The Limberlost State Historic Site: A Place of Healing, History, and Natural Wonder in Indiana
Way out in the very northeastern corner of Indiana, near the tiny town of Geneva, lies the Limberlost State Historic Site, a 1,800-acre wetland preserve also known as the Limberlost-Loblolly Watershed. More than a century ago, these lands captured the imagination of Hoosier novelist and naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter.
“This is the areas that Gene Stratton-Porter photographed, wrote about, studied, walked around in, set some of her novels. So this is very much a spiritual place for her. She saw the forest as God's cathedral or one of God's cathedrals. And so everywhere she went in nature, I mean, she definitely felt the spirituality of it and saw how it related to how she worshiped it,” says Curt Burnette, naturalist and historian at the Limberlost State Historic Site.
Gene Stratton-Porter and the Legacy of the Limberlost
Today, if you wander around this Indiana wilderness area, chances are pretty good you'll come across Curt Burnette. Curt sees a strong relationship between himself and Gene Stratton-Porter through their shared connection to these very same natural surroundings.
“Her main source of knowledge was experience. She'd go out and spend thousands of hours from childhood on, observing birds, how they built their nests, their calls, what they fed their babies, how they acted with each other," explains Burnette. "I've always loved animals in nature. I grew up on a farm myself. And then after a degree of Wildlife Science at Purdue University, I became interested in working in zoos. And I did go down to South Louisiana and lived for 22 years, where I became a swamp and alligator expert. So I have a very good understanding. I can relate to Gene slogging through the swamps. I did it myself so much.”
Near the turn of the 20th century, Gene Stratton-Porter became one of Indiana's wealthiest and most famous Hoosiers, with her novels, published nature studies, and wildlife photography. Likewise, Curt finds the same inspired glory in the trees and critters that inhabit this wetland oasis.
“I definitely could relate to the things she did, her appreciation of the things, her observations. But as I spent more time, I started realizing that there was a feel to it," Burnette remarks. "I live in a modern world, and I've got all the modern things. But when I'm out in nature, just walking around, then it's just where I feel like I most belong.
“When I came and took this job as the naturalist here at Limberlost, I was going through a very rough period in life, very rough. And I came here and felt like I was starting to heal, that this was a healing place spiritually. I was, you know, at the bottom and coming here and just feeling the place and I started feeling better and I feel like I fit in and was contributing. And so for me, the Limberlost truly was a place to heal and get back to a good place in life," says Burnette.
Guided Hikes and Nature Education at Limberlost
Like Stratton-Porter more than a century ago, Curt sees himself as a fellow storyteller, promoting a sense of collective effervescence, a shared wonder and joy of our natural surroundings by giving guided tours to help today's busy world better connect to nature.
Burnette explains, “One of the things I do is lead hikes out in the nature areas, and it is so cool to see kids who—of course their lives, all of our lives, are staring at screens now; computer screens, phones, televisions, whatever—and to get them out here, away from those things, they start pointing things out because once you do and they realize there's a lot to see, they become excited.
"I'm standing next to what we call one of the giants of Rainbow Bottom, this very large sycamore tree, which could possibly be up to 300 years old based on its size,” Burnette states with his hand on the massive tree.
"To me now, this is a place, you know, I'm older now and I'm semi-retired and this is a great place to be. I actually live in a rented house on the edge of the Limberlost Swamp Nature Preserve. So I like to tell people I have an 850-acre backyard.
“Gene Stratton-Porter was one of the most famous and influential Hoosiers who ever lived. And not only just Hoosiers, but an American citizen who took Indiana around the world through her novels and influenced people around the country and the world with her magazine articles and her stance on things like conservation,” declares Burnette.
“I love it so much, I’m excited, and if I'm excited, I'm going to get you excited. And that's the goal. Get excited about being out in nature, so you want to come back.”
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The above video is a clip from Journey Indiana from WTIU. You can watch more segments and full episodes at pbs.org/show/journey-indiana/
