Nathan Allen - Historic Trades/Maintenance Manager To say the
landscape of Indiana has changed is a gross understatement.
Originally, the fabric of this state was chiefly composed of
vast stretches of hardwood forests with some swamps and open
prairie land thrown in for good measure. The saying that a
squirrel could travel from the Atlantic to the Mississippi
without touching foot to the ground highlights how expansive the
forest was. It is the forest that was both friend and foe to the
earliest pioneers. To equate the trees and woodlands that modern
Hoosiers are familiar with to those virgin tracts settlers of
the 18th and 19th century encountered is not a fair comparison.
Trees of many species with diameters of 5-8 feet were commonly
encountered, some specimens growing even larger. Fortunately,
the state does have some small tracts of untouched forest in
Spring Mill, Turkey Run and Shades State Parks as well as some
small tracts in the Hoosier National Forest. If you get a chance
to explore some of these ar