Jackson Lake State Park (Ohio)

This is about the Ohio State park. For others, see Jackson Lake State Park (disambiguation).

Jackson Lake State Park
Ohio State Park
Natural Monument (IUCN III)
Immediately north of the State Route 279 causeway
Named for: Jackson Lake
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Jackson County
Location	^[1]
- coordinates	38°53′56″N 82°36′05″W / 38.89889°N 82.60139°W / 38.89889; -82.60139Coordinates: 38°53′56″N 82°36′05″W / 38.89889°N 82.60139°W / 38.89889; -82.60139
- elevation	892 ft (272 m) ^[1]
Area	349 acres (141 ha)
Founded	1979
Managed by	Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation
Location of Jackson Lake State Park in Ohio
Website : Jackson Lake State Park

Jackson Lake State Park is a 349-acre (141 ha) Ohio state park in Jackson County, Ohio, in the United States. The park was established as a state park in 1979. It had previously been a "state reserve", similar to a park but with less development. The forests in and around Jackson Lake State Park were previously harvested to fire the furnaces of numerous iron works that were located in southern Ohio in the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Recreational activities available at the park include camping, boating, fishing, swimming and picnicking.^[2]

History

Jackson Lake State Park is north of the Ohio River in eastern Ohio. This area was long occupied by various tribes of Native Americans. Evidence this era in the Ohio Valley is found in and around the park. Large burial and ceremonial mounds and petroglyphs are lasting remants. The Leo Petroglyph is located nearby the park.^[2]

Tribes that inhabited the area in the Colonial period included with Mingo, Lenape, and Shawnee. Westward expansion by American pioneers displaced the Indians who were killed in wars or relocated to the Great Plains and placed on reservations following the passage of the Indian Removal Act. The pioneer settlers cleared the land for farming and developed industries around which towns and cities grew.^[2]

Iron ore was discovered in southern Ohio in the mid-19th century. The combination of deposits of ore and vast stands of old-growth forests made the Hanging Rock Iron Region ideally suited for the iron industry. The Jefferson Iron Furnace was constructed in 1854. It met the growing demand for iron in the developing United States of America. The importance of the furnaces in the Hanging Rock region grew tremendously during the American Civil War. Iron produced in the Jackson Lake State Park area was sold to manufacturers under the trademark, "Anchor". This iron was used to build the USS Monitor, an ironclad warship made famous by its contest against the CSS Virginia, a Confederate ironclad sometimes known as the Merrimack, at the Battle of Hampton Roads.^[2]

The era of iron production in the Jackson Lake State Park area began to wane in the years following the Civil War. Demand for iron outstripped the resources in the Hanging Rock Iron Region. Ore deposits had been cleared and what remained was minimal and difficult to extract. Also much of the forested land had been cleared to provide charcoal to fire the furnaces. A combination of a lack of ore and charcoal helped bring about the end of the iron era. Remnants of the Jefferson Iron Furnaces are found in various parts of Jackson Lake State Park.^[2]

Other industries that were in the area included coal mining and salt mining. Over a million tons of coal were mined in 1888. Jackson County was the second leading coal producing county in the state during the coal mining era. Salt mines along Salt Creek were set aside "by Congress for the use of the state to secure the salt."^[2] Indian tribes also used the area and came from great distances to gather salt.^[2]

The departure of the iron, coal, and salt industries allowed the stripped forests to regenerate. Jackson Lake State Park is now home to a second growth forest.^[2] This rebirth has led to the establishment of the state park. This occurred in several stages. First, a dam was built on Black Fork creating Jackson Lake in 1938. The area was known as Jackson Lake State Reserve. It was home to a small camping area with a beach on the lake. Jackson Lake State Park was established in 1979 after the facilities were expanded and improved.^[2]

Ecology

Jackson Lake State Park is in the Appalachian Highlands region of Ohio. The hilly sandstone region is home to diverse plant and animal populations. The region contains nearly 70% of the woodlands in Ohio. At one time this same region was a barren wasteland that had been stripped of its old growth forests to provide fuel for the iron furnaces. The forests have since regrown with a diversity of hardwoods including hickory, oak, and maple.^[2]

A variety of animals are found in Jackson Lake State Park. These animals are protected from hunting in the park. They include most common eastern woodland creatures such as the white-tailed deer, skunks, wild turkeys, opossums, raccoons, eastern gray squirrels, great horned owls and numerous songbirds, reptiles and amphibians. Plant life at the park includes dame's violet, goldenrod, spring beauties and asters.^[2]

Recreation

Jackson Lake State Park is open for year-round recreation. A campground with 34 sites that have electrical connections is available to visitors. A playground is nearby the camping area as is a horseshoe pit and beach volleyball court. Jackson Lake is open to fishing, boating and swimming. Boats must be under 10 horsepower. There are two launch ramps at the park with boat rental nearby. Common game fish at the park include carp, bass, bluegill and muskellunge. Valid Ohio fishing licenses are required. The lake is open to swimming at the sandy beach. Four picnic areas are on the shores of Jackson Lake with three pavilions that are available on a first-come, first-served basis.^[2]

References

1 2 "Jackson Lake State Reserve". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. July 12, 1979. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Jackson Lake State Park". Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 2009-01-06.

Protected areas of Ohio

Federal

National parks	Cuyahoga Valley

National historical parks and sites	Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP First Ladies NHS Hopewell Culture NHP James A. Garfield NHS William Howard Taft NHS

National Monuments	Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers

National memorials	David Berger Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

National trails	North Country Trail

National forests	Wayne

National wildlife refuges	Cedar Point Ottawa West Sister Island

National estuarine research reserve	Old Woman Creek

National Natural Landmarks	Brown's Lake Bog Cedar Bog Dysart Woods Fort Hill State Memorial Glen Helen Nature Preserve Tinkers Creek Gorge

State

State parks	Adams Lake Alum Creek A. W. Marion Barkcamp Beaver Creek Blue Rock Buck Creek Buckeye Lake Burr Oak Caesar Creek Catawba Island Cleveland Lakefront Cowan Lake Deer Creek Delaware Dillon East Fork East Harbor Findley Forked Run Geneva Grand Lake St. Marys Great Seal Guilford Lake Harrison Lake Headlands Beach Hocking Hills Hueston Woods Independence Dam Indian Lake Jackson Lake Jefferson Lake John Bryan Kelleys Island Kiser Lake Lake Alma Lake Hope Lake Logan Lake Loramie Lake Milton Lake White Little Miami Madison Lake Malabar Farm Marblehead Lighthouse Mary Jane Thurston Middle Bass Island Maumee Bay Mohican Mosquito Lake Mt. Gilead Muskingum River Nelson Kennedy Ledges Paint Creek Pike Lake Portage Lakes Punderson Pymatuning Quail Hollow Rocky Fork Salt Fork Scioto Trail Shawnee South Bass Island Stonelick Strouds Run Sycamore Tar Hollow Tinkers Creek Van Buren West Branch Wingfoot Lake Wolf Run

State forests	Beaver Creek Blue Rock Brush Creek Dean Fernwood Gifford Harrison Hocking Maumee Mohican-Memorial Perry Pike Richland Furnace Scioto Trail Shade River Shawnee Sunfish Creek Tar Hollow Yellow Creek Zaleski

State nature preserves	Acadia Cliffs Adams Lake Prairie Audubon Islands Augusta-Anne Olsen Aurora Sanctuary Baker Woods Evans Beck Memorial Betsch Fen Bigelow Cemetery Blackhand Gorge Bonnet Pond Boord Brown's Lake Bog Burton Wetlands Caesar Creek Gorge Lou Campbell Carmean Woods Cedar Bog Chaparral Prairie Christmas Rocks Clear Creek Clear Fork Gorge Clifton Gorge Howard Collier Compass Plant Prairie Conkle's Hollow Copperrider-Kent Bog Crabill Fen Cranberry Bog Crane Hollow Crooked Run Culberson Woods Davey Woods Davis Memorial Marie J. Desonier Drew Woods Dupont Marsh Eagle Creek Emerald Hills Erie Sand Barrens Etawah Woods Flatiron Lake Bog Fowler Woods Frame Lake Fen Gahanna Woods Gallagher/Springfield Fen Goll Woods Goode Prairie Gott Fen Greenbelt Greenville Falls Gross Memorial Woods Hatch-Otis Halls Creek Headlands Dunes Hueston Woods Hutchins (Highland) Irwin Prairie Jackson Bog Johnson Ridge Johnson Woods Karlo Fen Kendrick Woods Kessler Swamp Kiser Lake Wetlands Kitty Todd Knox Woods Kyle Woods Ladd Natural Bridge Lake Katharine Lakeside Daisy Lawrence Woods Little Rocky Hollow Mantua Bog Marsh Wetlands McCracken Fen Mentor Marsh Milford Center Railroad Prairie Miller Morris Woods Mud Lake Bog Myersville Newberry North Pond North Shore Alvar Novak Sanctuary Old Woman Creek Owens/Liberty Fen Pallister Pickerington Ponds Portage Lakes Wetland Prairie Road Fen William C. McCoy Raven Rock Rhododendeon Cove Rockbridge Rome Rothenbuhler Woods Saltpetre Cave Sears Woods Seymour Woods Shallenberger Sharon Woods Gorge Sheepskin Hollow Sheick Hollow Sheldon Marsh Shoemaker Siegenthaler-Kaestner Esker Smith Cemetery Spring Beauty Dell Spring Brook Sanctuary Springville Marsh Stage's Pond Strait Creek Prairie Stratford Woods Swamp Cottonwood Edward Thomas Tinker's Creek Travertine Fen Triangle Lake Bog Trillium Trails Walter Tucker Tummonds Warder-Perkins Whipple White Pine Bog Forest Zimmerman Prairie

State scenic rivers	Big Darby Creek Chagrin River Conneaut Creek Cuyahoga River Grand River Greenville Creek Kokosing River Little Beaver Creek Little Darby Creek Little Miami River Maumee River Mohican River Olentangy River Sandusky River Stillwater River

Regional

Metro Parks	Ashtabula County Metroparks Cleveland Metroparks Columbus Metro Parks Erie MetroParks Five Rivers MetroParks Geauga Park District Hamilton County Park District Johnny Appleseed Metro Parks Lake Metroparks Lorain County Metro Parks Metroparks of Butler County Metro Parks, Serving Summit County Metroparks of the Toledo Area Mill Creek MetroParks Trumbull County MetroParks

Ohio Department of Natural Resources (web)

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