Diana of the Dunes was the nickname given to Alice Mabel Gray (1881–1925), an American intellectual, nonconformist, and free spirit, whose life inspired a local legend in Chesterton, Indiana. Gray lived in primitive conditions among the sand dunes of northern Indiana and became interested in the history, ecology, and the need to preserve the area's dunes. Trained in mathematics, astronomy, and classical languages at the University of Chicago in the early 1900s, Gray rejected a wage-earning, urban life in favor a solitary existence at the Indiana Dunes. Gray's unconventional lifestyle fascinated the general public and area news reporters, who gave her the "Diana" moniker. As the Dunes became threatened by encroaching real-estate development, Gray's notoriety and the "Diana" legend brought m
Diana of the Dunes was the nickname given to Alice Mabel Gray (1881–1925), an American intellectual, nonconformist, and free spirit, whose life inspired a local legend in Chesterton, Indiana. Gray lived in primitive conditions among the sand dunes of northern Indiana and became interested in the history, ecology, and the need to preserve the area's dunes. Trained in mathematics, astronomy, and classical languages at the University of Chicago in the early 1900s, Gray rejected a wage-earning, urban life in favor a solitary existence at the Indiana Dunes. Gray's unconventional lifestyle fascinated the general public and area news reporters, who gave her the "Diana" moniker. As the Dunes became threatened by encroaching real-estate development, Gray's notoriety and the "Diana" legend brought media attention to the Dunes at an important time when the local community's support was critical in helping to establish the area as a nature preserve that became the Indiana Dunes State Park and later Indiana Dunes National Park. (en)
Diana of the Dunes was the nickname given to Alice Mabel Gray (1881–1925), an American intellectual, nonconformist, and free spirit, whose life inspired a local legend in Chesterton, Indiana. Gray lived in primitive conditions among the sand dunes of northern Indiana and became interested in the history, ecology, and the need to preserve the area's dunes. Trained in mathematics, astronomy, and classical languages at the University of Chicago in the early 1900s, Gray rejected a wage-earning, urban life in favor a solitary existence at the Indiana Dunes. Gray's unconventional lifestyle fascinated the general public and area news reporters, who gave her the "Diana" moniker. As the Dunes became threatened by encroaching real-estate development, Gray's notoriety and the "Diana" legend brought m (en)
