The Hoosier National Forest is a property managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

in the hills of southern

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 ...

. Composed of four separate sections, it has a total area of . Hoosier National Forest's headquarters are located in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

, with a regional office in

Tell City Tell City is a city in Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, Troy Township, Perry County, Indiana, Perry County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 7,272 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The city i ...

. Prominent places within the Forest include the Lick Creek Settlement,

Potts Creek Rockshelter Archeological Site The Potts Creek Rockshelter Archeological Site, within Hoosier National Forest in Crawford County, Indiana, was a camp for Archaic, Woodland, and Paleo-Indian Indians. It is currently unoccupied by habitation. It was listed on the National Regis ...

, and

Jacob Rickenbaugh House Jacob Rickenbaugh House is a historic home located in Hoosier National Forest, Oil Township, Perry County, Indiana. It was built in 1874, and is a two-story, "T"-plan dwelling constructed of ashlar sandstone blocks in the late Greek Revival s ...

History

Hoosier National Forest was first touched by humanity 12,000 years ago, when

Native Americans in the United States Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States ( Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United State ...

hunted in the forest. Europeans reached the forest in the late 17th century, and began building villages in the forest. Actual lumbering began in the 19th century, with the cutting of more difficult terrain occurring after 1865. By 1910 most of the area had been cut. In the early 1930s the governor of Indiana pushed for the federal government to do something with the eroding lands that saw its residents leaving, with the act being accomplished on February 6, 1935. Within Hoosier National Forest, two miles (3 km) south of

Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

, lies the former Lick Creek Settlement Site, a settlement of free blacks led by the Quaker Jonathan Lindley from around 1819 to around 1865. Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest near Paoli contains an excellent example of virgin forest. Hemlock Cliffs Recreation Area in Crawford County contains one of the most scenic hiking trails in Indiana. Most of Thomas Hines' Hines' Raid was within the present-day Hoosier National Forest. Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower is the sole remaining fire tower out of eight that once stood within Hoosier National Forest. When built, there was a two-room house for the ranger and his dependents to live within, but it has since been destroyed. Visitors may still climb the tower, but are recommended to be cautious when climbing. Maumee Scout Reservation and Lake Tarzian are also located within the Hoosier National Forest. Lake Tarzian is named after

Sarkes Tarzian Sarkes Tarzian (October 5, 1900 – October 7, 1987) was an Ottoman-born American engineer, inventor, and broadcaster. He was ethnic Armenian born in the Ottoman Empire. He and his family immigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States i ...

who led the capital campaign to build the camp.

Science

Much of Hoosier National Forest is over karst, responsible for the many caves in southern Indiana. Included in Hoosier National Forest is the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area, the only recognized wilderness area left in Indiana. This means that no motorized vehicles are allowed in the area, and instead mules and horses must be used to maintain hiking trails. In the Clover Lick Barrens, the southern portion of Hoosier National Forest near the Ohio River, the vegetation is more typical of that found on prairies in the Great Plains. This was discovered by a botanist and biologist from 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 ...

, who later found that in the first recorded survey of the area in 2005, the land was described not as forest, but as "a mile of poor barrens and grassy hills". It is believed that the inability of tall

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

s to grow in the area allows for this prairie vegetation to persist in such an unlikely location. In 2006 a conscious effort was made to keep the barren look to the area; previous federal efforts on renovating Hoosier National Forest meant adding nonnative species to low-growth areas. It was around Clover Lick in 1972 that Indiana decided to reintroduce

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland ground bird native to North America, one of two extant species of turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey, which was originally d ...

s back to Indiana, dedicating for the purpose. Also found in Hoosier National Forest is Sundance Lake, a lake. Hoosier National Forest lies in parts of nine counties in southern Indiana.

Recreation

The trail system has almost , and allows horseback riding and mountain bikes, along with hiking. Hikers are to yield to horses, and mountain bikers are to yield to both of them. Within the Hemlock Cliffs Valley, located within the central portion of the National Forest, there is the 1.2 mile Hemlock Cliffs trail. The trail is noted as access to sandstone cliffs and seasonal waterfalls as well as Hemlock trees and rare wintergreen plants.

Hoosier National Forest Trail System

All trail locations are within the great state of Indiana.

References

External links