How Understanding the Legacy of the Land and Its Complex History Informs Park Design
Learn what the design team discovered during extensive research in planning the future Thomas Marcuccilli Nature Park, in Carmel, Indiana.
The future 63-acre Thomas Marcuccilli Nature Park (TMNP) in Carmel, Indiana will be an integral part of the Hamilton County South River District, connecting at least three parks to Conner Prairie, a nationally renowned living history museum and Smithsonian affiliate, via the White River Greenway. MKSK consulted with Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation (CCPR) to develop a master plan which will guide the future development of TMNP sensitively and intentionally to provide access and engagement with the land while minimizing disturbance to the ground, habitat, and surrounding neighborhood.
The design team studied historical images, maps, and books for cues to the site’s past. Additionally, a focus group was formed to understand the community's relationship to the park site over time. Multiple folk stories exist about farm machinery and animals sinking and disappearing into the land that is now TMNP. Andy Wright, a Carmel Clay Historical Society historian, provided a report containing plat information and newspaper clippings that helped the team understand how this landscape has changed over time.
Initial observation of the landform of the park is that it is distinctive from its surroundings by being depressed. Most of the park site sits 8-12' lower than its context. Thomas Marcuccilli Nature Park is a living example of the types of landforms that remain after glaciation. Two lung-shaped depressions on the park property could be the remains of kettle holes/lakes. The surrounding context is made of gravel outwash that sits proud of the balance of the park site. This relationship would have been in alignment with the kinds of landscapes left by the receding glaciers.
A graphic timeline was created to give spatial context to the history of this place and organize thoughts around the multiple stories and geologic and anthropological events the site has witnessed.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, Indiana was covered by a shallow sea. As the White River and Carmel's creeks erode their banks and beds, fossils of prehistoric sea creatures are brought to the surface.
It is not hard to imagine that the depressed landscape of TMNP was once an opening in a vast forest, void of trees due to the water holding capacity and weak structure of the soils, but ideal for supporting a fen landscape of flora and fauna. The master plan proposes to restore this native plant community in ecological zones that are specific to topographic and soil characteristics.
Many fens and bogs in Indiana have yielded the remains of extinct mastodon, woolly mammoth, and giant beaver and within the property evidence of prehistoric mammals have been found. Artifacts from early Native Americans have also been discovered, with some dating as far back as the Early Archaic period. Stone tools, such as arrowheads, hammers, tomahawks, whetstones, mortars, and pestles, were once prevalent. The first people of record in Carmel were the Lenape, also known as the Delaware Indians. Two centuries of European colonialism and American expansionism splintered the Tribe, greatly diminished their population, and pushed them west from their native lands in the Delaware Valley near Philadelphia and into the Ohio River Valley. After an alliance of Tribes was defeated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, the Lenape ceded much of their land in Ohio and Pennsylvania to the United States. The Miami invited the displaced Tribes to settle in their territory, allocating the area around White River to the Lenape. During the War of 1812, Indiana Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison was concerned that the Lenape would be pulled into the conflict and give up their neutrality, so he moved the Tribe from their villages along the White River to an abandoned Shawnee town in Piqua, Ohio. Many abandoned villages along the White River were burned to the ground during the war. This was the fate of the village site located near the nature park.
Through site analysis and initial engagement with focus groups, it was acknowledged that the site could have some significant artifacts, given the proximity of nearby archaeological sites. CCPR and MKSK welcomed Tribes interested in or knowledgeable of their history in or near the area and engaged the Applied Anthropology Lab at Ball State University (AAL) to guide the process of connecting with the interested Tribes. Fifty-five of the federally recognized Tribes were identified by AAL as having a potential stake or relationship to this region and land. These Tribes were asked whether they would like to be included in the park design development and provide guidance on the master plan process. Out of the Tribes contacted, the Delaware Nation and Delaware Tribe of Indians were actively engaged throughout the master plan process. Various interpretive themes emerged from the conversation with the Tribal Representatives Advisory Group.
Ethnobotany
Ethnobotany provides valid information about the utility of plant species by indigenous peoples. Native and non-native plants were utilized in different cultures and regions for medical, artistic, and agricultural needs. The types of plants and the practices used by a group helped define the collective culture's beliefs, aesthetics, language, and knowledge. This knowledge contributed to the group's ability to survive and thrive. Plants were used to craft medicines and provide food and shelter, dyes, fibers, oils, resins, gums, soaps, waxes, and tannins.
Land management practices
The history of the United States presents the myth that before European settlers the land was untouched and unspoiled. On this site, this is simply not the case as much of the land had been managed since its early history of engagement with people.
Patterning and identification of Tribes
The design and character of Native American bead patterns, basket weaving, clay pottery designs, and architecture will be used to inform the shape and structure of site elements, shading elements, seating, surface finishes of restroom facilities, paving patterns of walkways, or interpretive signage.
Artifacts found on or near the site
The design and character of artifacts found on or near the site could inform the shape and structure of site elements, including pedestrian bridges over particularly wet areas, seating elements, or interpretive signage. Weaving, beading, basket-making methods, and tools could be good starting points for site feature design.
The design team benefited from the guidance of AAL as to the character and pacing of the Tribal engagement process, identifying and highlighting the importance of listening rather than talking or oversharing, and allowing the conversation to unfold without preconceived outcomes. Allotting a generous amount of autonomy and time for the participating groups to develop their interpretation is vital to the integrity of the interpretive program.
MKSK worked with CCPR to vet ideas and new opportunities during the master plan process to arrive at a consensus for the elements within TMNP. MKSK employed various forms of engagement in close collaboration with CCPR. A project website was maintained during the process to gather feedback from the community and public engagement meetings were conducted throughout the development of the master plan. The design team and CCPR met with the steering committee, Park Board representatives, critical stakeholders, Tribal Representatives Advisory Group, and focus groups at each step of the master plan process to develop the master planning goals. The input gathered allowed the team to produce a plan that incorporates imagination alongside an action-oriented implementation strategy. TMNP will be a passive park experience with opportunities for seasonal moments of activation in a few key areas of focus: ancient ecology, Tribal engagement, progressive land management, and rural history/settlement. The community will gain access to unique nature immersion, observation opportunities, and cultural interpretation.
The Master Plan includes accessibility standards in many cases to be sensitive to the needs of all community members. Organized activities and opportunities for community engagement will center on education and environmental stewardship. Examples might be the creation of animal habitats, participation in archaeological activities on the central ridge, the management and care of the landscape flora and its carbon-reducing soil asset, and opportunities for Tribal engagement that emerge from the ongoing work with the Tribal Representatives Advisory Group. Interpretive signage and design of park elements will provide further opportunities for learning from this cultural and environmental community asset.
