Stories

Historic, black and white photograph of large, bare sand dunes advancing inland- covering wetland and woodland alike — Photograph by Ira Benton Meyers, 1901
University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf8-02293, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

The shifting hills along Indiana's coast have been witness to human lives for thousands of years. The landscape itself inspired and influenced the events that occurred over time. Indiana's Duneland has been a home, a battleground of human conflict and ideas, a destination, a place of recovery, and more.

Exploring these stories gives us new insight into what has made Indiana Dunes National Park into the place it is today.

Screen capture of a historic newspaper page from September 25, 1910 from Chicago's Inter Ocean newspaper. Images of the sand dune country around Lake Michigan are peppered amongst the text. — Newspapers.com

An Early Trip to Miller Woods

Take a journey through Miller Woods with Lois Willoughby in 1910 as she chronicles her experience of a 'Saturday Afternoon Walk.' These walks led to the formation of the Prairie Club and are a part of the first efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes region.

Historic sepia photograph from 1913 of a masque performance in the Indiana Dunes. — Steven R. Shook Collection

Duna: The Spirit of the Dunes

Written by Mildred Shire Abt, read the dramatic masque that was performed by the Prairie Club on October 19th, 1913.

Black and white photograph from 1969 of a white-haired man holding a pair of glasses, wearing a dark plaid shirt, sitting next to a tree. A woman with a hat and gloves in background — Photograph by Nancy Hays, Chicago

The Last of the Central Dunes: Hawk's Island 1966

Travel back to July 31, 1966; just a few months before Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore was established. John Hawkinson was the last to sell his property for the development of today's Port of Indiana.

Historic black and white photograph of an experimental glider, the Albatross, a large, wooden hulled airship. It rests at the top of a sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan. — Library of Congress, Octave Chanute Papers

Experiments in Flight: The Albatross

At the turn of the last century, the "problem of flight" was a fixation for a number of inventors. Immerse yourself in the time of glider tests and follow the story of an experimental flight that took place at Indiana Dunes in the summer of 1896.

Sparse shrubs and vines grow on the steep, sandy backside of a coastal dune. — University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf8-02477, Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

An Early Trip to the Central Dunes

Let Louella Chapin take you on a trip to Dune Park in 1907. This area, also known as the Central Dunes, was regarded as the heart of Indiana's duneland. Today, much of it is occupied by the Port of Indiana.

Cover of May 1919 National Geographic Magazine

Indiana's Unrivaled Sand-Dunes—A National Park Opportunity

Read Orpheus Moyer Schantz's article from the May 1919 edition of the National Geographic Magazine. Orpheus discusses Indiana's unique duneland and why a national park project is justified on Lake Michigan's southern shore.

Historic black and white illustrating depicting a coastal sand dune scene with the outline of a figure walking in an open sandy area. A dark Lake Michigan is in the background. — University of California

The Dune-Faun

In 1923, author Webb Waldron traveled the Great Lakes region to gather content for a new book. Waldron visited the Indiana Dunes in the summer heat and took a walk along the lakeshore; where he discovered a man who made his home among sand hills. Tanned head-to-toe from the bright sunshine, Waldron likened the man to a mythical faun, or Pan, the Greek god of the wild.

Historic etching by Earl Reed of a crow named Billy perched on a branch along the lakefront. — Library of Congress

A Glimpse into Historic Crow Life

Travel back in time to Indiana Dunes in 1916. Learn about American crows in the region through passages and etchings by Earl Howell Reed, an early artist of the Dunes.

Waves break near the coast of Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline in the background. — NPS

Tragic Wreck of the Flying Cloud Schooner

Thousands of ships have been wrecked in the Great Lakes. Many met their fate as shipping and transportation peaked on the lakes during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With them drowned countless sailors, captains, passengers and crew— victims of a time before modern forecasting and navigation.

Learn about a wreck that occurred at Indiana Dunes in 1857.

Black and white photograph of an actor dressed as a wild man with unkempt hair and ragged clothes — Joseph Gruzalski

Getting Lost and Found at Indiana Dunes

In 1910, the Indiana Dunes provided a unique setting for the film "Lost in the Soudan," which used the landscape to mimic the Sahara Desert. Actor William "Bill" Mong, playing the role of a British officer, spent long days filming in the heat and sand. After one scene, however, Mong unknowingly found himself alone in the dunes when the crew accidentally left without him, leading him on an unexpected adventure that he wouldn’t soon forget.

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