusing on the 100-year history of Indiana s state parks, the approach will be to start at the beginning in 1916, with each chapter moving forward in time to present day.
Our parks and preserves are not mere picnicking places. They are rich storehouses of memories and reveries. They are guides and counsels to the weary and faltering spirit. They are bearers of wonderful tales to they who will listen; a solace to the aged and an inspiration to the young.
-RICHARD LIEBER

INTRODUCTION
THE HISTORY OF INDIANA AS A STATE
Known as The Crossroads of America, the Hoosier state has a long history of transitory settlement and usage of the land s natural resources, as early Native Americans first used the lakes, streams, and forests for hunting, farming, and trade. Deeply connected to the world around them, the Native cultures of the Iroquois and Algonquian groups prospered from the land for thousands of years before Europeans arrived around the late 1600s. These Native groups, which included the Delaware, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Shawnee, and Miami tribes, embraced European tools and trade but refused to give up the land they had used for centuries, and by the early 1800s all of Indiana s Native American tribes had vanished either by disease, war, or forced removal.
French explorers first entered what would become Indiana sometime around 1679, reaching South Bend and the Saint Joseph River. French Canadian fur traders followed the route and, over the course of the next few decades, dedicated trade routes were cut through the Indiana landscape. Official settlement had begun. By 1787 the US government defined present-day Indiana as part of a much larger Northwest Territory. When Ohio separated in 1800, the remaining land was renamed the Indiana Territory with Indiana meaning Land of the Indians. The population of Native tribes in the area was so vast that the territory became the frontline for many legendary battles between migrating immigrants and Native Americans. The largest immigrant groups to settle in Indiana were German, as well as numerous immigrants from Ireland and England.
Indiana s statehood was first petitioned in 1811 by Jonathan Jennings, but due to the famed War of 1812, the plan was delayed for several years. In 1816, Jennings petitioned Congress for an enabling act, a legal procedure territories followed to begin the process of becoming a state. This act required the state s boundaries to be set and for territory leaders to meet in order to write a state constitution. During the summer of the same year, 43 delegates met at the Harrison County courthouse in Corydon, Indiana, to pen the state s constitution and create the three different parts of the state s government: the Indiana General Assembly that made the laws, the governor who saw that laws were followed, and the supreme court to decide if laws were fair. After the state constitution was written, an election was held to determine the Indiana General Assembly, and Jonathan Jennings was appointed Indiana s first governor. On December 11, 1816, Indiana was officially admitted to the United States as the 19th state of the union.
As people began to move into the newly formed state, Indiana s first state capitol in Corydon was no longer centrally located to the population. Indiana s General Assembly met to discuss the topic, and a new location where Fall Creek and the White River met in the center of the state was accepted in 1821, named Indianapolis ( polis being Greek for city). While Indiana lacked a dependable road system for many years after accepting its new state capital, the Nat