Charles Mill is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

located in central

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 ...

near the junction of State Routes 430 and

603 __NOTOC__ Year 603 ( DCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 603 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

. Charles Mill Lake is a quiet and enjoyable place for boating, camping, fishing, hunting, or hiking. The lake is located in both Richland County (near

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

) and Ashland County (near Mifflin), with the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

located in Ashland County. This lake is located on the

Black Fork of the Mohican River The Black Fork is a principal tributary of the Mohican River, long,Ohio Department of Natural Resources''A Guide to Ohio Streams.'' in north-central Ohio in the United States. Via the Mohican, Walhonding, Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, it is part ...

. Many local residents refer to Chales Mill Lake as Mifflin Lake due to its proximity to Mifflin, Ohio. The lake primarily sees local use by nearby residents who fish or boat; the marina is accessible from St. Rt. 430.

History

The area around the lake experienced several incidents of violence between settlers and Native Americans during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. An attack took place within a mile of the dam site following the forced removal of the Piqua Indians from their homes in Greentown. The Native Americans first attacked the home of the Frederick Zimmer family, killing Zimmer, his wife and daughter, and their neighbor, Martin Ruffner. Several days later, a settler, James Copus, and three militiamen were killed while defending Copus' home and family. There is a historical marker in the day use area of the lake that recounts the stories of "Frontier Violence During the War of 1812" and "English-Allied Indian Attacks", and a monument honoring these events was erected on Route 603, near the dam. The name for Charles Mill Lake comes from the name of J. Charles who operated a sawmill (S.M.) in the vicinity where the park below the dam is situated currently
Caldwell's Atlas of Ashland County - 1874

Watershed

Charles Mill Dam

Charles Mill Dam is located on the Black Fork of the Mohican River, east of Mansfield, Ohio and southwest of

Ashland, Ohio Ashland is a city in and the county seat of Ashland County, Ohio, United States, 66 miles southwest of Cleveland and 82 miles northeast of Columbus. The population was 20,362 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan Stat ...

. The lake is located in Ashland County and Richland County, with the dam being located in Ashland County. Charles Mill Dam was constructed from 1935 to 1936 and is primarily for

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 ...

, but is also used for recreation, and fish and wildlife management. Charles Mill Dam is a rolled

earth fill dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface an ...

with an impervious, water-resistant, clay core. The dam, is high, long and wide. The flood reduction system also includes two

dikes Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

and one

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

. These structures, the dam, dikes and levee, hold the water that may build up behind them from the drainage area the dam serves. The dam also has two

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

s to handle water above the maximum the dam is designed to hold; one is built into the gate house, the other is beyond the gate house against the right

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

. There are five gates which allow the water to pass through the dam and provide control of it. During the summer months the lake is kept at about at the dam which provides of water surface. At that level the water is backed up the Black Fork about . When the dam is holding the maximum flood water it is designed to hold there would be surface acres of water behind the dam and water would be backed up the Black Fork .

References

External links

Ohio DNR fishing map of Charles Mill Lake
{{authority control Reservoirs in Ohio Dams in Ohio Bodies of water of Ashland County, Ohio Bodies of water of Richland County, Ohio Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District United States Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District