Beall Woods State Park
Encyclopedia
Beall Woods State Park is Illinois state park on 635 acres (257 ha) bordering the Wabash River
and Keensburg
in Wabash County
, Illinois
in the United States
. 329 acres (133.1 ha) of the state park is an old-growth forest designated as an Natural Area by the state of Illinois. The trees within the forest consist overwhelmingly of hardwood
s of the former Eastern Woodlands ecosystem. Beall Woods State Park has been elevated to the status of a National Natural Landmark
as the Forest of the Wabash. The state park was created in 1966. The nearest towns with any sizable commercial infrastructure, including hotels and grocery stores, are Grayville
and Mount Carmel
. The park does host a small primitive campground and maintains a visitor center which opened in April 2001. The park maintains 6.25 miles (10.1 km) of hiking trail
s, primarily through the Forest of the Wabash portion of the park.
trees with trunks of greater than 30 inches (76 cm) diameter at breast
i.e. 40 inches (1 m) high. Some of the trees in the Forest of the Wabash are more than 120 feet (37 m) tall.
Trees of note include the white oak
(the state tree of Illinois), the tuliptree (the state tree of Indiana, across the Wabash River), the American sycamore
, and the American Sweetgum
. One of the sweetgums of this Forest is designated as the "state champion" tree as being the largest member of this species known to grow within the boundaries of Illinois.
The Forest of the Wabash was patented by the federal government to the Beall family in the early 19th century, and was owned by them as an undisturbed woodlot until the 1960s. Meanwhile almost all of the other old-growth trees in the Wabash Valley were cut down for fine hardwood purposes, timber, or even for firewood
. Upon the death of Laura Beall, the last private-sector guardian of the Forest of the Wabash, and after a fight with a lumber company, in 1965 the State of Illinois condemned the Beall farm and forest for public use.
In 2007, Beall Woods State Park was designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois.
Wabash River
The Wabash River is a river in the Midwestern United States that flows southwest from northwest Ohio near Fort Recovery across northern Indiana to southern Illinois, where it forms the Illinois-Indiana border before draining into the Ohio River, of which it is the largest northern tributary...
and Keensburg
Keensburg, Illinois
Keensburg is a village in Coffee Precinct, Wabash County, Illinois. The population was 252 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Keensburg is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land. Keensburg is connected to the nearby towns of Mount...
in Wabash County
Wabash County, Illinois
Wabash County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 11,947, which is a decrease of 7.7% from 12,937 in 2000...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. 329 acres (133.1 ha) of the state park is an old-growth forest designated as an Natural Area by the state of Illinois. The trees within the forest consist overwhelmingly of hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
s of the former Eastern Woodlands ecosystem. Beall Woods State Park has been elevated to the status of a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
as the Forest of the Wabash. The state park was created in 1966. The nearest towns with any sizable commercial infrastructure, including hotels and grocery stores, are Grayville
Grayville, Illinois
Grayville is a city in Edwards and White counties in Illinois. The population was 1,725 at the 2000 census. Grayville is the birthplace of naval hero James Meredith Helm.-Geography:Grayville is located at ....
and Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel, Illinois
Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2000 census, the population was 7,982, while the next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, population 528. Located at the confluence of the Wabash, Patoka, and White Rivers, Mount...
. The park does host a small primitive campground and maintains a visitor center which opened in April 2001. The park maintains 6.25 miles (10.1 km) of hiking trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
s, primarily through the Forest of the Wabash portion of the park.
Forest of the Wabash
The Forest of the Wabash Natural Area within Beall Woods State Park contains trees from 64 separate species. Foresters have counted more than 300 climaxClimax community
In ecology, a climax community, or climatic climax community, is a biological community of plants and animals which, through the process of ecological succession — the development of vegetation in an area over time — has reached a steady state. This equilibrium occurs because the climax community...
trees with trunks of greater than 30 inches (76 cm) diameter at breast
Diameter at breast height
Diameter at breast height, or DBH, is a standard method of expressing the diameter of the trunk or bole of a standing tree. DBH is one of the most common dendrometric measurements....
i.e. 40 inches (1 m) high. Some of the trees in the Forest of the Wabash are more than 120 feet (37 m) tall.
Trees of note include the white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
(the state tree of Illinois), the tuliptree (the state tree of Indiana, across the Wabash River), the American sycamore
American sycamore
Platanus occidentalis, also known as American Sycamore, American plane, Occidental plane, and Buttonwood, is one of the species of Platanus native to North America...
, and the American Sweetgum
American Sweetgum
Liquidambar styraciflua, commonly called the American sweetgum, sweet-gum, alligator-wood, American-storax, bilsted, red-gum, satin-walnut, or star-leaved gum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico...
. One of the sweetgums of this Forest is designated as the "state champion" tree as being the largest member of this species known to grow within the boundaries of Illinois.
The Forest of the Wabash was patented by the federal government to the Beall family in the early 19th century, and was owned by them as an undisturbed woodlot until the 1960s. Meanwhile almost all of the other old-growth trees in the Wabash Valley were cut down for fine hardwood purposes, timber, or even for firewood
Firewood
Firewood is any wood-like material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not highly processed and is in some sort of recognizable log or branch form....
. Upon the death of Laura Beall, the last private-sector guardian of the Forest of the Wabash, and after a fight with a lumber company, in 1965 the State of Illinois condemned the Beall farm and forest for public use.
In 2007, Beall Woods State Park was designated as an Important Bird Area of Illinois.