History of the Indiana Dunes facts for kids

The Indiana Dunes are amazing sand dunes found on the southern edge of Lake Michigan in Indiana, USA. They are super important because of their unique plants and animals. Many people have worked hard to protect parts of the Indiana Dunes. There's even a museum called The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes that shows how special the Dunes are.

People have lived in the Indiana Dunes area for a very long time, ever since the huge glaciers melted away about 14,000 years ago. At first, the southern lakes area was a great place for hunting. There isn't much proof that people lived there all year round in the earliest times. Instead, archaeologists think people set up temporary hunting camps.

The first signs of people living there more permanently come from the Hopewell culture. Five groups of ancient mounds have been found in the Dunes area. These mounds were likely built between 200 BCE and 800 CE. When Europeans arrived, they brought big changes. Trade and conflicts between tribes and Europeans affected how people lived. Some groups moved west, while others tried to control large trading areas. The Dunes became a middle point for travelers. It stayed an important hunting ground for many villages. In the 1800s, Native American villages appeared again, but soon European settlers arrived. Today, the entire coastline is developed with homes, factories, businesses, and parks.

Early People in the Dunes

The first people came to the area south of Lake Michigan after the glaciers left, about 15,000 years ago. As the ice melted, people moved in. The earliest known people in Indiana are called Early Paleoindians. No sites from them have been found in the Dunes. This is because the land had just come out from under the glaciers. It wasn't a good place for the animals these early people hunted. A few tools from later Paleoindians have been found on the older, higher ridges in the Dunes.

Many ancient tools have been found in the Dunes from the Archaic period. These include spear points from 7800 to 5800 BC. Other points from the Middle to Late Archaic periods have also been found.

Projectile points found in the Indiana Dunes

The Dunes formed from ancient 'glacial lakes' left behind by melting ice. This means there are no special hills called kames in the Dunes area. Without kames, which were sometimes used for burials, we mostly use projectile points (like spearheads) to guess how old things are. Other ancient groups like the Glacial Kame culture, Red Ocher people, and Old Copper complex are known by the items they buried with their dead. These groups were centered further away from the Indiana Dunes. No items from them have been found here.

The first signs of people living here for a long time are the mounds found across northwest Indiana. Many of these are linked to the Goodall focus culture. This group was part of the Hopewell tradition. The Dunes are the furthest west and south where Goodall sites have been found. This group mainly lived in western Michigan.

Six mound sites have been found in the Dunes. Two burial sites were explored. One, called the graveyard blow-out, had a skull and a bone with an arrow in it. This site has since worn away. Another burial site was found when Wagner Road was extended. It had seven full skeletons and was fully dug up.

Early campsites were found near Tremont and along the Calumet River. These high spots were dry places to stay overnight. An "Indian" Well, a spring north of Chesterton, was said to be a gathering place. By 1931, it had been filled in.

In 1923, there were almost 100 mounds in an area called Mound Valley. They were round or oval. Digs found stone knives, hammers, and spear points. Steel blades with bone handles were also found. By 1931, no signs of these mounds remained.

By the 1400s CE, Native American groups around Lake Michigan's southern shores were part of the Huber-Berrien group. These people also built mounds.

Native American History

Iroquois Wars

Stories from the Potawatomi and Miami tribes say they lived in the Indiana Dunes before the Beaver Wars (1641–1701). During these wars, both tribes moved north to the Door Peninsula for safety. The Iroquois Wars mainly happened in what is now Ontario, Canada. By 1656, the Erie tribe was gone. Most of what we know about these wars comes from French records in Canada.

By 1677, the Miami and Potawatomi began returning to Lake Michigan's southern shore. The Miami were near the Calumet River in what is now Blue Island, Illinois. On the eastern side of the Dunes, the Miami and Mascouten returned to the St. Joseph River after 1673. Another village grew near the St. Joseph River after 1679. Other villages might have been in the Dunes, but explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle didn't mention any in his journals.

The Iroquois attacked a village at Starved Rock in 1684. Then, in 1687, they raided villages in the Blue Island area. No more attacks happened around the southern end of Lake Michigan. By the late 1680s, allied Algonquian peoples fought the Iroquois in their own lands, ending the threat. By 1701, eastern villages along the St. Joseph River included Miami, Mascouten, Shawnee, Mahican, and Potawatomi.

French Era

During the French time in the Indiana Dunes (1720–1761), main villages were at the mouth of the Chicago River and along the northern St. Joseph River. French leaders in Montreal encouraged traders to stay in Native American villages during winter. This made communities gather at important travel spots. The Indiana Dunes were mostly a place people passed through. The closest important points were the Chicago Portage to the west and the St. Joseph Portage to the east.

The Mesquakie and Sauk tribes set up villages in Chicago in the 1740s. The Potawatomi were reported around the French trading post in Chicago starting in the 1750s. To the east, the Potawatomi and Miami built villages on the St. Joseph River after 1720. During this time, the Dunes were likely used for seasonal hunting.

European Exploration

Like the Native Americans, European explorers mostly went around the southern shore of Lake Michigan, not directly through the heart of the Dunes. The French quickly learned about water routes that connected Lake Michigan to places further south. The two main routes were the Chicago Portage in Illinois and the portage between the St. Joseph River and the Kankakee River in northern Indiana.

Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette were sent in 1673 to explore. They promised to return and start a mission. This journey went along the western side of Lake Michigan to the Chicago Portage. In October 1674, Father Marquette and two companions left their mission. Because Marquette was sick, they spent the winter at the Chicago Portage. By April 1675, they were on the Illinois River. Marquette preached to 1500 Native Americans there. When he became sick again, he asked to return. This time, they took a shorter route across the southern shore and up the eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

• Petit Fort

Early Trails

Trails through the Dunes had many names and routes, but they always looked for the easiest paths. The first clear mention of trails comes from Joseph Bailly in 1822. He settled south of the Calumet Beach Trail, also known as the Lake Shore Trail. The U.S. government became interested in this route after the War of 1812. They wanted to build a military road from Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit to Fort Dearborn (now in Chicago).

By 1827, the route was identified and in use. It followed the Great Sauk Trail from Detroit to LaPorte, Indiana. From there, travelers had two choices. The main road continued the Sauk Trail across Indiana to Illinois. The other option was to go northwest to Trail Creek and follow the lake shore for the last 60 miles to Fort Dearborn. This military road became known as the Chicago Road. By 1833, regular stagecoach service ran between Detroit and Chicago.

See also

• Michigan Road – This road connected Madison, Indianapolis, South Bend, and Michigan City.
• U.S. Route 12 in Indiana

Fur Trade and Settlement

The 1800s

Octave Chanute organized a big meeting about flying in 1893. He then worked with younger inventors like Augustus Herring. In 1896 and 1897, they tested gliders based on designs by German aviator Otto Lilienthal. They also tested their own glider design. They came to Miller Beach on Lake Michigan because of the steady winds. This spot is now in Marquette Park.

These experiments showed Chanute that to get enough lift without being too heavy, they needed to stack several wings on top of each other. This idea came from British engineer Francis Wenham. Chanute invented a special "strut-wire" design to hold the wings together. This design became standard for early airplanes. The famous Wright brothers used Chanute's "double-decker" design for their Flyer.

In 1874, Robert and Druisilla Carr settled on 200 acres of land near the Calumet River. Even though the Carrs lived there for years, United States Steel Corporation claimed the land in 1919. After many talks, U.S. Steel and the Carr family agreed to give the land to the City of Gary for a park. It was first called "Lake Front Park" but was later renamed to honor Father Pere Marquette.

The 1900s

In June 1954, the Army Corps of Engineers bought land east of Ogden Dunes. By the end of the year, they started building a $1,000,000 Nike-Ajax missile base. This base was part of a defense system to protect the Gary industrial area from enemy planes. It had three underground missile storage areas. Half a mile west, the main office area was built with nine buildings, including barracks and offices. The base closed in April 1974. It was then given to the National Park Service and became the main offices for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1977.

Movies filmed at the Dunes include Julius Caesar (1950) and Lost in the Soudan (1910).

The 2000s

Creating the Park

Early Efforts to Save the Dunes

The idea to protect the Indiana Dunes started way back in 1899. Three key people helped make the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore happen: Henry Cowles, a botanist; Paul H. Douglas, a U.S. senator; and Dorothy R. Buell, a local resident and teacher. Henry Cowles wrote an article in 1899 about the plants on the sand dunes. This made him known as the "father of plant ecology" in North America. It also brought worldwide attention to the amazing ecosystems in the Dunes.

But Cowles' article and the new global interest weren't enough to stop industries from using the Dunes. In 1916, the area was booming with steel mills and power plants. For example, Hoosier Slide, a huge sand dune 200 feet tall, was carried away in railroad cars by glass manufacturers.

This kind of activity made Cowles and others form the Prairie Club of Chicago in 1908. This group was the first to suggest that part of the Indiana Dunes should be protected. They wanted to keep it natural for everyone to enjoy. From the Prairie Club came the National Dunes Park Association (NDPA). Their motto was: "A National Park for the Middle West, and all the Middle West for a National Park."

Marquette Park is Created

Stephen Mather visits the Indiana Dunes in 1916

On October 30, 1916, just one month after the National Park Service was created, Stephen Mather, its first Director, held a meeting in Chicago. He wanted to know what people thought about a "Sand Dunes National Park." Four hundred people came, and 42 spoke in favor of the park. No one was against it.

However, the plan for a national park was stopped when the United States entered World War I. National priorities changed. Money was needed for defense, not for a new park. The popular saying "Save the Dunes!" became "First Save the Country, Then Save the Dunes!" As the country went from war into a depression, hopes to save the Dunes began to fade.

The State Park is Created

In 1926, after Indiana had asked for ten years to protect the Dunes, the Indiana Dunes State Park opened. The State Park was still quite small. So, the push for a national park continued. In 1949, Dorothy Buell joined the Indiana Dunes Preservation Council (IDPC). Her efforts led to the creation of the Save the Dunes Council in 1952.

But the fight wasn't over. Some politicians and business people wanted to build a Port of Indiana to boost the economy. They were eager to connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway. Because of this, Dorothy Buell and the Save the Dunes Council started a national effort to raise money and buy land. Their first success was buying 56 acres in Porter County, called the Cowles Tamarack Bog.

The National Lakeshore is Created

In the summer of 1961, those fighting to save the Dunes found new hope. President John F. Kennedy supported buying land for Cape Cod National Seashore. This was the first time federal money would be used to buy natural parkland. President Kennedy also supported the National Lakeshore. He wanted to connect the country's economy with protecting nature. This plan was called the Kennedy Compromise (1963–1964).

The Kennedy Compromise meant creating both a national lakeshore and a port for industry. Then-Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas worked tirelessly to save the Dunes. He spoke to the public and Congress, earning him the nickname "the third senator from Indiana." In 1966, Douglas made sure that the desired Burns Waterway Harbor (Port of Indiana) could only be built if the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was also approved.

By late 1966, the bill passed, and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore finally became real. The first law in 1966 included 8,330 acres of land and water. But the Save the Dunes Council and the National Park Service kept working to make the park bigger. Four more laws (in 1976, 1980, 1986, and 1992) have increased the park's size to over 15,000 acres.

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