History of the Indiana Dunes - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Human presences in the Indiana Dunes have existed since the retreat of the glaciers some 14,000 years ago. The southern lakes area was a rich hunting ground and there is little evidence of permanent communities forming during the earlier years. Archeological evidence is consistent with seasonal hunting camps. The earliest evidence for permanent camps is consistent with the Hopewellian

Hopewell culture

The Hopewell tradition is the term used to describe common aspects of the Native American culture that flourished along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern United States from 200 BCE to 500 CE. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society, but a widely dispersed set of related...

occupation of the Ohio valley. Five groups of mounds have been documented in the dunes area. These mounds would be consistent with the period of 200 BCE (Goodall Focus

Goodall Focus (Hopewellian Culture)

The Goodall Focus was a Hopewellian culture from the Middle Woodland period peoples that occupied Western Michigan and northern Indiana from around 200 BCE to 500 CE. Extensive trade networks existed at this time, particularly among the many local cultural expressions of the Hopewell communities...

) to 800 CE (early Mississippian

Mississippian culture

The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....

). The advent of European exploration and trade introduced more changes to the human environment. Tribal animosities and traditional European competition affected tribal relations. Entire populations began moving westward, while others sought to dominate large geographic trading areas. Once again the dunes became a middle point on a journey from the east or the west. It continued to remain a key hunting ground for villages over a wide area. It wasn’t until the 19th century that native villages once again were scattered through the area, but this was soon followed by European settlement. Today, the entire coast line has been settled and filled with homes, factories, businesses and public parks.

Pre-Columbian

Early man entered the area south of Lake Michigan after the glaciers retreated around 15,000 years ago. As the glaciers receded, people began to move into the area. The earliest people recorded in Indiana are the Early Paleoindians. No sites have been found in the dunes. During the period of this cultural group, the dunes area had just emerged from beneath the continental glaciers. The landscape was not conducive to the existence of the animals upon which the Early Paleoindian culture depended. A few scattered Late Paleoindian artifacts have been found on the higher and older ridges in the dunes.

Multiple locations within the dunes have yielded artifacts from the archaic traditions. Included are Early Archaic Lecroy or Kanawha bifurcate-stemmed point (7800 and 5800 BC), Greenville Creek side notched. Also documented are four sites with projectile points that are the Middle to Late Archaic points found in the Great Lakes area.

id	Culture-Historic Type and period	date range	references
A	Jack’s Reef Pentagonal Jack's Reef pentagonal projectile point thumb\|right\|360\|Jack's Reef pentagonal projectile point from central New York StateJack's Reef pentagonal projectile points are stone projectile points manufactured by Native Americans what is now the northeastern United States generally in the time interval of 600-1200...	AD 500–1000	Justice 1987:215–217
B	Triangle cluster (Late Prehistoric)	AD 800-Historic	Justice 1987:224–226
C	Triangular cluster (Late Prehistoric)	AD 800-Historic	Justice 1987:224–226
D	Triangular cluster (Late Prehistoric)	AD 800-Historic	Justice 1987:224–226
F	Dehli Barbed (Late Archaic- Early Woodland) or Affinis Snyders (Middle Woodland)	1300–200 BC or 200 BC –AD 200	Justice 1987:179; DeRagnaucourt 1991:234–238
H	Lamoka Lamoka projectile point thumb\|right\|360\|Lamoka projectile points from central New York State. The point on the left is a "stemmed" lamoka point made of quartz. The middle one is a "stemmed" lamoka point made of flint and, the point on the right is a flint "side notched" lamoka point.... or Brewerton Side-notched (Late Archaic)	3000–1700 BC	DeRegnaucourt 1991:150–166
J	Palmer Corner-notched (Early Archaic)	7500–6900 BC	DeRegnaucourt 1991:44–48
K	Kirk Stemmed (Early Archaic)	6900–6000 BC	Justice 1987:82–85
L	Thebes Cluster (Early Archaic) or Big Sandy Side-notched (Middle Archaic)	8000–7000 BC or 6000–4000 BC	Justice 1987:54–56; DeRegnaucourt 1991:117–123, 131
M	Big Sandy? (Early Archaic)	6000–4000 BC	Justice 1987:60
N	St. Albans Side-notched (Early Archaic)	6900–6500 BC	DeRegnaucourt 1991:94–98
O	Kirk Stemmed (Early Archaic)	6900–6000 BC	DeRegnaucourt 1991:62–66

The dunes developed from the 'glacial lakes' that formed between the Valparaiso Moraine

Valparaiso Moraine

The Valparaiso Moraine is a terminal moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It is a band of high, hilly terrain made up of glacial till and sand that reaches an elevation of near 300 feet above the level of Lake Michigan at its maximum height in Indiana and 17 miles wide at its...

and the receding glacier. As such, there are no Glacial Kames in the dunes area. (see Geology of the Indiana Dunes) With the lack of glacial kames to locate burials, it is only the projectile point

Projectile point

In archaeological terms, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a projectile, such as a spear, dart, or arrow, or perhaps used as a knife....

s that are usable for rough dating. Simultaneous with the Glacial Kame

Glacial Kame Culture

The Glacial Kame Culture was a culture of Archaic people that occupied southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana from around 8000 BC to 1000 BC. The name of this culture derives from its members' practice of burying their dead atop glacier-deposited gravel hills...

people, the Red Ocher people and the Old Copper Culture. Like the Glacial Kame culture, these other groups are identified by their burial goods. The centers of the Red Ocher and Old Copper Culture are further from the Indiana Dunes and no artifacts have been identified as being from any of these three cultural groups.

Mounds
The earliest signs of long-term or permanent habitation are the mounds that exist across northwest Indiana. While undated, many are placed in the cultural group that has become known as the Goodall Focus

Goodall Focus (Hopewellian Culture)

The Goodall Focus is a cultural grouping of the Hopewell Culture. The dunes are the far western and most southern expression of Goodall sites. The group is centered in western Michigan along the Grand, Kalamazoo and Galien Rivers.

The mounds located in the dunes are represented by six sites.

Type	Findings	Status
Burial	Two burial sites have been examined. The ’’graveyard’’ blow-out Blowout (geology) Blowouts are sandy depressions in a sand dune ecosystem caused by the removal of sediments by wind.Blowouts occur in partially vegetated dunefields or sandhills. A blowout forms when a patch of protective vegetation is lost, allowing strong winds to "blow out" sand and form a depression... in the Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana DunesDesignationState Park; National Natural LandmarkLocationPorter County, Indiana, USAAddress1600 N 25 EChesterton, IN 46304Nearest CityPorter, IndianaCoordinatesAreaDate of Establishment1925... revealed a skull and a vertebra with an arrow lodge in it. The second site included seven complete skeletons.	Located near the Petit fort Petit fort Petit Fort was a structure located in northwestern Indiana, in or near the Indiana Dunes, near the mouth of Fort Creek. It may have been a French military outpost, but was more likely a private residence, trading post, or at most a support station for larger forts in the area... the first site has eroded away. The second burial site was discovered as Wagner Road was extended northward and has been fully excavated.
Camp Site	The first campsite located was near Tremont, just north of Highway 12. Many flint chips and fire-cracked stones were found. The second campsite was reported on a high elevation on both sides of the Calumet River Calumet River The Calumet River refers to a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the neighborhood of South Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana.-Background:... , north of Porter. High points were dry areas for overnight use.	No relics were found at either site during the 1931 field examinations. The second site showed no signs of human habitation.
“Indian” Well	Located north of Chesterton was a spring. It was said to be the site for large gatherings.	By 1931, it has been filled in.
’’’Mound Valley’’’	In 1923, there were nearly 100 mounds. There were round mounds of 20 feet (6.1 m) to 50 feet (15.2 m) across and 6 feet (1.8 m) to 10 feet (3 m) tall. Other elliptical mounds were 10 feet (3 m) to 40 feet (12.2 m) long. Excavations found stone knives, hammers, and projectile points. Steel blades with bone handles were also discovered, but could not be saved.	By 1931, no evidence remained of any of these mounds.

By the 15th century CE, the communities of Native American surrounding the southern shores of Lake Michigan were of the Huber-Berrien group. These were a mound builder associated people, contemporary to the Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...

communities of the Ohio River valley

Major Classification	Cultural Group	Related Major Cultural Group	Time Period
Clovis culture Clovis culture The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...		Paleo-Indians	18000 BCE – 8000 BCE
Early Archaic	Glacial Kame Culture Glacial Kame Culture The Glacial Kame Culture was a culture of Archaic people that occupied southern Ontario, Michigan, Ohio and Indiana from around 8000 BC to 1000 BC. The name of this culture derives from its members' practice of burying their dead atop glacier-deposited gravel hills... – (8000 BCE to 1000 BCE)	Red Ocher people	8000 BCE – 6000 BCE
Middle Archaic	Glacial Kame Culture – (8000 BCE to 1000 BCE)	Red Ocher people	6000 BCE – 3000 BCE
Old Copper Complex Old Copper Complex Old Copper Complex is a term used for ancient Native North American societies known to have been heavily involved in the utilization of copper for weaponry and tools. It is to be distinguished from the Copper Age , when copper use becomes systematic.The Old Copper Complex of the Western Great Lakes... aka Late Archaic	Glacial Kame Culture – (8000 BCE to 1000 BCE)	Red Ocher people	4000 BCE to 1000 BCE
Early Woodland period		Adena culture Adena culture The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 1000 to 200 BC, in a time known as the early Woodland Period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system...	1000 BCE to 200 CE
Middle Woodland period	Goodall Focus Goodall Focus (Hopewellian Culture) The Goodall Focus was a Hopewellian culture from the Middle Woodland period peoples that occupied Western Michigan and northern Indiana from around 200 BCE to 500 CE. Extensive trade networks existed at this time, particularly among the many local cultural expressions of the Hopewell communities...	Hopewell tradition	200 BCE to 500 CE
Late Woodland period or Fort Ancient Fort Ancient Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from 1000-1750 CE among a people who predominantly inhabited land along the Ohio River in areas of modern-day Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Southeastern Indiana and Western West Virginia. They were a maize based agricultural...	Oneota Oneota Oneota is a designation archaeologists use to refer to a cultural complex that existed in the eastern plains and Great Lakes area of what is now the United States from around AD 900 to around 1650 or 1700. The culture is believed to have transitioned into various Macro-Siouan cultures of the...	Mississippian culture Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....	800 CE to 1500 CE
Historic	Miami	Woodland	c 1673 along the St. Joseph River of Lake Michigan
Historic	Potawatomi Potawatomi The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...	Woodland	c 1780’s to 1838

Historic Native American Communities

Iroquois Wars or Beaver Wars

The legends of the Potawatomi

Potawatomi

The Potawatomi are a Native American people of the upper Mississippi River region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquian family. In the Potawatomi language, they generally call themselves Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and that was applied...

and Miami

Miami tribe

The Miami are a Native American nation originally found in what is now Indiana, southwest Michigan, and western Ohio. The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma is the only federally recognized tribe of Miami Indians in the United States...

peoples place them in the Indiana Dunes prior to the Iroquois War or Beaver Wars

Beaver Wars

The Beaver Wars, also sometimes called the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars, commonly refers to a series of conflicts fought in the mid-17th century in eastern North America...

(1641–1701). It was during the war period that both nations migrated north to the Door Peninsula

Door Peninsula

The Door Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin, separating the southern part of the Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The peninsula begins in northern Brown and Kewaunee counties and proceeds northeast to include all of Door County. It is the western portion of the Niagara Escarpment. Well...

with many other tribes for protection. The Iroquois War centered in the lower peninsula of modern Ontario, Canada, north of Lakes Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

and Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

. The early stages of the Iroquois Wars were among the Erie

Erie (tribe)

The Erie were an Native American people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvania, and northern Ohio...

Indians on the southern shore of Lake Erie. By 1656 the tribe had been destroyed or dispersed. Most of the Iroquois War is taken from the French Records in Canada, leaving little details on activities further west and south of the lakes. By 1677, the Miami and Potawatomi had begun to return to the southern shore of Lake Michigan. The Miami were at the western bend of the Calumet River

Calumet River

The Calumet River refers to a system of heavily industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the neighborhood of South Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana.-Background:...

(Blue Island, Illinois

Blue Island, Illinois

Blue Island is a city in Cook County, Illinois. The population was 22,556 at the 2010 census. Blue Island was established in the 1830s as a way station for settlers traveling on the Vincennes Trace, and the settlement prospered because it was conveniently situated a day's journey outside of Chicago...

). On the far eastern edge of the dunes, the Miami and Mascouten

Mascouten

The Mascouten were a tribe of Algonquian-speaking native Americans who are believed to have dwelt on both sides of the Mississippi River adjacent to the present-day Wisconsin-Illinois border....

had returned to the St. Joseph River

St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)

The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...

of Lake Michigan sometime after 1673. Another village grew at the portage from the South Bend of the St. Joseph after 1679. Additional villages may have been located through the dunes by this time, but there are no mention of any villages in the journals of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...

.

The Iroquois raided the Illinois Confederation village at Fort St. Louis, or Starved Rock

Starved Rock State Park

Starved Rock State Park is a state park in Illinois, characterized by the many canyons within its 2360 acres. Located just southwest of the village of North Utica, in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County, Illinois, along the south bank of the Illinois River, the park hosts over two million visitors...

in 1684. Then in 1687, the Iroquois raided the villages in Blue Island area. No further incursion passed around the south end of Lake Michigan. By the late 1680s, the allied Algonquian peoples

Algonquian peoples

The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...

had taken the war east to the Iroquois homeland, bring and end to the Iroquois threat. By 1701, the eastern villages along the St. Joseph and expanded to include not only Miami and Mascouten, but Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

, Mahican

Mahican

The Mahican are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe, originally settling in the Hudson River Valley . After 1680, many moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts. During the early 1820s and 1830s, most of the Mahican descendants migrated westward to northeastern Wisconsin...

, and Potawatomi. The only other identified community was over a hundred miles (106 km) south at Ouiatenon

Ouiatenon

Ouiatenon is a name that refers to a dwelling place of members of the Wea tribe of Native Americans. The name Ouiatenon, also variously given as Ouiatanon, Oujatanon, Ouiatano or other similar forms, is a French rendering of a term from the Wea dialect of the Miami-Illinois language which means...

on the Wabash River

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...

.

French Era

During the French Era of presences in the Indiana Dunes (1720–1761), primary villages were located at the mouth of the Chicago River

Chicago River

The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of the same name, including its center . Though not especially long, the river is notable for being the reason why Chicago became an important location, as the link between the Great Lakes and...

and the northern reach of the St. Joseph River (from modern South Bend, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

to Niles, Michigan

Niles, Michigan

Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...

). The French authorities in Montreal

History of Montreal

The human history of Montreal, located in Quebec, Canada, spans some 8,000 years. At the time of European contact, the area was inhabited by the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, a discrete and distinct group of Iroquoian-speaking indigenous people. They spoke Laurentian...

encouraged licensed traders to winter in native villages. This had the effect of concentrating communities at key travel points. The Indiana Dunes were, at best, an area of passage. The nearest key points were the Chicago Portage

Chicago Portage

The Chicago Portage connects the watersheds and the navigable waterways of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. It crosses the continental divide that separates the Great Lakes and Gulf of St. Lawrence watersheds from the Gulf of Mexico watershed.Near Chicago, the St...

to the west and the St. Joseph Portage to the east. The Mesquakie

Meskwaki

The Meskwaki are a Native American people often known to outsiders as the Fox tribe. They have often been closely linked to the Sauk people. In their own language, the Meskwaki call themselves Meshkwahkihaki, which means "the Red-Earths." Historically their homelands were in the Great Lakes region...

, Sauk, established villages at Chicago in the 1740s. The Potawatomi

Potawatomi

are reported around the French trading post at Chicago beginning in the 1750s. On the east, the Potawatomi

Potawatomi

and Miami

Miami tribe

developed villages on the St. Joseph River downstream from the Kankakee

Kankakee River

The Kankakee River is a tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois in the United States. At one time the river drained one of the largest wetlands in North America and furnished a significant portage between the Great Lakes and the...

and St. Joseph

St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan)

The St. Joseph River is a river, approximately long, in southern Michigan and northern Indiana in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Michigan...

portage after 1720. During this time, the dunes would have been seasonal hunting grounds.

Exploration

Like the American Indian ‘occupation’ of the Indiana Dunes, exploration by Europeans swirled around the southern shore of Lake Michigan, rather than through the heart of the dunes. The French quickly ‘discovered’ or were told of the water routes that passed from the south side of Lake Michigan to places further south. The two primary routes were by the Chicago Portage in Illinois or by the portage between the St. Joseph River and the Kankakee River in northern Indiana.

Year	Event
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 Petit fort Petit Fort was a structure located in northwestern Indiana, in or near the Indiana Dunes, near the mouth of Fort Creek. It may have been a French military outpost, but was more likely a private residence, trading post, or at most a support station for larger forts in the area... 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.”

Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette 1673 sent by Jean Talon

Jean Talon

Jean Talon, Comte d'Orsainville was a French colonial administrator who was the first and most highly regarded Intendant of New France under King Louis XIV...

intendant

Intendant

The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...

of New France

New France

New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...

. Promised to return and establish a mission among the Illinois. This journey was along the western shore of Lake Michigan to the Chicago Portage

Chicago Portage

.
In October 1674, Father Jacques Marquette with Pierre Porteret and Jacques Largilliers 1675 left the mission of St. Francis Xavier

Green Bay, Wisconsin

Green Bay is a city in and the county seat of Brown County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, located at the head of Green Bay, a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It has an elevation of above sea level and is located north of Milwaukee. As of the 2010 United States Census,...

in Green Bay

Green Bay, Wisconsin

. Because of illness, the party spent the winter at the Chicago Portage. By Easter in April 1675, the party was on the Illinois River, south of modern Ottawa, Illinois

Ottawa, Illinois

Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,786...

. Here, he is said to have preached to 1500 Indians. When Marquette, once again became ill, he requested to return to Michilimackinac

Michilimackinac

Michilimackinac is a name for the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region along Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Today it is mostly within the boundaries of Michigan, in the United States...

in the Straits of Mackinac

Straits of Mackinac

The Straits of Mackinac is the strip of water that connects two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and separates the Lower Peninsula of Michigan from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is a shipping lane providing passage for raw materials and finished goods, connecting, for...

. This time, instead of following the western border of Lake Michigan, they choose to follow the shorter route across the southern shore and up the eastern shore.

Petit Fort
Petit fort
Petit Fort was a structure located in northwestern Indiana, in or near the Indiana Dunes, near the mouth of Fort Creek. It may have been a French military outpost, but was more likely a private residence, trading post, or at most a support station for larger forts in the area...

Early Trails

Known by many names and by many routes, the trails through the dunes sought out the easist routes. The first evidence of trails comes from Joseph Bailly

Joseph Bailly

Joseph Bailly was a fur trader and a member of an important French Canadian family that included his uncle, Charles-François Bailly de Messein....

in 1822, when he settled south of the Calumet Beach Trail. This route has also been referred to as the Lake Shore Trail. It had first come to the notice of the American government after the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. The U.S. government sought to establish a trail military road from Fort Ponchartrain du Detroit

Fort Detroit

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...

to Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn

Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of...

, now in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

. It wasn't until 1827 that the route was identified and in use. It followed the Great Sauk Trail

Sauk Trail

Sauk Trail began as a Native American trail running through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan in the United States. From west to east, the trail ran from Rock Island on the Mississippi River to the Illinois River near modern Peru then along the north bank of that river to Joliet, and on to Valparaiso,...

from Detroit to modern LaPorte, Indiana

LaPorte, Indiana

La Porte is a city in La Porte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was 22,053 at the 2010 census. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the...

. Here the traveler had two options. The primary road continued to follow the Sauk Trail across Indiana through Porter

Porter County, Indiana

Porter County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 164,343. Much of the population growth has to do with the expansion of the Chicago Metropolitan Area eastward into Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso...

and Lake

Lake County, Indiana

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. In 2010, its population was 496,005, making it Indiana's second-most populous county. The county seat is Crown Point. This county is part of Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area. The county contains a mix of urban,...

Counties to Illinois. The other option was to go northwest to Trail Creek and follow the lakeshore the last 60 miles (96.6 km) to Fort Dearborn. The military road became known as the Chicago Road. By 1833, regular stagecoach service was provided between Detroit and Chicago.

See also

Michigan Road
Michigan Road
The Michigan Road was one of the earliest roads in Indiana. Roads in early Indiana were often roads in name only. In actuality they were sometimes little more than crude paths following old animal and Native American trails and filled with sinkholes, stumps, and deep, entrapping ruts...

– Madison (Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

), Indianapolis, South Bend, Michigan City
Michigan City, Indiana
Michigan City's origins date to 1830, when the land for the city was first purchased by Isaac C. Elston. Elston Middle School, formerly Elston High School, located at 317 Detroit St., is named after the founder....
U.S. Route 12 in Indiana
U.S. Route 12 in Indiana
In the U.S. state of Indiana, U.S. Route 12 is a historical east–west arterial highway that runs along the Lake Michigan shoreline. In the early 1920s, it was the most important route between Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. Most of the route has since been supplanted by Interstate 94...

Fur Trade and Settlement

Date	Event

1803	Lt. Swearingen passes through on the way to establish Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of... .
1822	Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly was a fur trader and a member of an important French Canadian family that included his uncle, Charles-François Bailly de Messein.... establishes trading post at southern edge of Dunes.
1823	William Keating, geologist, and Thomas Say Thomas Say Thomas Say was an American naturalist, entomologist, malacologist, herpetologist and carcinologist. A taxonomist, he is often considered to be the father of descriptive entomology in the United States. He described more than 1,000 new species of beetles and over 400 species of insects of other... , naturalist, pass through with other members of Long’s Expedition Long expedition The Long Expedition was an 1819 attempt to take control of Spanish Texas. It was led by James Long and successfully established a small independent government, known as the Republic of Texas . The expedition crumbled later in the year, as Spanish troops drove the invaders out... .
1827	First U.S. mail route from Fort Wayne to Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn Fort Dearborn was a United States fort built in 1803 beside the Chicago River in what is now Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed by troops under Captain John Whistler and named in honor of Henry Dearborn, then United States Secretary of War. The original fort was destroyed following the Battle of... thru Dunes is established.
1833	Charles Fenno Hoffman Charles Fenno Hoffman Charles Fenno Hoffman was an American author, poet and editor associated with the Knickerbocker group in New York.-Biography:... , Charles Joseph Lagrobe, and Patrick Shireff all pass through the Dunes on stage coach, leaving vivid impression in the respective books.
1835	Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly Joseph Bailly was a fur trader and a member of an important French Canadian family that included his uncle, Charles-François Bailly de Messein.... dies.
1836	Removal of Indians from Indiana; Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau was an English social theorist and Whig writer, often cited as the first female sociologist.... travels through area, recounts her trip in her book, “Society in America.”
1837	Plat of City West recorded; Daniel Webster Daniel Webster Daniel Webster was a leading American statesman and senator from Massachusetts during the period leading up to the Civil War. He first rose to regional prominence through his defense of New England shipping interests... makes political speech there.

Early Settlements
Railroad cuts through

The Nineteenth Century

Date	Event

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 (the mighty stream to have been developed is now a pipe in the State Park!)
1862	Richard Owen Richard Owen Sir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection... ’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 Miller Beach Miller Beach is a community on the southernmost shore of Lake Michigan. Originally an independent town first settled in 1851, Miller was annexed by the city of Gary, Indiana in 1918... .
1893	W.H. Leman builds the first “permanent” summer cottage in the Dunes proper.
1896	Octave Chanute Octave Chanute Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine... begins his glider experiments at Miller Marquette Park (Gary) Marquette Park, originally called Lake Front Park, is a municipal park completely surrounded by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Its primary elements include 1.4 miles of white sand Lake Michigan beaches, inland ponds, impressively high sand dunes, wetlands, a lagoon and indigenous oak... , later moving to Dune Park Port of Indiana The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor is an industrial area, founded in 1965 and located on the Lake Michigan shore of Indiana at the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 and Indiana 249. The primary work done in the area is the manufacturing of steel, and the port area is dominated by steel mills... .
1897	Frank Morley Woodruff published the first of many papers on the birds of the Dunes Birds of the Indiana Dunes The Indiana Dunes protect over of dunes and shoreline. From the barren sand beaches to the inter-dunal ponds and the intervening forest, this area is inhabited by 271 identified species of birds.... .
1899	Henry Chandler Cowles Henry Chandler Cowles Henry Chandler Cowles was an American botanist and ecological pioneer . Born in Kensington, Connecticut, he attended Oberlin College in Ohio. He studied at the University of Chicago with the plant taxonomist John M. Coulter and the geologist Thomas Chrowder Chamberlin as main teachers. He... ' classic work on the ecological relations of the vegetation of the sand dunes is published.

Octave Chanute

Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided the Wright brothers with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying experiments. At his death he was hailed as the father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine...

organized the International Conference on Aerial Navigation in 1893, during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. From there, in conjunction with his contacts in Europe, he joined with younger experimenters, including Augustus Herring and William Avery

William Avery

William Avery may refer to:* Bill Avery , Nebraska politician and professor* William Avery , who piloted the aircraft of Octave Chanute* William Avery , American professional basketball player...

. In 1896 and 1897 they tested hang gliders based on designs by German aviator Otto Lilienthal

Otto Lilienthal

Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of human aviation who became known as the Glider King. He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights. He followed an experimental approach established earlier by Sir George Cayley...

. They also tested their own hang glider design. To open the steady winds, they came to the shores of Lake Michigan in the town of Miller Beach. The location is today in Marquette Park. These experiments convinced Chanute and his partners to achieve the extra lift needed without a lot of weight was to place stack several wings one above the other. The idea was originally proposed by British engineer Francis Wenham in 1866 and tested by Lilienthal in the 1890s. Chanute invented the "strut-wire" braced wing structure to hold the several wings together, which became the standard design in powered biplanes. The Strut wire design came from Chanutes bridge designs using the Pratt truss. The Wright brothers, based their Flyer designs on the Chanute "double-decker.".

In 1874, Robert and Druisilla Carr settled on 200 acres (7,966,259.8 h) of land at the mouth of the Calumet River

Calumet River

. During this period, the dunes became the site of hang gliding experiments carried out in 1896–1897 by aeronaut Octave Chanute

Octave Chanute

. Although the Carrs had lived on the land for years, United States Steel Corporation claimed ownership in 1919. After years of negotiations, U.S.Steel and the estate of the Carrs agreed to the donation of the land to the City of Gary for a park. Originally dedicated as "Lake Front Park", it was renamed in honor of Father Pere Marquette

Pere Marquette

Pere Marquette or Père Marquette may refer to:*Father Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary and namesake of Marquette University*Father Marquette National Memorial in Straits State Park...

The Twentieth Century

Date	Event

1907	George D. Fuller classic work on tiger beetles and plant succession in the Dunes is published; South Shore Electric Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad The Chicago SouthShore and South Bend Railroad , known to many as the South Shore Line, is a Class III freight railroad operating between Chicago, Illinois, and South Bend, Indiana... line in constructed.
1908	First formal hike to the Dunes by predecessor of the The Prairie Club under Jens Jensen Jens Jensen (landscape architect) Jens Jensen was a Danish-American landscape architect.-Early life:Jens Jensen was born near Dybbøl in Slesvig, Denmark, in 1860, to a wealthy farming family. For the first nineteen years of his life he lived on his family's farm, which cultivated his love for the natural environment... , Graham Taylor, Amalie Hofer, and others.
1910	The Dunes become the setting for many early movies; Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... was then the movie capital of the world.
1911	First of a long series of papers on plant succession and ecology Ecology Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems... 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 Tremont, Indiana Tremont Founded 1833 Changed 1876 Location U.S. 12 and Tremont Road Nearest City Porter, Indiana Coordinates Tremont, Indiana, is a ghost town formerly located in what is now the Indiana Dunes State Park and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Westchester Township in northern Porter County,... ; 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 Diana of the Dunes Diana of the Dunes is a folklore legend about a woman who used to go skinny dipping at Dunes State Park in Indiana. She lived there in an abandoned cottage near the beach. She was nicknamed "Diana" after a Roman goddess. Her ghost is alleged to haunt the park's shores.Alice Mabel Gray was the... (Alice Gray) comes to the dunes.
1916	National Dunes Association is formed, A.F. Knotts Armanis F. Knotts Armanis F. Knotts , also called A.F. Knotts, was an American politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives and was instrumental in the foundings of both Gary, Indiana and Yankeetown, Florida.... , president, Mrs. Frank J. Sheehan, secretary. Director of the National Park Service National Park Service The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations... Mather calls meeting in Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... for Dunes National Park project with overwhelming sentiment in favor of it. World War I World War I World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918... prevents its realization.
1919	Marquette Park Marquette Park (Gary) Marquette Park, originally called Lake Front Park, is a municipal park completely surrounded by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Its primary elements include 1.4 miles of white sand Lake Michigan beaches, inland ponds, impressively high sand dunes, wetlands, a lagoon and indigenous oak... established
1925	Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana Dunes State Park Indiana DunesDesignationState Park; National Natural LandmarkLocationPorter County, Indiana, USAAddress1600 N 25 EChesterton, IN 46304Nearest CityPorter, IndianaCoordinatesAreaDate of Establishment1925... established
1966	Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore located in northwest Indiana and managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966. The national lakeshore runs for nearly along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, from Gary, Indiana, on the west to Michigan... established (P.L. 89-761).

In June 1954, the Army Corps of Engineers purchased a vacant site, east of Ogden Dunes

Ogden Dunes, Indiana

Ogden Dunes is a town in Portage Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,110 at the 2000 census. It is named for Francis A. Ogden, who owned the land there before his death in 1914.-History:...

. By the end of the year, a contract was awarded to construct a $1,000,000 guided missile base. Two tracts of land, totalling 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) tract was developed for a component of the 9th AAA Guided Missile Battalion. As the most easterly facility in the 15 unit Chicago-Milwaukee Defense system, it was designed for the protection of the Gary industrial district from attack from enemy bombers. The facility included three underground storage structures for missiles located on the eastern site. A half-mile (0.3 km) west the administrative Headquarters facility was constructed with nine buildings,
including mess halls, barracks, and administration offices, recreation, generators, storage, and
smaller buildings. The facility was shut-down in April 1974 and transferred to the National Park Service. It was rehabilitated in 1977 as the administrative offices of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore located in northwest Indiana and managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966. The national lakeshore runs for nearly along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, from Gary, Indiana, on the west to Michigan...

Creating A Park

Early Preservation
The legislation that authorized Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in 1966 resulted from a movement that began in 1899. Three key individuals helped make Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore a reality: Henry Cowles, a botanist from the University of Chicago; Paul H. Douglas

Paul Douglas

Paul Howard Douglas was an liberal American politician and University of Chicago economist. A war hero, he was elected as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Illinois from in the 1948 landslide, serving until his defeat in 1966...

, Senator for the State of Illinois; and Dorothy R. Buell, an Ogden Dunes resident and English teacher. Henry Cowles

Henry Cowles

Henry Cowles is the name of:*Henry B. Cowles , U.S. Representative from New York*Henry Chandler Cowles , American botanist and ecological pioneer...

published an article entitled "Ecological Relations of the Vegetation on Sand Dunes of Lake Michigan," in the Botanical Gazette in 1899 that established Cowles as the "father of plant ecology" in North America and brought international attention to the intricate ecosystems existing on the dunes.

But Cowles' article and the new international awareness were not enough to curtail the struggle between industry and preservation that governed the development of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. In 1916, the region was booming with industry in the form of steel mills and power plants. Hoosier Slide, for example, 200 feet (61 m) in height, was the largest sand dune on Indiana's lakeshore. During the first twenty years of the battle to save the dunes, the Ball Brothers of Muncie, Indiana, manufacturers of glass fruit jars, and the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company of Kokomo carried Hoosier Slide away in railroad boxcars.

It was this kind of activity by local industry that spurred Cowles, along with Thomas W. Allinson and Jens Jensen to form the Prairie Club of Chicago in 1908. The Prairie Club was the first group to propose that a portion of the Indiana Dunes be protected from commercial interests and maintained in its pristine condition for the enjoyment of the people. Out of the Prairie Club of Chicago came the precursor to the current park: The National Dunes Park Association (NDPA). The NDPA promoted the theme: "A National Park for the Middle West, and all the Middle West for a National Park."

Creation of Marquette Park
Marquette Park (Gary)
Marquette Park, originally called Lake Front Park, is a municipal park completely surrounded by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Its primary elements include 1.4 miles of white sand Lake Michigan beaches, inland ponds, impressively high sand dunes, wetlands, a lagoon and indigenous oak...

Date	Event
1916	Director Stephen Mather of the National Park Service visits the dunes.
1919	U.S. Steel Corporation donated the lakeshore to the City of Gary for a park. (ownership was in question)
1921	Aquatorium opens
1924	Marquette Park Pavilion opens

On October 30, 1916, only one month after the National Park Service itself was established (August 25, 1916), Stephen Mather, the Service's first Director, (shown at the far left in the adjacent photo leading a tour of park advocates in the dunes in 1916) held hearings in Chicago to gauge public sentiment on a "Sand Dunes National Park". Four hundred people attended and 42 people, including Henry Cowles

Henry Cowles

Henry Cowles is the name of:*Henry B. Cowles , U.S. Representative from New York*Henry Chandler Cowles , American botanist and ecological pioneer...

, spoke in favor of the park proposal; there were no opponents.

The battle for a national park was crippled, however, when the United States entered the First World War. National priorities changed and revenues were targeted for national defense, not the development of a national park. The popular slogan "Save the Dunes!" became "First Save the Country, Then Save the Dunes!" As the nation went from a world war into a depression, hopes to save the dunes began to fade.

Creation of the State Park
Indiana Dunes State Park
Indiana DunesDesignationState Park; National Natural LandmarkLocationPorter County, Indiana, USAAddress1600 N 25 EChesterton, IN 46304Nearest CityPorter, IndianaCoordinatesAreaDate of Establishment1925...

Date	Event
1926	Indiana Dunes State Park opens
bef 1930	Pavilion opens
bef 1935	Dunes Arcade Hotel opens on the beach

In 1926, after a ten-year petition by the State of Indiana to preserve the dunes, the Indiana Dunes State Park opened to the public. The State Park was still relatively small in size and scope and the push for a national park continued. In 1949, Dorothy Buell became involved with the Indiana Dunes Preservation Council (IDPC). The efforts of Buell resulted in a Save the Dunes Council in 1952.

However, the struggle did not end there. A union of politicians and businessmen desired to maximize economic development by obtaining federal funds to construct a "Port of Indiana." Hoosier politicians and businessmen were eager to exploit the economic prosperity promised by linking the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes via the St. Lawrence Seaway. In light of this, Save the Dunes Council President Dorothy Buell and council members began a nationwide membership and fundraising drive to buy the land they desperately sought to preserve. Their first success was the purchase of 56 acres (226,624.2 m²) in Porter County, the Cowles Tamarack Bog.

Creation of the Lakeshore

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 227000 cubic yards (173,554 m³) 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 (80000 cu yd (61,164.4 m³) 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

} 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
|-
|}
In the summer of 1961, those fighting to save the dunes began to see greater possibilities for hope. Then President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

supported congressional authorization for Cape Cod National Seashore

Cape Cod National Seashore

The Cape Cod National Seashore , created on August 7, 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, encompasses on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion...

in Massachusetts, which marked the first time federal monies would be used to purchase natural parkland. President Kennedy also took a stand on the National Lakeshore, outlining a program to link the nation's economic vitality to a movement for conservation of the natural environment. This program became known as The Kennedy Compromise, 1963–1964.

The Kennedy Compromise entailed the creation of a national lakeshore and a port to satisfy industrial needs. Then Illinois Senator Paul H. Douglas (shown in adjacent photograph) spoke tirelessly to the public and Congress in a drive to save the dunes, earning him the title of "the third senator from Indiana." In 1966, Douglas made sure that the highly desired Burns Waterway Harbor (Port of Indiana) could only come with the authorization of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

By the time the 89th Congress adjourned in late 1966, the bill had passed and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore finally became a reality. While the 1966 authorizing legislation included only 8330 acres (33.7 km²) of land and water, the Save the Dunes Council, National Park Service, and others continued to seek expansion of the boundaries of preservation. Four subsequent expansion bills for the park (1976, 1980, 1986, and 1992) have increased the size of the park to more than 15000 acres (60.7 km²).

Sources

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Carver, Jonathan; Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America; London, England; 1781; Reprinted Minneapolis, Minnesota; Ross & Haines, Inc.; 1956
Eckert, Alan W., Gateway to Empire, Little, Brown & Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1983
Faulkner, Charles H., The Late Prehistoric Occupation of Northwestern Indiana; A Study of the Upper Mississippi Cultures of the Kankakee Valley, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, 1972.
Fell, Barry; America B.C.; New York, New York; Wallaby Book of Pocket Books; 1976
Greenbie, Sydney; Frontiers and the Fur Trade; New York, New York; The John Day Company; 1929
Hatcher, Harlan and Erich A Walter; A Pictorial History of the Great Lakes; New York, New York; Bonanza Books; 1963
Havighurst, Walter (ed); The Great Lakes Reader; New York, New York; The MacMillan Co.; 1966
History of the Great Lakes; Chicago, Illinois; J.H. Beers & Co.; 1879; reprinted Cleveland, Ohio; Freshwater Press Inc.; 1972
Holand, Hjalmar R.; Explorations in America Before Columbus; New York, New York; Twayne Publishers, Inc.; 1956
Hough, Jack L.; Geology of the Great Lakes; Urbana, Illinois; University of Illinois Press; 1958
Hyde, George E.; Indians of the Woodlands From Prehistoric Times to 1725; Norman, Oklahoma; University of Oklahoma Press; 1962
Innes, Harold A.; The Fur Trade in Canada; Toronto, Ontario; University of Toronto Press; 1930, revised 1970
Kinietz, W. Vernon; The Indians of the Western Great Lakes: 1615 1760; Ann Arbor, Michigan; University of Michigan Press; 1940
Kubiak, William J.; Great Lakes Indians, A Pictorial Guide; New York, New York; Bonanza Books; 1970
Lavender, David; The Fist in the Wilderness; Albuquerque, New Mexico; University of New Mexico Press; 1964
King, B.A. and Jonathan Ela; The Faces of the Great Lakes; San Francisco, California; Sierra Club Books
Sierra Club Books
Sierra Club Books is the publishing division of the Sierra Club, founded in 1960 by then Sierra Club President David Brower. Volumes intended for club members had been published prior to 1960. In addition, books under their name had been published before 1960, but done through already established...

; 1977
Mallery, Arlington and Mary Roberts Harrison; Rediscovery of Lost America; New York, New York; E.P. Dutton; 1979
Quaife, Milo M., (ed); The John Askin Papers; Detroit, Michigan; Detroit Library Commission; 1928
Quimby, George I.; Indian Life in the Upper Great Lakes 11,000 BC to AD 1800; Chicago, Illinois; University of Chicago; 1960
Van Every, Dale; A Company of Heroes: The American Frontier 1775–1783; New York, New York; Mentor Book; 1963
Van Every, Dale; Ark of Empire: The American Frontier 1784–1803; New York, New York; William Morrow and Company; 1963

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