Fort Harrison State Park

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Fort Harrison
Designation State Park
Location Indiana USA
Nearest Cities Indianapolis, Indiana
Coordinates 39°86′N, 86°01′W
Area 1,700 acres
Date of Establishment 1996
Governing Body Indiana DNR

Fort Harrison, sometimes called Fort Ben[1] is an Indiana state park located in the northeast section of Indianapolis, Indiana, and occupies part of the former site of Fort Benjamin Harrison. The park features a former Citizen's Military Training Camp, Civilian Conservation Corps camp, and World War II prisoner of war camp. There are also picnicking and walking/jogging trails.

Contents

[edit] History

Fort Harrison was opened in 1906 by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, honoring former President Benjamin Harrison, who came from Indianapolis. The idea came from Lieutenant Colonel Russell Harrison, son of recently deceased Benjamin Harrison, who wanted to keep a military facility in Indianapolis due to the legacy of such Indianapolis military facilities as Camp Morton. General Order #117 on June 28, 1904, ordered a land purchase for military use nine miles (14 km) from downtown Indianapolis.[2] [3]

The fort was finished in 1908, after the construction of brick barracks, headquarters, officer's houses, and hospital. Other support structures, such as horse stables, were finished at the time. The Tenth Infantry Regiment immediately moved in after these facilities were constructed.[4]

The fort represented the first effort to make an "national" army using state militia forces. It acted as classrooms, soldier support, and troop reception for all United States military activities from World War I to Operation: Desert Storm. During World War II, the base had a Prisoner-of-war camp.[5] [6]

During the 1970s and 1980s, the area around Fort Harrison was attracting residents of Asian descent and, to a lesser extent, Hispanics.[7]

The athlete village for the 1987 Pan American Games was built inside Fort Benjamin Harrison. Dining, lodging, nightclubbing, and practice facilities were constructed within the village.[8]

Following the Cold War, the United States government began downsizing by closing bases. Thus, in 1991 Fort Harrison of Indianapolis was decommissioned. The base had several amenities, including an officers' club, three officers' homes, special housing for Very Important Persons, and an eighteen-hole golf course. It also featured one of the largest hardwood forests in central Indiana.[9]

The United States Department of the Interior chose in 1995 to give 1,700 acres (6.9 km²) of Fort Harrison's 2,500 acres (10 km²) to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for use as a state park, similar to how Charlestown State Park started in Southern Indiana.[10]

During the time that the Indiana State Governor's mansion was being redone in 2003, to make it accessible to handicapped individuals, Indiana governor Frank O'Bannon and his wife lived at the Harrison House, the park's inn, as their official residence. Prior to the formation of the park, it was a nurse's dorm during World War II and later a VIP residence. They spent most of the year living there. Once the state governor's mansion was finished, the O'Bannon's moved out and the Harrison House was once again available for the general public to use.[11]

[edit] Features

Unlike most state parks in Indiana, it is a "day-use" park, with its only overnight facilities being the inn, The Fort Golf Resort, which was the old officers' club.[12] The fort's eighteen-hole golf course makes the park popular with Indianapolis golfers; it was redesigned by Pete Dye after the forts closure, making it a 72-par course. Only golfers are allowed on the course. The VIP housing became the Harrison House Suites, and the three Officer's Homes are available for overnight lodging as well. There are three hiking trails, and one for horseback riding, with horse rentals available. One of the hiking trails, Harrison Trace Trail, is paved, making it available for bikers and in-line skating. The wildflowers take the place of the ravines and steep hillsides typical of state parks in southern Indiana. Bike and fishing are also available; the park office sells the necessary state fishing permit. In winter, ice fishing is available.[13] An interpretive center at the park office is available to inform visitors of the parks considerable history and natural beauty.[14]

Fall Creek runs for 3.5 miles (5.6 km) inside the park, with smaller tributaries feeding it which are also within the boundaries of the park. Beaver, deer, frogs, squirrels, and turtles are the most commonly seen critters in the park; an heron pond is off-limits for visitors.[15]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bloom, Phil. Hiking Indiana, pg.94
  2. ^ Conn, Earl L. My Indiana:101 Places to See (Indiana Historical Society Press, 2006). pg. 94
  3. ^ Official State Park brochure: http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/properties/maps/2007/ftharrison_trail.pdf
  4. ^ Bodenhamer, David. The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (Indiana University Press, 1994) pg.31
  5. ^ State Parks & Reservoirs
  6. ^ Official State Park brochure
  7. ^ Bodenhamer 58
  8. ^ Bodenhamer 1074
  9. ^ Conn 94
  10. ^ Conn 94
  11. ^ Temporary quarters just fine with O'Bannons. Indianapolis Business Journal August 25, 2003
  12. ^ Fort Harrison Golf Resort & Conference Center | State Parks & Reservoirs
  13. ^ State Parks & Reservoirs
  14. ^ Conn 94
  15. ^ McKinney, Sally. Hiking Indiana pg.95

[edit] External links

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