![]() In the 1950s, a desire to maximize economic development through a "Port of Indiana" spurred interest in preservation. ![]() In 1926, the Indiana Dunes State Park opened. The Hoosier Slide was completely consumed by 1920, and a power plant sits on the site today. plants in Muncie, producing the well-known 'Ball Blue' canning jars and 'Hemingray Blue' insulators. The sand from this dune was found to be ideal for glass manufacture, and much of this sand was transported to the Ball Brothers and Hemingray Glass Co. Another factor leading to the desire to preserve the dunes was the disappearance of the Hoosier Slide, a particularly large dune along this shore. In 1916, the visionary National Parks Director Stephen Mather held hearings in Chicago on a "Sand Dunes National Park". Triggered by a publication on the unique flora of the dunes in the 1899 Botanical Gazette by University of Chicago botanist Henry Chandler Cowles, a movement began to preserve the dunes habitat. Preserving the dunes and National Lakeshore Today, most of the coastline has been settled for use as homes, factories, and businesses, with some areas reserved for public parks. The remains of the town, partly carted off to be used as lumber, were located near where the pavilion in the state park now stands, until a forest fire in the 1850s destroyed whatever was left. Planned as a rival to Chicago, it was partly built in 1837 but failed that summer, during a national economic panic. These pioneer communities grew and expanded.Ĭity West was one of several "ghost towns" situated in the dunes. They included Chesterton, Porter, Tremont, and the Town of the Pines. Soon he was joined by a series of other settlers and the communities in the dunes began to develop. He moved here from trading villages around Niles, Michigan. Joseph Bailly was the earliest recorded settler in the dunes. It wasn't until the 19th century that native villages once again were scattered through the area, but this was soon followed by European settlement. It continued to remain a key hunting ground for villages over a wide area. Once again, the dunes became a middle point on a journey from the east or the west. Entire populations began moving westward, while others sought to dominate large geographic trading areas. Tribal animosities and traditional European competition affected tribal relations. Beginning in the 1500s, European exploration and trade introduced more changes to the human environment. These mounds are consistent with the period of 200 BCE ( Goodall Focus) to 800 CE (early Mississippian), though even that was a short lived permanency. Five groups of mounds have been documented in the dunes area. The earliest evidence for permanent camps was the occupation of the Ohio valley by the Hopewell culture. ![]() There is little evidence of permanent Native American communities forming during the earlier years rather, the evidence suggests that seasonal hunting camps were the norm. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park and the Calumet Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
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