Category: Ohio

Ghost Towns and Lost Cities: Ohio

1/4/2018

Located along the Great Lakes and considered part of the Midwest, Ohio has always been a state about progress. From the construction of the National Road to the many canals, railroads, and eventually highways that crisscross the state, Ohio has managed to intertwine transport, industry in progress in a unique way. Of course, as things move forward others must be left behind and the Buckeye State has been no exception to this rule.

Former coal, company, and canal towns disappeared as the industry that supported them dried up. Rural communities polluted by bad environmental practices from two of the state's largest cities found themselves fade into Ohio’s only national park. The expansion of Ohio's capital devoured one prominent community while others found themselves drowned out. Religious and idealistic colonists found that life in a utopia was not as perfect as it seemed. Strange mounds and shapes carved into the earth give a ghostly reminder of the first peoples to call Ohio home.

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The National Parks: Cuyahoga Valley

4/10/2017

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Perhaps one of the best places to see the story of America unfold is along the banks of crooked as it flows from one of the Great Lakes. Despite being in one of the geologically older sections of the country, this river is relatively young with a depth of typically between three and six feet. Over its life, he was used to provide water, operate infrastructure, dispose of waste and finally as a point of local pride and recreation. Showcasing the resiliency of nature, the progress of man, and what can happen when the two forces work together, this section of river and woods shows that natural beauty can be found in even the most unexpected of places - even one of the most populated states in the country. This natural gem is Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Cuyahoga Valley is the only national park in the state of Ohio and is located between two of the state’s biggest cities: Cleveland and Akron. It may seem an odd place to stick a national park, but the Cuyahoga River the national park surrounds became a focal point of the environmental movement after the amount of pollution in the river caused it to “catch fire” at least 13 times. Today, the water quality has improved and fish have returned to the river. In addition to preserving the environmental quality of the Cuyahoga, the park also preserves the man-made ambition that built Ohio by preserving portions of the Erie Canal also located here. As a result, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a testament to both conservation and industrial progress.

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Ghost Towns and Lost Cities: Ohio

The National Parks: Cuyahoga Valley

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