Forest near Paoli home to rare old growth trees

PAOLI, Ind. (AP) - South of Paoli rests one of southern Indiana's finest forest treasures. Hidden between Ind. 37 and U.S. 150, the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest provides visitors with astounding views of an old growth forest rich with history.

The 88-acre woodland was originally part of a 258-acre purchase made by Joseph Cox in 1816.

Cox and his wife, Mary, had migrated to Indiana by way of the Buffalo Trace from Tennessee in 1811. While the majority of the property was dedicated to farming, Cox saved a vast swath of forest out of his love for trees.

When Cox passed in 1838, his son, William, took over the farm and continued the preservation of the forest.

The responsibility of running the farm and protecting the forest eventually fell on William's youngest son, Joseph Cox. Even among pressures at the turn of the 20th century by the growing logging industry in the area, Cox honored his grandfather's wishes for the conservation of the woodland property.

After his passing in 1940, heirs to the estate sold the property to the Wood-Mosaic Lumber Co. of Louisville, Ky. After 124 years in the hands of the Cox family, the "Cox Woods" faced a very bleak future.

The Meridian Club of Paoli led a community effort to save the timber from being cut. The civic organization worked with area newspapers to make the public aware of the dire circumstance facing this beautiful stretch of forest.

Concerned with public outcry over the purchase, Wood-Mosaic agreed to resell the land if the original purchase price of $23,000 could be paid within 90 days.

Several individuals and organizations mounted fundraising efforts.

Notably, the Indiana Pioneer Mother's Memorial Association voted to donate the whole of their treasury, $5,900, to the cause. As a tribute to the donation, the forest would be given its present name and a memorial wall would be constructed.

The U.S. Forest Service also took interest in the property, offering half of the needed funds under the stipulation that the property would be managed by the Forest Service.

As told by the beautiful stretch of stately trees left today, their efforts were successful.

In 1944, the U.S. Forest Service declared the Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest a research natural area, with the goal of protecting and studying it's unique ecology.

There is a 1.3-mile trail that passes through the Memorial wall, dedicated in 1955. The monument stands in honor of the pioneer women who worked tirelessly, and through great adversity, to raise families among the primitive conditions early settlers faced.

But the history of the memorial forest goes beyond the early settlers. Native Americans inhabited the area for centuries prior to the Cox family.

The Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology at Indiana University excavated a small village along Lick Creek, which runs through the Memorial forest. It was inhabited by a group known as the Oliver Phase people, thought to have lived throughout the White river valley from 1000 A.D. to 1500 A.D.

In the present, the memorial forest offers a glimpse of the past to visitors. This local treasure is the reward for a conservation effort that has spanned generations. It is one of the last remaining parcels of the original forest that extended through the region. The massive oak, walnut and poplar trees stand, living time-capsules from a time when such a forest spanned more than 19,000,000 acres across the Indiana Territory. Here, you can look back into history, and it is a sight to see.