Fort Harrison, sometimes called Fort Ben, is an

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

located in

Lawrence, Indiana Lawrence is a city in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is one of four " excluded cities" in Marion County. The city is home to Fort Benjamin Harrison within Fort Harrison State Park. The population was 46,001 at the 2010 census. The ci ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and occupies part of the former site of

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 1901, ...

. The park features a former Citizen's Military Training Camp,

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

camp, and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. ...

. There are also

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

king and walking/jogging trails including a connection to the

Fall Creek Greenway Fall Creek Greenway, often referred to as Fall Creek Trail, is a shared-use path in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The greenway begins at the border of Fort Harrison State Park on Boy Scout Road in the northeast corner of the city, meande ...

. The park receives nearly 900,000 visitors annually. The park is 1 of 14 Indiana State Parks that are in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with 3 minutes and 48 seconds of totality.

History

Fort Harrison was opened in 1906 by United States President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, honoring former President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

, who was from Indianapolis. The idea came from Lieutenant Colonel Russell Harrison, son of recently deceased Benjamin Harrison, who wanted to keep a military facility in Indianapolis due to the legacy of such Indianapolis military facilities as

Camp Morton Camp Morton was a military training ground and a Union prisoner-of-war camp in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton. Prior to the war, the site served as the fairgrounds for the In ...

. General Order #117 on June 28, 1904, ordered a land purchase for military use from

downtown Indianapolis Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65, Interstate 70, and the White River, and is situated near the geographic center of ...

.Official State Park brochure: http://www.in.gov/dnr/files/ftharrison_trail.pdf The fort was finished in 1908, after the construction of brick barracks, headquarters, officer's houses, and hospital. Other support structures, such as horse stables, were finished at the time. The Tenth Infantry Regiment immediately moved in after these facilities were constructed. The fort represented the first effort to make a national army using state militia forces. It acted as classrooms, soldier support, and troop reception for all United States military activities from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

to Operation: Desert Storm. During

, the base had a

.State Parks & Reservoirs
/ref> During the 1970s and 1980s, the area around Fort Harrison was attracting residents of Asian descent and, to a lesser extent, Hispanics. The athlete village for the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas c ...

was built inside Fort Benjamin Harrison. Dining, lodging, nightclubbing, and practice facilities were constructed within the village. Governor Bayh visits with young Hoosiers at the opening of the new Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park in Indianapolis

Governor Bayh visits with young Hoosiers at the opening of the new Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park in Indianapolis

Following the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the United States government began downsizing by closing bases. Thus, in 1991 Fort Harrison of Indianapolis was decommissioned. The base had several amenities, including an officers' club, three officers' homes, special housing for

Very Important Person A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

s, and an eighteen-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. It also featured one of the largest

hardwood Hardwood is wood from dicot trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood (which comes from ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s in central Indiana.Conn 94 The United States Department of the Interior chose in 1995 to give of Fort Harrison's to the

Indiana Department of Natural Resources The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages In ...

for use as a state park, similar to how

Charlestown State Park Charlestown State Park is an Indiana state park on in Clark County, Indiana, in the United States. The park is on the banks of the Ohio River, east of Charlestown. It was once part of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP), and was donate ...

started in Southern Indiana. During the time that the

Indiana Governor's mansion The Indiana Governor's Residence is the official home of the family of the governor of Indiana and is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. In use since 1973, it is the sixth official residence of Indiana's governors. The current tenant is Governor ...

was being redone in 2003 to make it accessible to handicapped individuals, Indiana governor

Frank O'Bannon Frank Lewis O'Bannon (January 30, 1930 – September 13, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003. As of October 2022, he remains the most recent United States Governor to ha ...

and his wife lived at the Harrison House, the park's inn, as their official residence. Prior to the formation of the park, it had been a nurses dorm during World War II and later a VIP residence. They spent most of the year living there. When state governor's mansion was finished, the O'Bannon's moved out and the Harrison House was once again available for the general public to use. Current plans include moving the

Bell Ford Bridge The Bell Ford Post Patented Diagonal "Combination Bridge", often simply called the Bell Ford Bridge or Bell Ford Covered Bridge, is a dilapidated covered bridge located in Jackson County, Indiana, northwest of Seymour, Indiana. The bridge original ...

from

Jackson County, Indiana Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 42,376. The county seat is Brownstown. History Jackson County was formed in 1816. It was named after General Andrew Jackson. Jackson County was ...

, into the park, allowing an additional way for pedestrians and bikers to cross Fall Creek.

Features

Unlike most state parks in Indiana, Fort Harrison is a day-use park, with its only overnight facilities being the inn, The Fort Golf Resort, which was the old officers' club. The fort's eighteen-hole

makes the park popular with Indianapolis golfers; it was redesigned by

Pete Dye Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), known as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye. Early life Dye was ...

after the fort's closure, making it a 72-par course. Only golfers are allowed on the course. The VIP housing became the Harrison House Suites, and the four Officer's Homes are available for overnight lodging as well. There are six hiking trails, and one for horseback riding, with horse rentals available. One of the hiking trails, Harrison Trace Trail, is paved, making it available for bikers and in-line skating. The longest of the trails is the Lawrence Creek Train, which is a , single-track trail for mountain biking and walking. The wildflowers take the place of the ravines and steep hillsides typical of state parks in southern Indiana. Biking and fishing are also available; the park office sells the necessary state fishing permit. In winter, ice fishing is available. An interpretive center at the park office informs visitors of the history and natural environment of the park. Fall Creek runs for inside the park, with smaller tributaries feeding it which are also within the boundaries of the park.

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

s, and

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

s are the most commonly seen wildlife in the park; a

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

pond is off-limits for visitors.

Museum of 20th Century Warfare

The Museum of 20th Century Warfare is located in Building 711 in the Historic Camp Glenn area of the park with exhibits about the Fort and technology, artifacts, uniforms and soldiers of the 20th Century. A model of the USS ''Indianapolis'' is part of the permanent exhibit. Temporary exhibits are changed every three months. The museum's programming includes re-enactments and living history camps. There is no admission fee other than the fee charged to enter the park.

References

External links

Indiana Department of Natural Resources' official Web page
{{authority control Protected areas established in 1996 State parks of Indiana Parks in Indianapolis Civilian Conservation Corps in Indiana Protected areas of Marion County, Indiana Nature centers in Indiana Museums in Marion County, Indiana Military and war museums in Indiana 1996 establishments in Indiana

History

Features

Museum of 20th Century Warfare

See also

References

External links