Yellowwood State Forest
Encyclopedia
Yellowwood State Forest, originally Beanblossom Land Utilization Project, is a state forest located in Brown County, Indiana
, near the more famous Brown County State Park
. The forest features seventeen different areas within Brown County, comprising 23326 acres (9,439.7 ha) in total. The name of the forest is derived from the yellowwood
(Cladrastis kentukea), a tree seldom found this far north in the United States
; it flowers here only every three to five years. The yellowwood groves make up only 200 acres (80.9 ha) of the park, although one tree has been planted by the forest office.
The forest preserve was established during the Great Depression
, when work crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps
and the Works Progress Administration
built many of the structures still in use today. In 1940 the United States government leased the forest land to the state of Indiana, with Indiana being deeded the land in 1956. In 1994 and 1995 sixty-six additional acres (27 ha) of land in total were given to the forest.
Recreation in the park consists of camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking. The Tecumseh Trail goes through the forest on its way to the state forest office for Morgan-Monroe State Forest
; the trail was originally supposed to become a national trail, reaching from Canada to Florida
. A twenty-mile (32 km)-long hiking trail, the Ten O'Clock Line Hiking Trail, connects Yellowwood State Forest to Brown County State Park. The 133 acres (53.8 ha) lake, Yellowwood Lake, is thirty feet (9 m) deep and was created in 1939. Hunting typically involves deer, fox, grouse, raccoon, squirrel, turkey, and woodcock.
Many of the unpaved roads within the forest are dusty and narrow, and those driving cars within the forest will often have to ford creeks.
One major mystery surrounds the forest. Large sandstone
boulder
s, estimated to weigh about 200 pounds (90 kg), have been found in the tops of three trees: one eighty-foot (24 m) tall chestnut
and two American sycamore
s, one of which is 45 feet (13.7 m) tall. Speculation as to how the boulders got there ranges from college pranks to tornado
es to UFOs. They were actually placed there by a helicopter training exercise from nearby Camp Atterbury during World War II.
Brown County, Indiana
Brown County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population is 15,242. The county seat is Nashville.- History :...
, near the more famous Brown County State Park
Brown County State Park
Brown County State Park is an Indiana state park on near Nashville in Brown County, Indiana in the United States. The park opened to the public in 1929, and is Indiana's largest state park. It was the most visited Indiana State Park in 2008 with more than 1.3 million visitors per year...
. The forest features seventeen different areas within Brown County, comprising 23326 acres (9,439.7 ha) in total. The name of the forest is derived from the yellowwood
Cladrastis
Cladrastis kentukea, the Kentucky Yellowwood or American Yellowwood , is a species of Cladrastis native to the Southeastern United States, with a restricted range from western North Carolina west to eastern Oklahoma, and from southern Missouri and Indiana south to central Alabama...
(Cladrastis kentukea), a tree seldom found this far north in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; it flowers here only every three to five years. The yellowwood groves make up only 200 acres (80.9 ha) of the park, although one tree has been planted by the forest office.
The forest preserve was established during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, when work crews from the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
and the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
built many of the structures still in use today. In 1940 the United States government leased the forest land to the state of Indiana, with Indiana being deeded the land in 1956. In 1994 and 1995 sixty-six additional acres (27 ha) of land in total were given to the forest.
Recreation in the park consists of camping, hunting, fishing, and hiking. The Tecumseh Trail goes through the forest on its way to the state forest office for Morgan-Monroe State Forest
Morgan-Monroe State Forest
Morgan-Monroe State Forest is a state forest in Morgan County and Monroe County of Indiana, and is the second largest state forest in Indiana. The comprising this deciduous forest were abandoned farmland, as the previous residents realized that the land's rocky soil was very poor for agricultural...
; the trail was originally supposed to become a national trail, reaching from Canada to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. A twenty-mile (32 km)-long hiking trail, the Ten O'Clock Line Hiking Trail, connects Yellowwood State Forest to Brown County State Park. The 133 acres (53.8 ha) lake, Yellowwood Lake, is thirty feet (9 m) deep and was created in 1939. Hunting typically involves deer, fox, grouse, raccoon, squirrel, turkey, and woodcock.
Many of the unpaved roads within the forest are dusty and narrow, and those driving cars within the forest will often have to ford creeks.
One major mystery surrounds the forest. Large sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
boulder
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
s, estimated to weigh about 200 pounds (90 kg), have been found in the tops of three trees: one eighty-foot (24 m) tall chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
and two 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...
s, one of which is 45 feet (13.7 m) tall. Speculation as to how the boulders got there ranges from college pranks to tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es to UFOs. They were actually placed there by a helicopter training exercise from nearby Camp Atterbury during World War II.