Ohio’s newest state park is now open.
Great Council State Park is located between Yellow Springs and Xenia in Old Town. The park features a three-story center designed to celebrate the Shawnee longhouse and features exhibits on Shawnee history, the Old Town settlement, and the local environment, including the Little Miami River.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine opened the park on Friday.
“They were Ohio’s first residents,” Governor DeWine said. “I think there are a lot of lessons to be learned from this case, regardless of age.”
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources partnered with the Shawnee Tribe, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Absentee Tribe in developing the center.
Members of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe from Norman, Oklahoma, were in attendance for the park’s opening.
The Shawnee tribe said in a news release that when Xenia was called Old Town, it was home to more than 400 families between about 1777 and 1780 and was one of the largest Shawnee settlements known in the area.
“Their story overlaps directly with the stories of people like Daniel Boone, who was held captive at one time in Old Town,” the Shawnee said.
Exhibits in the center of the park include a timeline of Old Town, descriptions of daily life through the seasons, and information about notable historical figures such as Tecumseh, Daniel Boone, and Simon Kenton.
The park also features walking trails showcasing Ohio’s native prairie plants and animals.
Demonstrators also attended the opening ceremony to protest fracking at the Ohio State Park.
Ann Sparks with Save Ohio Parks said she appreciates that the park is showcasing more of Ohio history and the history of the Shawnee people, but she feels the tribe’s contributions in terms of stewardship of the land should be better represented as part of Ohio State Parks.
“Fracturing, especially in public parks and wildlife refuges, is what’s causing this. [the Shawnee Tribe’s] “The message of land stewardship and preserving what we have for future generations needs to be echoed loudly, very loudly,” she said.
Erin Glynn is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Ohio bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
