Indiana Dunes A Signature of Time and Eternity: The Administrative History of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana

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Our relations with the Save the Dunes Council are very good. We have regular communications. They are generally good. We're generally mutually supportive. We have an ultimate goal that's the same. We differ sometimes on methods and procedures and we don't always agree on everything. I view them, personally, kind of as my conscience. I'd like to think I'd always keep uppermost in my mind the preservation goals for Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. With the Save the Dunes Council out there, you can be assured that should you ever think of straying from the pure path you will be quickly reminded!

Superintendent Dale Engquist,
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, September 16, 1987.

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Figure 1. Members of the Prairie Club of Chicago engage in a popular weekend activity in the nearly dunelands of Indiana. This particular "dunes walk" took place in 1913 in the vicinity of Mount Baldy. (Photographer A.E. Ormes, July 4, 1913, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 2. National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather (far left foreground) is accompanied by Col. Richard Liebger on an October 31, 1916, inspection tour—the day following a Department of the Interior hearing in Chicago on a proposed Sand Dunes National Park. In the center of the group in the background are Associate Director Horace Albright and his wife, Grace. (Photographer Unknown, October 31, 1916, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 3. The National Park Service inspection tour of the proposed Sand Dunes National Park included the following (beginning with the first full figure at the left): unknown, Dr. Henry Chandler Cowles; Mrs. Horace (Grace) Albright; unknown; National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather (partially obscured); Col. Richard Lieber; unknown; and Horace M. Albright. (Photographer unknown, October 31, 1916, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 4. Newly appointed Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Advisory Commission at first official meeting. Photograph is taken in Secretary of the Interior Udall's office, Main Interior Building, Washington, D.C. Pictured from left to right are: National Park Service Director George B. Hartzog, Jr.; John Schnurlein, member, Porter County; Celia Nealon, member, Portage; Thomas Dustin, chairman, Secretary's designate; Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall; William Lieber, member, State of Indiana; John Hillenbrand II, member, State of Indiana; Harry Frey, member, Michigan City; and William Tobin, member, Beverly Shores. (Photographer Office of the Secretary of the Interior, November 4, 1967, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 5. Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. B. Morton and Mrs. Julie Nixon Eisenhower (center) were the keynote speakers at the September 1971, dedication day ceremony for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The event took place at the Indiana Dunes State Park. (Photographer Darryl Blink, Seasonal Park Ranger, September 8, 1972, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 6. Left to right: Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall, Senator Paul H. Douglas, Dorothy Buell, and Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman. Senator Douglas and Dorothy Buell are being awarded the National Wildlife Federation Award because of their dunes preservation efforts. (Photographer unknown, February 1967, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 7. Aerial view of the two-story limestone pavillion/beachhouse at the Indiana Dunes State Park. (Photographer District Ranger Stan Lock, April 1971, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 8. A "tree graveyard" is caused by the shifting of sand dunes through wooded areas. The natural devastation left behind is a strangely beautiful sight. (Photographer Dr. Jack Troy, June 1972, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 9. With steel mills on the horizon (left), the Lake Michigan surf relentlessly pounds the national lakeshore providing the stimulus for dunes formation. While the lake also serves as the national lakeshore's primary recreational activity, it also contributes to a fundamental management problem—shoreline erosion. (Photographer unknown, November 1973, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 10. Pinhook Bog, one of the "detached" areas of the national lakeshore, has a delicate ecosystem which necessitates minimal human impact. (Photographer Interpreter/Park Technician Jo Ellen Seiser, August 1974, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 11. The beachhouse at West Beach represents the national lakeshore's first and only substantial recreational facility. (Photographer unknown, October 1979, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 12. Scaffolding envelopes the Bailly Homestead, a National Historic Landmark, as the National Park Service begins a substantial restoration. (Photographer Park Planner Bob Foster, April 1976, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 13. Following completion of a Historic Structure Report, the National Park Service restored the Bailly Homestead to 1916, the earliest possible period for which a historic appearance could be verified. (Photographer National Lakeshore Staff, circa July 1976, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 14. Park Ranger Jim Brown escorts visitors back aboard the South Shore Railroad after a day in the dunes. The national lakeshore actively encourages urban minority groups to use the South Shore Railroad to visit the dunes and particpate in the park's environmental education programs. (Photographer National Lakeshore Staff, 1978, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 15. Visitors peruse one of the many crafts displays at the Bailly Homestead, site of the Duneland Folk Festival. Park VIPs dress in fur trade era garb representative of the time of the area's first settler, Joseph Bailly. (Photographer Supervisory Park Ranger (Programs Specialist) Robert Daum, 1980, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 16. The national lakeshore's first Superintendent, James R. ("J. R.") Whitehouse, sits behind his desk at the Bailly Administrative Area. Whitehouse served at Indiana Dunes from fall 1970 to early 1983, when he was succeeded by Dale Engquist. (Photographer Interpreter G. R. Davis, unknown [circa 1980], Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 17. Park Ranger Mike Dale leds a guided walk through the dunes explaining the intricate stages of dunes succession. (Photographer Supervisory Park Ranger [Program Specialist] Robert Daum, December 1980, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 18. West Beach remains the focus of recreational activities in the national lakeshore with summertime swimming pushing visitation levels to capacity. (Photographer Visitor Center Coordinator G. R. Davis, July 1981, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 19. Superintendent J. R. Whitehouse and Assistant Superintendent Dale Engquist (at left) accompany Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt (at right with Stetson hat) on a roving press conference/"photo opportunity" at West Beach. The woman in the center is the Secretary's wife, Leilani Watt. (Photographer Supervistory Park Ranger [Programs Specialist] Robert Daum, April 4, 1982, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 20. The Goodfellow Lodge at Goodfellow Camp, once operated by the U.S. Steel Corporation for its employees, stands vacant and awaits preservation by the National Park Service (Photographer Interpreter G. R. Davis, April 10, 1983, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 21. The Chellberg Farm House was stabilized following its acquisition by the National Park Service. Chellberg became the focus for historic preservation activities because of its proximity to the Bailly Homestead. (Photographer National Lakeshore Staff, December 1977, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 22. Restored to its exterior historic appearance, the Chellberg Farm House serves as a focal point for the active interpretive program for the surrounding farm complex. The interior is being restored and will be opened to the public in 1989. (Photographer A.V. Coordinator Cynthia Garrison, September 1987, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 23. Two visitors stand before a wayside exhibit for the Chellberg Farm Barn, one of the principal structures for interpreting the agrarian life of the Chellberg family. (Photographer Environmental Education Coordinator Sam Vaughn, July 1983, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 24. National lakeshore maintenance workers progress on building the Dunes Succession Trail at West Beach. The elaborate stairways and boardwalks help to ensure the lowest possible human impact on the fragile dunes. (Photographer A.V. Coordinator Cynthia Garrison, October 1983, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 25. One important component of the national lakeshore's Science Office is a program to restore disturbed dunelands to natural conditions. (Photographer Volunteer in Park Tom Griffiths, October 1984, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 26. Built to serve as a U.S. Army NIKE missle base, the national lakeshore operates the "Bailly Administrative Area" as its headquarters complex. Renovation of the structures is being conducted on a phased basis. (Photographer A.V. Coordinator Cynthia Garrison, January 16, 1988, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 27. The West Beach Visitor Center provides a public contact station for the thousands of visitors at this popular recreation spot. (Photographer Volunteer in Park Tom Griffiths, October 1984, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 28. Originally built as a church, the national lakeshore's visitor center at Furnessville now contains an auditorium, exhibit and visitor orientation center, sales counter, and administrative offices. (Photographer National Lakeshore Staff, date unknown, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 29. The Bailly Contact Station serves as an interpretive center for the Bailly Homestead and Cemetery and the Chellerg Farm. During the winter, cross country skiers use the trail system for their energetic sport. (Photographer Interpreter G. R. Davis, circa 1980, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 30. Both current and former members of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Advisory Commision assemble on the steps of the Tremont visitor center to pose for a group photograph on the day of its final meeting. Pictured are (back row, left to right): Kay Rhame, Portage; Harold Rudd, former member; Thomas Dustin, first Commission chairman and former member; James Holland, Gary; John Schnurlein, Porter County representative and outgoing chairman; Ron Bensz, Michigan City; and William Lieber, State of Indiana. Front row (left to right): Ron Gacki, Odgen Dunes; Superintendent Dale B. Engquist; Harry Frey, former member; and Bill Staehle, former members. (Photographer Supervisory Park Ranger [Program Specialist] Robert Daum, September 27, 1985, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)

Figure 31. As a result of the 1980 expansion bill, Congress dedicated the national lakeshore to the memory of Senator Paul H. Douglas. This sign is at West Beach which was renamed the Paul H. Douglas Ecological and Recreational Unit (Photographer Supervisory Park Ranger [Program Specialist] Robert Daum, 1985, Photographic Archives, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore)