History
A concern around the turn of the 20th century was that many woodworking facilities in Indiana would be forced to close due to dwindling timber supplies. This wood was used by furniture makers and shipbuilders such as the Howard Shipyards. The timber industry was a major part of southern Indiana's agricultural income, but thousands of acres had been deforested. In response to the problem, the state of Indiana decided to establish a series of state forests to ensure the continued existence of timber for woodworking facilities, and to allow Indiana to maintain its ability to export hardwood. The Indiana General Assembly in 1901 created the Indiana State Board of Forestry.
In May 1903, the Indiana state government purchased 2,028 acres (8.21 km2) of forest in the north of Clark County, noted for its knob features (isolated conical hills), for use as Indiana's first state forest, at a cost of US$16,000. Seedlings were planted at Clark State Forest, many of which were to be later moved to other parts of the state. This practice allowed more productive use of the land within the forest, and facilitated the teaching of the art of forestry. Charles C. Deam, a botanist who in 1909 became Indiana's state forester, was in charge of making the state forest an experimental laboratory for 20th-century forest care. Between the opening of the forest, and 1935, over 150 different tree types were tested, many of which survive yet.
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration chose to make Clark State Forest a training center for the Civilian Conservation Corps, and also made it Indiana's largest CCC cantonment in November 1933. They created artificial lakes within Clark State Forest, and built many bridges, to aid in water conservation, provide beauty spots within the forest, and teach forestry skills to members of the Civilian Conservation Corps. The state forest's proximity to the Jeffersonville Quartermaster Depot was key in the decision to focus so much attention on it.
Read more about this topic: Clark State Forest
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