By Don Steen ~ Staff Writer n [email protected]
Dozens of go-getters came together at Lincoln State Park on the morning of January 1 for a First Day Hike. Interpretive Naturalist Michael Crews led the group on a two-mile journey across the park, visiting points of interest related to the New Deal workers who helped forge the park we know today. This hike served as an “unveiling” of sorts, as Crews announced to the crowd that the park plans to establish a trail leading to the old Civilian Conservation Corps work camp and other features related to that nearly century-old effort. There was other news as well, which will loom large over the coming year.
Dam Repair Planned
One of the most visible monuments to the New Deal at Lincoln State Park is Lincoln Lake, and the dam that holds it. More than 27,000 cubic yards of earth went into the construction of the dam at the lake, and dozens of smaller dams were built by the CCC for the purposes of erosion control across the park.
Crews explained Lake Lincoln was initially named Buckhorn Lake, for the creek which fed it. However, the original dam failed in 1937 due to the heavy rains and conditions of the great flood that year. It was rebuilt in 1940 and has held up through the decades, at least until recently.
Within the last few years, park workers have noted signs of failure. Water is seeping through the base in parts, and action is needed sooner rather than later.
Crews expects the Department of Natural Resources will drain the lake by about 10 feet sometime after July 4, with work on the dam to begin shortly thereafter. Construction will leave parts of the park, such as the Nature Center, unaccessible. As one might expect, the lake will be unfit for recreational activities until the work is completed. Discussions are still be held as to the best way to accommodate wildlife in the lake during this time.
Moon Tree to be removed, successors already planted
One of the park’s most unique features is the storied “Moon Tree”, a sycamore that accompanied astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa to the moon aboard Apollo 14 in 1971. Granted, it was still a seed at the time, as were the hundreds of other seeds that would eventually return to take root and bloom on Earth. The U.S. Forest Service germinated the seeds and distributed the saplings across the country, where they grew just like any other tree of their species.
Lincoln State Park’s Moon Tree was planted on May 1, 1976 by the Raintree Council Girl Scouts, in honor of the nation’s bicentennial. In fact, most Moon Trees in the country today were planted for that purpose. Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong in half a century.
Tell City had two sweetgum “Moon Trees” at the U.S. Forest Service Ranger District Office there until late 2023, when they were cut down due to ill health. Twigs from those trees were taken and grafted onto the roots of other trees, with the goal of eventually replanting them.
The Moon Tree at Lincoln State Park is not in failing health, but it is rooted at the base of the Lincoln Lake Dam, right in the construction zone. Fortunately, this issue was recognized ahead of time.
Crews said there were already four “cloned” saplings derived from cuttings of the original tree. All four are planted and growing around the park, marked by green stakes.
There is also the question of a time capsule buried at the base of the Moon Tree, which will likewise have to be excavated during the dam repair. The girl scouts who planted the tree also buried a time capsule to be reopened in 2001. When that time capsule was recovered, another was buried to be reopened in 2026. Crews said the DNR will be working with the Girl Scouts to determine how the time capsule should be handled.
Read more on this story in this week’s issue of the Spencer County Leader!
Featured Image: Interpretive Naturalist Michael Crews joins in conversation with the hikers during their trek on January 1
A Great Day for Nature: A series of photos from the hike on January 1. Pictured at the bottom is Moon Tree, which is set to be removed due to construction at the Dam
