About The Forest

The International Forest of Friendship is a living, growing memorial to the world history of aviation and
aerospace.  The Forest was a gift to America on her 200th birthday in 1976 from the City of Atchison, Kansas
(the birthplace of Amelia Earhart); The Ninety-Nines (International Organization of Women Pilots), and the
University of Kansas Forestry Extension.

Joe Carrigan of Atchison, Kansas, and  Fay Gillis Wells, a charter member of The Ninety-Nines and noted
journalist, co-chaired the Forest from its inception until their deaths.  Their sons, Pat Carrigan and Lin Wells,
and families continue their dream of “world friendship through flying.”

The Forest is nestled on a gentle slope overlooking Lake Warnock, on the outskirts of Atchison. It is made up of
trees from all fifty states and thirty-five countries around the world where Honorees reside.  There are trees from
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, the Bicentennial American Spruce, a tree from Amelia's
grandfather's farm, and the Moon Tree grown from a seed taken to the moon by Command Pilot Stuart Roosa
on Apollo 14. This latter tree honors the 17 astronauts who gave their lives in America's pioneering of space
exploration. In 2003 a monument near the tree was dedicated to the seven astronauts lost on Columbia Shuttle.

Winding through the Forest is Memory Lane, honoring those who have, or still are, contributing to all facets of
aviation and aerospace. It is a five-foot wide (wheel chair friendly) walk and embedded in the concrete walk
are granite plaques engraved with the names of over 1,200 honorees.

Included in this illustrious list are markers memorializing such aviation notables as Amelia Earhart, Charles
Lindbergh, Jeana Yeager, the Wright Brothers, Sally Ride, Chuck Yeager, General "Jimmy" Doolittle, and Col
Eileen M. Collins, the first woman to pilot a shuttle into space. In 1976, Memory Lane was designated as the
first National Recreation Trail in Kansas.  In 1991, a beautiful gazebo was dedicated to Fay Wells, in honor of
her leadership to the Forest.  Nearby are the Amelia Earhart Earthworks and the Lake Warnock picnic grounds.  
The Forest is open all year round.

Click to see a map of the International Forest of Friendship.