Van Buren State Park (Ohio)

Van Buren State Park is a 296acre Ohio state park in Van Buren, Hancock County, Ohio in the United States. The park, named for the 8th U.S. President, Martin Van Buren, was opened to the public in 1950. It is in a small patch of woods in Northwestern Ohio and is surrounded by thousands of acres of fields of corn, wheat and soybeans. Van Buren State Park is open for year-round recreation.HistoryVan Buren State Park is in a region of Ohio that was once populated by members of the Shawnee nation. The Shawnee migrated to the area from south central Ohio. The area in and around the park represented the last stronghold for the Shawnee in Ohio before they were forced to move west of the Mississippi River by the encroachment of Anglo-American pioneers.The process of creating Van Buren State Park began in 1939 when a dam was built over Rocky Ford Creek creating what is now Van Buren Lake. This lake was part of a private wildlife preserve. The lake and preserve were transferred to the state of Ohio in 1950.EcologyVan Buren State Park is in a rich agricultural area. Northwest Ohio is part of the Interior Plains region of North America. The land is largely flat with a few hills that are a remnant of the last ice age. Beneath the topsoil lies a layer of dolomitic limestone.