Canal Park will be linked with Calamus Swamp

     STAFF WRITER

A deal signed with Dayton Power & Light lays the groundwork for development of a hiking and biking trail linking Canal Park with Calamus Swamp near state Route 104.

The Pickaway County Park District purchased parts of the old Penn Central Railroad for a two-mile trail, according to Charles Babb, park district board member. The trail is expected to open for hiking in spring 2009 with the bike trail completed at a later date.

"The park district and others have worked for several years to secure this area for future use by the citizens of Pickaway County," Babb said.  "We will be looking for assistance to develop this trail in the form of grants and gifts from private or business donors."

The trail, he said will connect Canal Road and state Route 104 and will run along the old railroad line.

Canal Park, owned the the Pickaway County Historical and Genealogical Society, has a parking area open to the public during the day.

Calamus Swamp, owned by the Columbus branch of the National Audubon Society, is open to the public with parking, boardwalks and blinds for bird watching.

The proposed trail between the two, with the historic Owens-Campbell cemetery at its center, will be owned and maintained by the park district, Babb said.

The Pickaway County Park District was established in 2002 with members appointed by the senior county probate judge, Jan Michael Long. The purpose of the district, Babb said, is to make sure land and green space is available and maintained for the future of the county.

"Some park districts have paid staff, but we are all volunteer," he said. "As a park district, we are still in the infancy stages, but we're working to try and secure land before it gets soaked up by everything else and there's nothing left."

The district currently holds a lease with the state of Ohio for control of 90 percent of the historic canal lands in Pickaway County, Babb said.

It also controls Martha Hitler Park in Washington Township, which will be upgraded with a parking area, hopefully within the next year.

The park district meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Thursday of each month at the Pickaway County Public Library.

Meetings are open, and the public is encouraged to attend.

More information on the district and its projects can be found on the Internet at pickawaycountyparks.org.

Also See the article in page A1 & A2 of the Circleville Herald June 21st 2008 Issue below:

     Page A1              Page A2      Visit the Circleville Herald Website