Knox County Park District

HISTORY

The Knox County Park District was formed in 1995 after a group of citizens and local public officials became convinced that a park district was necessary in order to preserve Knox County’s open space and natural features.

As a first initiative, the district assisted with a committee to request that the state of Ohio designate the Kokosing River as a state scenic river. The park district's involvement, combined with the assistance of eleven local governments and the Brown Family Environmental Center, met with success as the Kokosing was designated a scenic river. The governor at the time, George Voinovich, took part in the designation and dedication of the river as a State Scenic River in 1997.

Also in 1997, the district helped finance the development of the current countywide master plan known as Focus 2100. This plan has proven to be a key element in the county’s effort to manage growth and development. The district also served as an advocate and active participant in the development of the Kokosing River Watershed Plan, a plan approved and lauded by state agency officials as an excellent example of balanced planning and community partnership. After work on the Focus 2100 plan was completed, the district developed it’s master plan.

During 2001, the district was unsuccessful in an attempt to pass a real estate levy to support projects that were included in the master plan. The disappointment was short lived, however, when the district obtained a “Clean Ohio” grant of over $600,000 to purchase 288 acres of woodlands and fields on the edge of Mount Vernon’s most rapidly developing areas. The partnerships the district created over its first five years enabled the district to make the 30% grant match through donations of land and money that made the grant application a success. The resulting park, Wolf Run Regional Park, is the largest single area in the county devoted to conservation and recreation, where local citizens can enjoy hiking, fishing and nature observation. The community confidence in the park district was truly expressed with the creation of this park.

Since the creation of the park, the community’s confidence in the park district has continued, through donations and assistance at many levels. In 2003, the park district received an operating grant from the Knox County Board of Commissioners and three private donations that resulted in an additional preservation of ten acres (Trinkner Preserve) and assistance with the development of Wolf Run. A second Clean Ohio grant was obtained to purchase river front property on the Kokosing River.

Knox County Board of Commissioners expressed confidence in the park district, when maintenance and operational management of the Big Run and Pipesville canoe access sites on the Kokosing were delegated to the park district.

In 2005, the park district acquired land for a canoe access site in Greer on the Mohican River, thereby facilitating public access in the northeastern portion of the county. The park district also established a partnership with Mohican Valley Trail advocates to provide assistance, in support of trail operations. The Knox County Board of Commissioners donated a 16 acre property, adjacent to the Kokosing Gap Trail in Howard, to the park district. This park, known as Hellbender Preserve, is named for the state endangered hellbender, Ohio’s largest amphibian, which lives near the preserve.

In June of 2005, the Kokosing was designated the first water trail in Ohio by the state. The park district provided demonstrable leadership in the designation process in serving as local sponsor and providing coordination between communities and government agencies that own or manage river access sites.

2006 was a busy year, with the hiring of a full-time Director and the acquisition of Hope Access, a fishing access site located near the Pipesville Road baseball fields. This site helps protect the drinking water wellfield for Howard residents and was made possible through a grant from the Community Foundation. Park district staff also assisted leaders of the community to seek designation of the Mohican River as a state scenic river. The Mohican was so designated in December, 2006.

Early in 2007, a grant from the Community Foundation was secured to acquire and protect a spectacular waterfall on Honey Run near the Kokosing River. Parking lot upgrades to Millwood Access and Kokosing Gap Canoe Access were made, and a nature trail and signage were constructed at Hellbender Preserve. A picnic shelter was constructed at Big Run Access, with assistance from the Mount Vernon Rotary. Ecological restoration of woodlands and grassland prairie commenced at Wolf Run Regional Park. In June, the park district acquired 102 acres of Kokosing River floodplain, known as the Bat Nest Road Area, through a Clean Ohio grant. This area, with more than a mile of Kokosing River frontage, will serve sportsmen who hunt and fish. The Knox County Commissioners gave a $5,000 grant and grader to the park district to maintain and manage the Mohican Valley Trail. Planning commenced and a grant was obtained to construct a dog park at Wolf Run. In total, the Park District was awarded more than $300,000 in grants and donations in 2007. The Park District restored a nearly three-acre wetland, with financial assistance from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2008, the voters of Knox County expressed their vision of parks and greenspace in Knox County by passing 0.35 mill levy for park and trail operations. 25.5 acres of Kokosing River floodplain and bluff were protected through a nearly $67,000 Clean Ohio grant and matching monies from the ODNR Division of Wildlife. Ohio EPA 319 grant funds and Division of Wildlife grant monies were used late in the year to acquire the last remaining canoe access site in private hands, the Riley Chapel Bridge access (30 acres) on the Kokosing River. The wildly popular Wolf Run "bark park" was opened, and a 70 acre easement on a horse farm was donated to the park district. The park district was successful in writing grants totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Knox County Commissioners (to construct the Heart of Ohio Trail and market the Gateway to Amish Country Scenic Byway).

2009 brought more access and opportunity for park district users. New hiking trails are open at Wolf Run Park and bridle and mountain bike trails are open at our newest park, the 70-acre Thayer Ridge Park. Indianfield Bluffs Park opened, with a 1.5 mile double-loop trail and nearly 20 acres of land adjacent to the Honey Run Waterfall was acquired. A parking lot at Honey Run sports a picnic table, grill, bench and kiosk.

The largest land acquisition to date occurred in April of 2010. Honey Run Highlands, a 348 acre park adjacent to Honey Run Waterfall, opened. This significant acquisition results in 370 continguous acres of greenspace from US 62 to the Kokosing River. More than 50 acres of habitat were restored into tall grass prairie at the site, and five miles of hiking trails have been designed or constructed.

In terms of recreational opportunity, a nine-hole frisbee disc golf course opened at Thayer Ridge Park in 2010. The Mohican Valley Trail was paved from the Bridge of Dreams east to the Holmes County line.

While still in its infancy, the Knox County Park District displays creative ingenuity in our commitment to Knox County citizens and the cultural, historic, recreational and natural resources that make Knox County “a great place to work and live.”