The Hoosier National Forest Identity Proved Tenacious
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Part 4 of the Historical Snapshots Installments The Hoosier National Forest identity proved tenacious In March of 1935 the Forest Service asked the public to help select a name for the purchase units in Indiana. The agency outlined rules for the naming of the forest. About 25 percent of those who sent in suggestions chose the name Hoosier. So Forest Supervisor Phil Brandner announced on April 19, 1935 that Hoosier had been chosen as the official name for the Forest Service purchase units in Indiana. As the early Hoosier purchase units began to grow, authorities speculated that so much federal land would eventually be acquired in southern Indiana that they would need to eventually be divided between three national forests. The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Commission, established by Public Law No. 352, was approved on August 9, 1939. This commission, composed of five commissioners, was to consider and formulate plans for a permanent memorial for Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President of the United States. The Commission decided of all President Harrison’s many achievements, the most important was his creation of forest reserves in 1891 (which later became the national forest system) and the conservation of the country’s natural resources. Stephen Nolan, editor of the Indianapolis News, headed the Commission which prepared a 344‐page report dated February 1, 1941. They asked for funding and the authority to move forward on their plan to purchase and preserve the Harrison home in Indianapolis as a memorial. They suggested the Forest Service purchase units in Indiana be re‐named the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Forest. They requested funding be accelerated to acquire a solid Forest Service land base in 10 years rather than over 40 years as earlier planned. There were several other provisions such as establishing an Institute of Forestry, a scenic highway with educational kiosks, a national arboretum, an educational museum, and a library in Harrison’s memory. A national forest seemed a suitable memorial for President Benjamin Harrison since he was credited with establishing the first national forest, the Shoshone National Forest, near Yellowstone. Specifically, the commission proposed establishing a 700,000‐acre national forest in Indiana in his honor. According to the Bedford Daily Times of April 11, 1941 “Congressional leaders said today that universal approval was given the proposal as a sound business proposition when it was submitted to the committee.” During April and May of 1941 meetings were held throughout Indiana and state‐wide, organizations voted to support the commission’s report. Representative Louis Ludlow introduced House Resolution 4448 on April 21, 1941. Senators Van Nuys and Willis co‐sponsored Senate Bill 1374 on April 22, 1941 with essentially the same language. Both bills would have authorized the Commission to proceed with establishing the Benjamin Harrison Memorial National Forest and Forest Institute in the State of Indiana as a memorial to Benjamin Harrison. The bills would have also authorized the purchase of the Benjamin Harrison home at 1230 North Delaware Street in Indianapolis and acquire additional lands for the national forest. The Commission would dissolve after the memorial work was complete at which time the administration of the holdings acquired would pass to the US Forest Service. Both bills asked the 77th Congress to authorize expenditures not to exceed $5,000,000 to execute the plans recommended by this Commission. By October, Rudy Grabow, Forest Supervisor of the Hoosier Purchase Units was reporting that the two bills had been pigeon‐holed. Further momentum was then lost during the war. No more mention of the bill is made until the Representative Louis Ludlow resubmits his bill, now House Resolution 4006, in September 1945. Although no record of congressional debate shows up the first time these bills were introduced, during the second round, the bill was hotly debated by fellow Indiana representatives. Representative Earl Wilson, whose district much of the purchase units were in, voiced concerns that if 700,000 acres were acquired by the federal government, farmers would be displaced and the ripple effect would hurt local communities. Rep. Wilson expressed concerns over the tax burden on remaining citizens after farmers moved out. He also noted the Shoals dam earlier planned for the White River might then become a reality, and his district would lose fertile bottomland resources. In March 1946 Congressman Ludlow brings the bill up again on the House floor and again there is debate. After this, there is no further mention of the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Forest which had earlier seemed a certainty for Hoosier history and would have meant land acquisition would have proceeded at a much faster rate. By order of the Secretary of Agriculture the Hoosier National Forests were officially designated on October 1, 1951. After 1951, the Hoosier was no longer the Hoosier Purchase Units but was officially a National Forest, now one of 155 national forests in the nation. In 1949, to streamline administrative and staff functions the Hoosier and Wayne National Forest (Ohio) Purchase Units combined. The two Forests operated jointly until January 20, 1993. At that time the Forests officially separated and the Hoosier again regained its own identity. Cover of report filed by the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Commission. 5/5/1941 Benjamin Harrison Mansion in Indianapolis. 5/5/1941 View of proposed arboretum site near Indianapolis that would be part of the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Forest. circa 1969. Former headquarters office of the Wayne‐Hoosier National Forest on J Street in Bedford, Indiana. .