Anyone remember Indian Forest? Old roadside attraction in Florence (house, live)

[Phrogg]

Does anyone remember an old roadside attraction in Florence called Indian Forest? I can find very little about it online, other than that it seemed to have opened in 1965, was closed by the early 2000s, and had live buffalo. Was it a chainsaw sculpture place? Live actors? "Authentic" or cheesy? How long was it there? I can't believe I must've missed (or forgotten?) a roadside attraction.

[agelliott]

Hi,
I grew up in a house across the street (Hwy 101) from Indian Forest. As a matter of fact I was there long before the tourist attraction was built. The Indian Forest was built by a man who studied American Indian lodging and built all of the lodgings himself with very little help. When he first bought the property he bought essentially what was a wet bog area full of wild Rhododendrons, Huckleberry and Salal brush. As I recall it took over a year for him to built the "paths", as they were called, and the Indian dwellings. I remember fondly running through the paths when I was a kid. As a matter of fact I still bare a scar that I got when I jumped over the tepee poles before the tepees went up; one leg made it and the other leg stuck right into the end of a tepee pole tip. I'm sure not many people can claim that particular injury! We, his two kids and I, used to have sleep-overs in the dwellings. My personal favorite was the Mandan lodge with the large fire pit in the center. Anyway, no, the owner didn't do chainsaw things. Yes, there was a buffalo arena and 3 buffalo, Barney was the name of the biggest buffalo. My younger brother used to put bumper stickers on cars as a kid, the owner paid him a whopping $1.00 per hour! The last the I know of the site was sold and is functioning as a plant nursery. The builder was a surveyor by trade, not sure if he's still alive or not. His name was Bob Manseth. I graduated with his daughter and his son graduated the next year. They had another daughter who was born when his daughter and I were 12. Indian Forest was a big part of my childhood. I remember it well. Thanks for letting me reminisce.

[wolfdog]

The chain saw place you mentioned might be in Seal Rock, 40 minutes north of Florence.