Indiana Parks Plan 3 Events To Start Countdown To Centennial

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State wildlife officials are preparing to toast the upcoming centennial of Indiana's state park system.

The Department of Natural Resources will host events Wednesday at McCormick's Creek and Turkey Run state parks and in the Statehouse to mark the start of a yearlong celebration leading up to the park system's centennial.

McCormick's Creek in Spencer, about 55 miles southwest of Indianapolis, and Turkey Run in in Marshall about 60 miles west of Indianapolis, became Indiana's first two state parks on Dec. 16, 1916.

Both parks were established as a gift to Hoosiers to mark the first 100 years of Indiana's statehood.

Indiana now has 32 state parks that host about 16 million visitors annually.