Donated, from front
create a fitting memorial to our mothers.”
The woods came into the Caldwell family’s hands in 1934. According to family history as recorded in a newspaper article of the time, the family acquired the property in order to protect the grove of majestic beech trees within. Jay Caldwell witnessed the then-owner cutting down elms and other hardwoods and `was told the beeches would suffer the same fate. He appealed to his father, John Caldwell, a Civil War veteran then in his 90s, to buy the woods. And thus the woods was saved from destruction and passed down to three succeeding generations.
“Like so many of our nature preserves, this woodland in Bourbon has an inspiring back story,” said Shirley Heinze Executive Director Kris Krouse. “At a time when the notion of conservation was unfamiliar, a local family recognized that the natural beauty of this land was a community asset that needed to be saved.
“Shirley Heinze Land Trust is delighted and honored to accept this extraordinary act of generosity,” continued Krouse, “and we pledge to protect this land in the same spirit as the generations of Caldwell descendants who have lovingly served as its stewards. This is our first property in Marshall County, and we are pleased to bring our goal of connecting nature and community to another part of Indiana.”
Since 1981, Shirley Heinze Land Trust has protected more than 2,800 acres of natural land in northwestern Indiana, engaged thousands of people in conservation education, and provided opportunities for all ages to experience, explore, and feel inspired by nature.
For more information on the work and nature preserves of Shirley Heinze Land Trust, visit www.heinzetrust.org, call (219) 242-8558, or access its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/heinzetrust.