John Bryan State Park, in Greene County,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, is a state park, of . It surrounds Clifton Gorge, a deep cut of the

Little Miami River The Little Miami River ( sjw, Cakimiyamithiipi) is a Class I tributary of the Ohio River that flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 26, 2011 through five counties ...

, between Yellow Springs and

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People * Clifton (surname) * Clifton (given name) Places Australia *Clifton, Queensland, a town ** Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong * Clifton, Western Australia Canada * Clifton, Nova Sc ...

. The park contains a campground, and hiking and biking trails. The park also abuts the

Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve, in Greene County, Ohio, is located three miles east of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and immediately southwest of Clifton, Ohio. The preserve constitutes 268 acres of gorges along two miles of the Little Miami Rive ...

and

Glen Helen Nature Preserve The Glen Helen Nature Preserve is a nature reserve immediately east of Yellow Springs, Ohio, United States. The initial 700-acre parcel was given to Antioch College by Hugh Taylor Birch in memory of his daughter Helen Birch Bartlet in 1929, an ...

History

The Cincinnati–Pittsburgh stagecoach road served the area, and several settlers established water-powered industries in the gorge. The town of Clifton prospered from the

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

, grist mills, and sawmills there. By the late 19th century, most of the industrial activity in the area had ceased. Water was no longer an economical source of power, and many mills were abandoned. However, one of the grist mills, built in 1802, is still in operation: the Clifton Mill, in the village of Clifton, is open to visitors. In 1896, John Bryan, a businessman, purchased along the Clifton Gorge area and called the land "Riverside Farm". This part of the

was a vital, economical source of power for the early settlers in the 19th century. In 1918, he bequeathed Riverside Farm to the state of Ohio, "to be cultivated by the state as a forestry, botanic and wildlife reserve park and experiment station", which would bear his name. In May 1925, John Bryan's land became one of the state's first forest parks. In 1949, John Bryan State Park was transferred to the newly created Division of Parks and Recreation, part of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. John Bryan State Park and the adjoining Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve overlook the Little Miami River gorge, which the United States Department of the Interior designated a National Natural Landmark.

References

External links

John Bryan State Park
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
John Bryan State Park Map
Ohio Department of Natural Resources {{authority control State parks of Ohio Protected areas of Greene County, Ohio Protected areas established in 1949 1949 establishments in Ohio