Agencies
Services
Nature Preserve Area
8
County
Lawrence
Location And Access
From jct. Hwys. 1 and 50 in Lawrenceville, take Hwy. 50 east 8 mi. to the Business Route 50 interchange, then turn and go south and southeast 2.1 mi., then turn and go northeast 1.6 mi. on Hwy. 33. The nature preserve is west of the road. Part is on the north side of Hwy. 50 and is accessible from the rest stop on the westbound lane of Hwy. 50. Special Note: The topography is rugged and challenging. Trails have been established and an interpretive pamphlet is available.
Description
Robeson Hills is a 120-acre (two tracts) remnant of mesic upland forest of the Southern Upland Section of the Wabash Border Natural Division. The preserve is part of a 545 acre outdoor laboratory and environmental education site managed by Vincennes University. The area is located on Robeson Hills, a prominent topographic feature of the Wabash River bottomlands. The rugged terrain is characterized by narrow flat-topped ridges, steep slopes, and deep ravines. These features not only provide diverse habitats, but help to protect them as well. The most significant feature of the preserve is a beech-maple forest on dissected, deep loess deposits overlooking the Wabash River. Other important canopy species include ash, tulip tree, oaks, basswood, and hickories. Woodland wildflowers are abundant. Robeson Hills also has significant archeological and historical features; shell middens of an Archaic Indian culture occur on the river bluffs.
Ownership
Vincennes University
Dedicated
April 1972
Size
139.8 acres
Topographic Quad
Vincennes
Topo Map
For Further Information
Vincennes University, 1002 North 1st St., Vincennes, Indiana 47591-9986 (812/882-3350)