Buck Creek State Park is a public recreation area in Clark County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, in the United States, that is leased by the state of Ohio from the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

's main feature is the C. J. Brown Reservoir, a

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

reservoir created by the USACE on Buck Creek (or Lagonda Creek) as part of a flood control system in the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

drainage basin. The park offers year-round recreation including camping, boating, hunting, fishing, swimming, picnicking, and hiking.

History

Indian wars

The land in and around Buck Creek State Park was inhabited by various Indian tribes prior to settlement by American pioneers. As happened all over the Ohio Country white settlers from the east sought to drive the Indians from the land. One of the first major conflicts in Clark County happened in 1780 when

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

led a group of some 1,000 men from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

in an attack against the Indians in Ohio. This attack forced the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

to abandon their camp near what is now Xenia. They fled

Old Chillicothe Chalahgawtha (or, more commonly in English, Chillicothe) was the name of one of the five divisions (or bands) of the Shawnee, a Native American people, during the 18th century. It was also the name of the principal village of the division. The ot ...

for Piqua near the present site of Springfield and Buck Creek State Park. Clark pursued the Shawnee and defeated them at the

Battle of Piqua The Battle of Piqua, also known as the Battle of Peckowee, Battle of Pekowi, Battle of Peckuwe and the Battle of Pickaway, was a military engagement fought on August 8, 1780 at the Indian village of Piqua along the Mad River in western Ohio Cou ...

. Many of the Shawnee were not killed in the battle and managed to escape into the woodlands.

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

was one of those Indians and he vowed to gain vengeance on Clark and his fellow attackers. George R. Clark, Joe Williams and their men did not hold the land they gained in the battle. They retreated back to Kentucky and the Shawnee built a new Piqua on the banks of the Miami River. Hostilities between whites and Indians were at a brief standstill in the area of Buck Creek and the Mad River.

Pioneer settlers

Clark County was safely opened to settlement by whites following the

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...

and resulting

Treaty of Greenville The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and indigenous nations of the Northwest Territory (now Midwestern United States), including the Wyandot and Delaware peoples, ...

when the

Wyandot Wyandot may refer to: Native American ethnography * Wyandot people, also known as the Huron * Wyandot language * Wyandot religion Places * Wyandot, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Wyandot County, Ohio * Camp Wyandot, a Camp Fire Boys and ...

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Chippewa,

Potawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Wea The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of the ...

, Kickapoo and

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in t ...

tribes surrendered their claims to the land in what would become Ohio,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Simon Kenton Simon Kenton (aka "Simon Butler") (April 3, 1755 – April 29, 1836) was an American frontiersman and soldier in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. He was a friend of Daniel Boone, Simon Girty, Spencer Records, Thomas S. Hinde, Thomas Hinde, and ...

led a group of six Kentucky families into the area of Buck Creek and the Mad River. This group of settlers remained at the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of Buck Creek and the Mad River for two years before moving elsewhere. Kenton would then build a home along Buck Creek north of present-day Springfield. Kenton and following settlers began clearing land for

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

. The fallen trees were used to build homes and barns. Settlers quickly moved into the area and farmed the fertile land. Springfield was established in 1801 and was named the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Clark County. Markets to the east and west were opened to the Buck Creek State Park area in 1840 with the completion of the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

, now U.S. Route 40. Springfield transformed from an agriculture based community to an industrial center. In fact the city led the nation in the production of farming tools.

C. J. Brown Reservoir

C. J. Brown Reservoir and Dam is named for

Clarence J. Brown Clarence James Brown, Sr. (July 14, 1893 – August 23, 1965), was an American newspaper publisher and politician; he represented Ohio as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until his death in Bethesda, Maryland ...

who was the State Statistician of Ohio and published several

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

s at the president of the Brown Publishing Company. Brown was also the

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve a ...

from 1919-1923, the Ohio Secretary of State from 1927-1933, was the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee for governor in 1934 and finally served in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1939 until his death in 1965. The House of Representatives named the dam project in his honor with a bipartisan resolution. The dam was built across Buck Creek to control flooding in the Ohio River basin. It is made of rock fill with a sand and gravel core. It measures across and 72 high. The reservoir covers with a drainage area of .

Crabill Homestead

The Crabill Homestead, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, is on the west shore of the reservoir within Buck Creek State Park. The homestead was settled in 1813 by David and Barbara Crabill who arrived in the area on a Conestoga wagon from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. The home is a two-story

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

house that is surrounded by various outbuildings. The homestead remained in the family until the early 1900s when it was left unoccupied until 1971. Slated for demolition with the construction of the dam, it was acquired by the Clark County Historical Society which restored the property and opened it to public. The homestead was acquired in 2010 by the George Rogers Clark Heritage Association of Clark County, which offers tours seasonally.

Natural history

Buck Creek State Park is located in an area of

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s, which are low hills that were built as the glaciers receded over 12,000 years ago. They are made of gravel and sand that piled up as the pace of glacial retreat changed over the course of time. Ancient streams were covered by sand and gravel deposited by the retreating glaciers. These streams are now springs. The springs form the numerous

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s and

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s that are found throughout Clark and

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

counties. The bogs and fens are home to a variety of rare and unusual plant species including horned bladderwort and

round-leaved sundew ''Drosera rotundifolia'', the round-leaved sundew, roundleaf sundew, or common sundew, is a carnivorous species of flowering plant that grows in bogs, marshes and fens. One of the most widespread sundew species, it has a circumboreal distribution ...

. Also found in the park is the

spotted turtle The spotted turtle (''Clemmys guttata''), the only species of the genus ''Clemmys'', is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its ...

which is endangered in Ohio. Buck Creek State Park is also home to many migrating

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

species and some rare songbirds including,

Henslow's sparrow __NOTOC__ Henslow's sparrow (''Centronyx henslowii'') is a passerine bird in the family Passerellidae. It was named by John James Audubon in honor of John Stevens Henslow. It was originally classified in the genus ''Emberiza'' and called ''Hen ...

dickcissel The dickcissel (''Spiza americana'') is a small seed-eating migratory bird in the family Cardinalidae. It breeds on the prairie grasslands of the Midwestern United States and winters in Central America, northern Colombia, and northern Venezuel ...

s, and

bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

s. More than of land are protected at Buck Creek State Park. Early settlers to the area described this land as being a

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

or wet prairie. The soil was very fertile and most of it was converted into farmland. Not all of the land was farmed and it was left in its natural state in isolated patches. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Ohio Department of Natural Resources have been able to use seeds from these patches to restore the prairie to some of the land at Buck Creek State Park. A large restored area is below the dam at the park. The field has nest boxes that attract

tree swallow The tree swallow (''Tachycineta bicolor'') is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found in the Americas, the tree swallow was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as ''Hirundo bicolor''. It has since been mov ...

s and

eastern bluebird The eastern bluebird (''Sialia sialis'') is a small North American migratory thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards. The bright-blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, makes this species a ...

s. Non-native and invasive plant species are managed by hand pulling, cutting, mowing, burning and spraying projects. Seeds from the native plants are gathered in autumn and planted in spring in an ongoing effort to restore the area to a natural prairie environment.

Recreation

The park offers swimming, fishing, camping, cabins, boating, of hiking trails, of bridle trails, winter recreation, and seasonal hunting. Common game fish include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

, and crappie.

References

External links

Buck Creek State Park
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Buck Creek State Park Map
Ohio Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Ohio Protected areas of Clark County, Ohio Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in Ohio Bodies of water of Clark County, Ohio Reservoirs in Ohio