Warren Woods State Park preserves one of the finest remnants of original beech-maple forest in the Great Lakes region along the banks of the Galien River, a rare climax forest in the Chicago Wilderness where towering beeches form a 100-foot canopy that blocks 95 percent of the summer sunlight and sugar maples dominate the understory in the classic succession of eastern woodland. The woods offer an experience akin to that of Native Americans and early European explorers who once traveled these deep woodlands, and the site was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967. The park is named for Edward K. Warren, whose family came to Three Oaks, Michigan, in 1853 when his father, Rev. Waters Warren, established the First Congregational Church there. In 1879 Edward Kirk Warren purchased the property known today as Warren Woods, originally for charcoal production, but preserved it after recognizing its exceptional virgin hardwoods. Warren built his fortune after developing featherbone, a lighter, cheaper substitute for whalebone in women's garments, organizing the Warren Featherbone Company in 1882, introducing the product in 1883, and establishing the Warren Featherbone Whip Company in 1885. Also known as a major churchman, he later bought duneland that became the heart of Warren Dunes State Park and in 1917 created the E.K. Warren Foundation for preserving forests, parks, and historical materials, placing 300 acres of virgin hardwood forest and 289 acres of duneland with 1.25 miles of Lake Michigan frontage under its care. After Warren died in 1919 at age 72, the foundation eventually gave the state the first 252 acres in 1930 that began the creation of Warren Dunes State Park.