The Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area is located close to the city of Heltonville and

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

. Lake Monroe, Indiana's largest reservoir, forms the northern boundary. It was established as wilderness in 1982 and is managed by the

Hoosier National Forest The Hoosier National Forest is a property managed by the United States Forest Service in the hills of southern Indiana. Composed of four separate sections, it has a total area of . Hoosier National Forest's headquarters are located in Bedford, wi ...

. It covers 12,472 acres (19.49 mi² or 50.47 km²). It was named in honor of Indiana's first State Forester Charles C. Deam.

Location and History

The area is a fine example of Karst topography, with its flat-topped ridges,

geode A geode (; ) is a geological secondary formation within sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geodes are hollow, vaguely spherical rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded. The crystals are formed by the fill ...

-laden streambeds, and occasional caves. It lies near Mount Carmel Fault. Many colorful wildflowers and plants bloom during the spring. These include twin leaf,

bloodroot ''Sanguinaria canadensis'', bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus ''Sanguinaria'', included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to ' ...

, dutchman's breeches,

hyacinth Hyacinth or Hyacinthus may refer to: Nature Plants * Hyacinth (plant), genus ''Hyacinthus'' ** '' Hyacinthus orientalis'', common hyacinth * Grape hyacinth, '' Muscari'', a genus of perennial bulbous plants native to Eurasia * Hyacinth bean, ''L ...

phacelia ''Phacelia'' (phacelia, scorpionweed, heliotrope) is a genus of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the borage family, native to North and South America. California is particularly rich in species with over 90 recorded ...

, wood poppy,

spring beauty ''Claytonia'' (spring beauty) is a genus of flowering plants native to Asia, North America, and Central America. The vitamin-rich leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and the tubers can be prepared like potatoes. Description The plants are somew ...

and blue phlox. Bird species, like the Acadian flycatcher,

red-shouldered hawk The red-shouldered hawk (''Buteo lineatus'') is a medium-sized buteo. Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. It is a permanent resident throughout most of its ...

sharp-shinned hawk The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is fa ...

scarlet tanager The scarlet tanager (''Piranga olivacea'') is a medium-sized American songbird. Until recently, it was placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), but it and other members of its genus are now classified as belonging to the cardinal family (Cardin ...

pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker (''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the ...

, several

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

species and

red-eyed vireo The red-eyed vireo (''Vireo olivaceus'') is a small American songbird. It is somewhat warbler-like but not closely related to the New World warblers (Parulidae). Common across its vast range, this species is not considered threatened by the IUCN. ...

, thrive. Venomous snakes also persist in small numbers, including the

timber rattlesnake The timber rattlesnake, canebrake rattlesnake, or banded rattlesnake (''Crotalus horridus'') Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of ...

and

copperhead Copperhead may refer to: Snakes * ''Agkistrodon contortrix'', or copperhead, a venomous pit viper species found in parts of North America * '' Austrelaps'', or Australian copperhead, a genus of venomous elapids found in southern Australia and Ta ...

Fox squirrel The fox squirrel (''Sciurus niger''), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, it is sometimes mistaken for A ...

, white-tailed deer, turkey and raccoon are plentiful, attracting many hunters every fall. Hikers, backpackers, and horseback riders are also drawn to the wilderness and its 39 miles of trails. Unlike the virgin forest found in many other wilderness areas, the Deam Wilderness Area was settled beginning in 1826. The wilderness area is separated by Tower Ridge Road and the northern section is larger than the southern. Most of the trails follow old roadbeds, and exploration off the main trails will bring visitors past other shadows of the past, including house foundations, domestic plants, old fences, and the occasional cemetery (five cemeteries exist within the wilderness boundary). The narrow, rocky ridges made for marginally productive farmland, but the inhabitants were able to scrape by until

the Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. As the economy forced them out, the U.S. Forest Service acquired their property and, with the help of the

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 ...

, began rehabilitating the area and managing it for recreation. "Improvements" included constructing ponds, replanting trees, and building the

Hickory Ridge Fire Tower The Hickory Ridge Fire Tower is a Fire lookout tower located in the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area. It is an Aermotors type lookout tower. Construction of the tower began in 1936 under the auspices of the Civilian Conservation Corps. It is co ...

that still stands, open to the public, at the Hickory Ridge Trailhead. Since its designation as a wilderness area under Ronald Reagan in 1982, the only artificial improvements have come in the form of trail maintenance.

Claude Ferguson Alan Claude Ferguson (January 13, 1923 – June 15, 2006), who went by A. Claude Ferguson, was an American forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. After a 33-year career employee of the U.S. Forest Service, he chose to work with environm ...

, former Supervisor of the Hoosier National Forest, was instrumental in establishing the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area. Following his death in 2006, his Deam Wilderness papers and maps were donated to the Indiana Forest Alliance and are now housed at the Indiana University Lilly Library. A Celebration of the Deam was held at IU Lilly Library April 20, 2011.

Charles C. Deam Wilderness Trail System

Source: {{cite web , title= Charles C. Deam Wilderness , work=United States Forest Service, url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_017286.pdf , accessdate= December 31, 2014

Gallery

Image:Axom Branch Cabin Charles C Deam Steve Skinner.jpg, Abandoned cabin ruins found along Axsom Branch Trail near Monroe Reservoir shore. Image:Terrel Pond Sunset Charles C Deam Steve Skinner.jpg, Sunrise at Terrel Pond.

References

External links

Charles C. Deam Wilderness at Wilderness.net
Protected areas of Brown County, Indiana Protected areas of Jackson County, Indiana Protected areas of Lawrence County, Indiana Protected areas of Monroe County, Indiana Wilderness areas of Indiana Civilian Conservation Corps in Indiana Hoosier National Forest

Location and History

Charles C. Deam Wilderness Trail System

Gallery

See also

References

External links