10 Year Heritage Program Plan Hoosier National Forest Prepared by
Goals and objectives for managing cultural resources with projected annual accomplishments through preservation, research, education, interpretation, and tourism
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- National Register of Historic Places Eligibility Criteria
- Interpretation, Education, and Tourism Opportunities
Goals and objectives for managing cultural resources with projected annual accomplishments through preservation, research, education, interpretation, and tourism.Our primary goals and objectives for cultural resource sites are to determine the nature and character of what specifically we manage. This is accomplished through formal evaluations of site significance. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the most important historical sites, buildings, structures, districts, and objects. Below are the criteria against which all sites are evaluated for historical significance and potential for listing on the Register. National Register of Historic Places Eligibility CriteriaA. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; or B. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past; or C. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction; or D. That have yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. To be eligible for or listed on the National Register, a property must have integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. Evaluations occur on a very limited basis as it is highly depend on funding and/or staffing. With limited time and expertise we had entered into partnerships with professional archaeologists and research institutions to direct the field work and provide additional personnel to supervise a student crew or volunteers. In the past few decades, we have focused our collaborative efforts on the study of historic settlements and rockshelters. In addition to determining whether or not an historic property is eligible for listing to the NRHP, these research efforts often lead to education, interpretation, and tourism opportunities. Interpretation, Education, and Tourism OpportunitiesWindows on the Past is the broad Forest Service program encompassing public education and outreach opportunities such as Passport In Time volunteer projects or Heritage Expedition fee programs. The Hoosier Heritage Program has not recently utilized the Passport in Time program to solicit volunteers for numerous reasons, most notably that the demand for volunteer projects exceeds the supply in the local area. Also, due to our focus on project driven Section 106 work, we haven’t had staff time or money to plan and implement projects with the added burden of adequately training and supervising participants. Heritage Expeditions are fairly infrequent opportunities for participants to get a guided tour of cultural resources with trained interpreters and guides. An example of a heritage expedition is a seven day tour of the rock art of Colorado’s Snake River via river raft. Fees remain on the local unit and fund ongoing stewardship, public education and outreach projects. Heritage interpretation and outreach can most easily occur during a formal evaluation. For example, the public can learn about the science of archaeology during active fieldwork and through participation as volunteers, attending site tours and reading publications and articles. Site evaluations can also be a means to bringing the past alive through a whole suite of interpretive media, presentations, open houses and hands-on experiences for the public. We realize quality public interpretation and education increase awareness and appreciation of cultural resources and we work hard to engage the public, local communities and visitors. Two National Scenic Byways have been designated that cross the Hoosier. These scenic byways promote tourism and we can offer many different kinds of interpretive material to share local history with driving visitors. The scenic byways are discussed in the future opportunity section of this plan. Below are several examples of successful interpretation and public outreach projects led by the Hoosier’s Heritage Program. Brooks Cabin Just outside the boundary of the Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area (Indiana’s only designated wilderness area) is the Brooks Cabin, a late 19th century log home relocated from the Little Blue River area of Crawford County. The Brooks Cabin was determined ineligible to the NRHP in 1994 and was dismantled, transported, and reassembled to serve as a visitor contact point for the Wilderness. No official counts are made, but estimates are that 150 people tour the interior of the cabin when open during the summer months. Perhaps a thousand visitors drive through the day-use area to recreate at the pond, read interpretive panels about the relocated cabin and a mill stone found nearby, and take visitor maps of the area. This is an ideal venue for expansion of education and interpretation opportunities, especially for the northern part of the Forest. Hickory Ridge Fire Tower This 100 foot steel fire tower was built in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has a 7’ x 7’ cab and was used to spot wildfires from 1937 to the mid 1970s. It is open for visitor access and an interpretive sign describes the history. It was deemed not eligible to the NRHP but retains interpretive values. Indiana’s Archaeology Month September is Archaeology Month across the state of Indiana. The month is full of events that are open to the public for tours, exhibits, and/or volunteer participation. Archaeology Month is an established event in which people look forward to participating. Efforts should be made by the Forest Service to participate. Rockshelter Stewardship Group In the late 1980’s a volunteer group was formed to monitor the condition of select rockshelters. This rockshelter stewardship program could be reinstituted to observe, and detect and measure site changes through time. Ideally the group would consist of local land owners or interest groups that would operate throughout the year. Recording and photography standards would be set so that condition changes are readily detectable. Management actions could then be targeted to specific sites or areas. Digital photography, and possibly video camera footage, would be very useful tools. Curriculums Educational curriculums are excellent ways to bring Heritage Program topics into the schools. Two curriculums have already been developed for use in local public schools. The first is the Lick Creek African American Settlement: Investigating the Past through Archaeology developed by Indiana State Museum (2006). It is a lesson plan for students in grades fourth through sixth. It has five activities that center around the nineteenth century settlement, its history, and how archaeologists learn about the past through the artifacts left behind. The second is The Jacob Rickenbaugh Homestead (Brewer et al 2000). It is a seventh grade curriculum using this nineteenth century historic building as a focus. There are math, science, language arts, and social studies/history lessons included in this curriculum which combines diaries, family trees, and folklore.
Past research has resulted in many different products. Students use Hoosier sites for theses and dissertations, i.e. Martin (2000). Exhibits have been developed using Hoosier sites and artifacts. The Roll Petroglyph at the Indiana State Museum is an excellent example. An archaeology themed coloring book, People of the Forest, was designed by Noel and Suzanne Justice (2006) and illustrates Native American history in southern Indiana. It is distributed at public events and conferences and is available on our website www.fs.usda.gov/hoosier/. Whether by Forest Service staff or a partner, professional archaeological conference participation is also an excellent way to share research results. The Lick Creek African American Settlement has been subject of many presentations and a journal article (Laswell 2011). Similar reporting is expected for the future work at the German Ridge German American Settlement. Future Opportunities In addition to using the historic contexts described by Sieber and Munson (1992), themes such as the Civil War, early roads and trails, river travel, and Indiana’s role in settling the northwest territory can be used to create a more comprehensive and interesting interpretive point of view. In that vein, Indiana has two National Scenic Byways that draw much of their importance from the history of the Hoosier National Forest and surrounding south central Indiana area. The Ohio River Scenic Byway parallels the Ohio River and generally follows State Highway 66 across the forest. Indiana’s Historic Pathways Scenic Byway follows State Highways 50, 150 and the Buffalo Trace. Interpretive opportunities abound to prominently feature select cultural resource sites. Other locations with interpretative potential include the Waldrip Cabin, the Hindostan Quarry, the second floor of the Rickenbaugh House, and Carnes mill.
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