The Indiana dunes have been a cross road of activity since the glacier receded. Great explorers such as Jacques Marquette and René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle traversed this area. As early as 1862, the area was noted for its unique natural resources. At the start of the 20th century, the dunes were a living laboratory for scientist studying plants, animals, and the changes in the land. The first ecologist (Henry Chandler Cowles) did his pioneering work here.
A student of Cowles, O. D. Frank continued Cowle's studies. A museum honoring his work called the Hour Glass is located in Ogden Dunes. Many citizens and politicians have helped to preserve parts of the Indiana Dunes.
Chronology
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Where primary sources are known, references are shown in the table | |
| c. 20,000 BC | Glacial retreat and land subsidence opens St. Lawrence channel to lower lake level; beginning of present dune formations. |
| 1666 | Jesuit missionaries, Frs. Allouez, Marquette, Dablon begin to come through area. |
| 1674 | Father Marquette pauses on way north, shortly before his death. |
| 1679 | LaSalle and Tonti pass through; establish base near St. Joseph. |
| 1750 | Little Fort is built by French near site of present Dune State Park |
| 1780 | Little Fort abandoned by English; Tom Bradley in the "Battle of the Dunes." |
| 1803 | Lt. Swearingen passes through on the way to establish Fort Dearborn. |
| 1822 | Joseph Bailly establishes trading post at southern edge of Dunes. |
| 1823 | William Keating, geologist, and Thomas Say, naturalist, pass through with other members of Long's Expedition. |
| 1827 | First U.S. mail route from Fort Wayne to Fort Dearborn thru Dunes is established. |
| 1833 | Charles Fenno Hoffman, Charles Joseph Lagrobe, and Patrick Shireff all pass through the Dunes on stage coach, leaving vivid impression in the respective books. |
| 1835 | Joseph Bailly dies. |
| 1836 | Removal of Indians from Indiana; Harriet Martineau travels through area, recounts her trip in her book, "Society in America." |
| 1837 | Plat of City West recorded; Daniel Webster makes political speech there. |
| 1838 | T.B.W. Stockton reports to Congress on the absurdity of the proposed harbor at City West. Accuses the earliest proponents of fleecing the taxpayer for private gain. They sought $150,000 for harbor improvements. |
| 1862 | Richard Owen's geological reconnaissance. |
| 1871 | Henry Babcock is the first to mention the flora of the Dunes in his publications; he is shortly followed by the stream of papers of J.M. Coulter, E.J. Hill and others. |
| 1892 | Whitechapel club cremation at Miller. |
| 1893 | W.H. Leman builds the first "permanent" summer cottage in the Dunes proper. |
| 1896 | Octave Chanute begins his glider experiments at Miller, later moving to Dune Park. |
| 1897 | Frank Morley Woodruff published the first of many papers on the birds of the Dunes. |
| 1899 | Henry Chandler Cowles' classic work on the ecological relations of the vegetation of the sand dunes is published. |
| 1907 | George D. Fuller classic work on tiger beetles and plant succession in the Dunes is published; South Shore Electric line in constructed. |
| 1908 | First formal hike to the Dunes by predecessor of The Prairie Club under Jens Jensen, Graham Taylor, Amalie Hofer, and others. |
| 1910 | The Dunes become the setting for many early movies; Chicago was then the movie capital of the world. |
| 1911 | First of a long series of papers on plant succession and ecology of the Dunes by George D. Fuller. |
| 1912 | "Voice of the Dunes" the first of Earl Reed's charming books on the Dunes is published. Plans for first Prairie Club camp at Tremont; beginning of park agitation. |
| 1913 | International Phytogeographic Excursion spends a large share of its time in the Dunes, which are deemed one of the three most interesting areas of the U.S. by foreign scientists. |
| 1915 | Diana of the Dunes (Alice Gray) comes to the dunes. |
| 1916 | National Dunes Association is formed, A.F. Knotts, president, Mrs. Frank J. Sheehan, secretary. Director of the National Park Service Mather calls meeting in Chicago for Dunes National Park project with overwhelming sentiment in favor of it. World War I prevents its realization. |
| 1919 | Marquette Park established |
| 1925 | Indiana Dunes State Park established |
| 1966 | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore established (P.L. 89-761). |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1968 | West Beach acquired. |
| 1970 | James R. Whitehouse, First Superintendent at Indiana Dunes Nat'l Lakeshore. |
| 1972 | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore dedicated by official ceremony. |
| 1974 | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) constructed first beach nourishment at Mt. Baldy (total 227,000 cubic yards (174,000 m) or 305,100 tons). Also rebuilt portions of Lake Front Drive and constructed the Beverly Shores rock revetment. Total cost $3.1 million. |
| 1976 | Restoration of Bailly Homestead begins. Congress passed legislation expanding lakeshore boundaries (something to illustrate 4 expansion bills with photos of lands acquired—e.g. Miller Woods) primarily in the West Unit and Heron Rookery (P.L. 94-549). |
| 1977 | Nike Base is transformed into park headquarters. West Beach bathhouse, parking area and entrance road opened. |
| 1979 | Bailly Cemetery renovated. Bailly Administrative Area headquarters renovated; headquarters staff moves from Visitor Center. |
| 1980 | Congress passed legislation further expanding park, principally to accommodate redevelopment plans (P.L. 96-612) |
| 1981 | USACOE constructed 2nd beach nourishment at Mt. Baldy (80,000 cu yd (61,000 m) or 108,000 tons). |
| 1983 | Dale B. Engquist becomes second Superintendent at national lakeshore. |
| 1986 | Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education dedicated and opened for public September 14. |
| 1989 | Construction completed on new Lake View facility that opened for public use for the summer. Facility included restrooms, picnic area, Lake Michigan exhibits and beach access. Interior restoration of the first floor of the main house of the Chellberg Farm was completed and the facility opened for public use for the first time during the Duneland Harvest Festival in September. |
| 1992 | Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was officially dedicated in honor of Senator Paul H. Douglas by Senator Paul Simon of Illinois |
| 1993 | The park's visitor center was officially dedicated as the "Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center" in recognition of Mrs. Buell's contributions to the establishment of the national lakeshore. |
| 1995 | The Dunewood Campground registration building was completed in June and was opened for campers. |
| 1996 | USACOE constructed third Mt. Baldy beach nourishment (53,000 cu yd or 41,000 m). Cost – $1.3 million. In addition, 50,000 cu yd (38,000 m) were placed by pipeline from hydraulic dredging of the outer harbor at Michigan City ($321,000). |
| 1998 | The first phase of construction of the IDELC at Camp Good Fellow was opened for use in October. The first phase consisted of 5 cabins and a multipurpose building. Five more cabins were to be added to use by spring, 1999. |
| 2003 | Historic Sears catalog (aka Larson) house rehabilitated for the Great Lakes Research & Education Center |
| 2007 | Costa Dillon becomes third Superintendent at national lakeshore. |
| 2014 (May) | Paul Labovitz becomes fourth Superintendent at national lakeshore. |
| 2019 | Indiana Dunes National Park designated February 15, 2019 |
References
- ^ Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2007). The cultural impact of a museum in a small community: The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 2. "South Shore Journal - the Cultural Impact of a Museum in a Small Community: The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on November 30, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1. "South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes". Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-11.
- Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. "South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation". Archived from the original on January 1, 2016. Retrieved 2015-11-22.
- Abstracted from a talk to the Conservation Council in Chicago, March 21, 1957 by Walter L. Necker
- ^ Howe, Frances Rose 1851-1817, The Story of a French Homestead in the Old Northwest, James Dowd Publishers – Bowie, Maryland 1907 / repub. Heritage Books 1999.
- Fortieth Anniversary of Indiana Dunes, Release 2006 Dale Engquist
- Labovitz, Paul. "Paul Labovitz". Paul Labovitz. Linked In. Retrieved March 17, 2022.