The Limberlost Wetlands
Beginnings
Prior to the arrival of pioneers, tracts of what are now Adams and Jay Counties were covered by a large 13,000 acre wetland, covered in forest and home to numerous species of birds and animals (including at the time, wild hogs, black bears, and wolves). Additionally, various small communities of Miami Indians were located by creeks/rivers in the area. White settlers began arriving in Adams County in 1819 as the Miami were gradually pushed west, and over the next century, they cleared the woods, built homes, enlarged the Indian trails and began draining the swamps and marshes for agriculture. The settlers called this wetland area the "Limberlost."
Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924)
Said to have been "as famous in the early 1900s as J.K. Rowling is now" (Smithsonian), Gene Stratton's love of nature began early on in her youth on her family farm near Wabash, Indiana. When her father shot a red-tailed hawk out of the sky while hunting, Gene jumped between the fallen bird and her father, refused to let him kill it, and nursed it back to health. Though it could not fly any longer, the hawk everafter followed her around the farm on foot like a puppy, earning her the nickname "Little Bird Woman" from her family. She would go by that name in her later novels.
After marrying pharmacist and banker Charles Porter, the couple moved to Geneva, Indiana - in the heart of the Limberlost Wetlands - in 1888. It was here that Gene began writing articles for nature magazines, collecting specimens of local wildlife and taking photographs on her various sojourns into the surrounding swamps and marshes.
Her famous "Limberlost Cabin" was built in Geneva in 1895 from oil well revenue (her husband owning 60 wells in the area), and there Gene wrote her first immensely successful novels: Song of the Cardinal (1903), Freckles (1904), Girl of the Limberlost (1909), The Harvester (1911), and Laddie (1913). J.K. Rowling herself listed "Girl of the Limberlost" as one of her favorite 5 books for its "extraordinary writing." "Only 55 books published between 1895 and 1945 sold upwards of one million copies. Gene Stratton-Porter wrote five of those books—far more than any other author of her time" (Smithsonian).
Despite her extensive and passionate advocacy for their preservation, the Limberlost Wetlands were almost completely drained and cleared by 1910. Consequently, Gene and her family moved out of the area in 1913.
Preservation of Limberlost Cabin
Limberlost Cabin continued to be used by the Porters on visits to Geneva until its sale in 1920 to a friend of the family - Dr. Corwin R. Price. Local citizens and businessmen formed the "Limberlost Conservation Association" in 1946 with the goal of raising funds to purchase the home and donate it to the State of Indiana for preservation purposes. Sufficient funding was raised from the donations of Geneva and Berne residents and Limberlost Cabin was acquired from the widowed Mrs. Price and donated to the State in 1947. The State of Indiana currently operates the Gene-Stratton-Porter home as "Limberlost State Historic Site" - a house museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Restoration of the Wetlands
The movement to restore the Limberlost Wetlands was jump-started in 1993 with the creation of the "Limberlost Swamp Remembered Committee" by dairy farmer and ecologist Ken Brunswick, who had grown up reading Stratton-Porter's books. That Committee morphed into the 501(c)(3) nonprofit "Friends of the Limberlost, Inc." in 1994. Since that time, close to 1,800 acres of wetland have been acquired and restored by Friends of the Limberlost with the help of the Indiana DNR. Our organization - South Adams Trails, Inc. - collaborates closely with Friends of the Limberlost, connecting these restored wetlands with trails, allowing local adults and youths to once again appreciate and be enraptured by the beauty of the Limberlost and our natural heritage.
Help Us Make A Difference!
We Need Your Help! 100% of our funding comes from donations or grants and goes toward the construction and maintenance of our trail system. Grants are never a sure thing, and they require a high matching % of privately raised funding, so any money you give helps amplify the amount we might eventually receive. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so any and all donations to South Adams Trails, Inc. are tax-deductible. Thank you for your generosity and your support!