Hoosier National Forrest stop 1

HISTORY
The Hoosier National Forest, in the hills of south central Indiana, provides a wide mix of opportunities and resources for people to enjoy. Rolling hills, back-country trails, and rural crossroad communities make this small but beautiful Forest a favorite!
The area which is now the Hoosier National Forest was used and inhabited continuously from as early as 12,000 years ago, first by Native Americans, and later by European and African Americans.
The earliest inhabitants traveled through the area as bands of hunter/gatherers in a time when mastodons, elk and bear roamed the land. They established trails, temporary camps, and quarries to extract stone for their tools.
Later, Native American cultural groups established seasonal camps and villages.
As time passed the inhabitants became more sedentary, established permanent villages, developed pottery, continued to hunt primarily the white-tailed deer, developed elaborate social, economic, and governmental systems, and cultivated the now familiar crops of corn, beans, and squash.
Explorers, traders, and adventurers came into what is now Indiana in the late 1600;s. However, it wasn't until 1816 when Indiana became a state that European American settlement began to intensify.
As European Americans acquired land, one of their first concerns was to clear the land of trees.
Southern Indiana boasted some of the finest hardwoods in the world. With the advent of the sawmill in 1860, extensive commercial forest clearing operations began. During the period following the Civil War, thousands of sawmills operated in Indiana.
Indiana's governor, Paul V. McNutt, and the 73rd Indiana Congress in June, 1934, asked the Forest Service to buy this land for the eventual creation of a National Forest.
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CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Today, the parks service offers Camping, Hiking, Picnicing, Horse Riding, Hunting, Fishing, and miles of scenic trails.
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Points of Interest
Charles C. Deam Wilderness - Indiana's only Congressionally designated wilderness area has 13,000 acres providing for solitude and a remote experience.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower - Constructed by the CCC in 1939. This historic tower is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Hickory Ridge Lookout Tower - Constructed by the CCC in 1939. This historic tower is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register.
Rickenbaugh House - A stone house built in 1874, used as a local postoffice and church meeting house. Now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Caves and Karst - much of the Forest is underlain with caves and karst features. All caves are closed for use.