Discovering a Nearby Park

A couple weeks ago I wrote about my visit to Schoepfle Garden, a part of the Lorain County Metroparks system.  That park is thirty miles down the Ohio Turnpike from my house.  Afterwards I looked at Metroparks website and discovered that one of the Lorain County parks is much closer to home.  The easternmost part of Lorain County is Columbia Township which borders on my hometown of Olmsted Falls.  The Columbia Reservation is just a five mile drive, and I didn't even know it existed.  Last Tuesday I paid a visit to that nearby park.

The park is located along the banks of the Rocky River, the same river which passes through my hometown.

There are several miles of trails running through the park, and I walked most of them.

Most of the park consists of wetlands.

Wildflowers in the park

Near the park entrance is an historic reconstruction of a blockhouse which was built nearby in the early 19th century.  At that time Ohio was sparsely settled frontier territory with a few farming families inhabiting the townships.  During the War of 1812 there were rumors that the British along with their Indian allies were going to invade the region.   The blockhouse was built for the defense of Columbia and the neighboring townships.   For three years it was garrisoned by a militia consisting of local men.  The feared invasion never occurred.