Caesar Creek State Park is a public recreation area located in southwestern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, five miles (8 km) east of Waynesville, in

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given nam ...

, and

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Greene, Iowa, a city * Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene * Greene (town), New York **Greene (village), New York, in the to ...

counties. The park is leased by the State from the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

, who in the 1970s erected a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

on Caesar Creek to impound a lake. The total park area, including the lake, is . Fossil collection is allowed at Caesar Creek State Park with the following restrictions: No tools allowed, no fossil collecting for commercial use, all fossils kept must fit in the palm of your hand, and all fossil collection must take place in the designated fossil collection zone.

Amenities

*The park has of hiking trails and of bridle trails. * Caesar's Creek Pioneer Village - a collection of over 15 log cabins and other structures that are open during special events. The village is maintained and operated by a private non-profit organization. The buildings include a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

meetinghouse, a broom shed, a pioneer school house,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop, carpenter shop,

toll house A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road, canal, or toll bridge. History Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and ...

and many family houses. They do many programs throughout the year including a maple syrup making program. * Caesar Creek Nature Center - Adjacent to the Pioneer Village, the

nature center A nature center (or nature centre) is an organization with a visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the environment. Usually in a protected open space, nature centers often have trails through thei ...

features exhibits on the area's cultural and

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

. Nature education programs are offered year round, including campouts, hikes, cast iron cooking classes, and wildlife education. * Community-Built Watercraft Racks - On the lakeside of the state park campground, there are multiple canoe and kayak racks built by Boy Scouts as Eagle Scout projects. Included is a canoe rack built by Springboro Troop 7 and Cincinnati Troop 420, led by Noah Kaun from Troop 7, in May of 2025.

Dam

The dam is an earth and rock fill dam high and long. The Army Corps site is an area of . The

watershed Watershed may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage) Music * Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...

above the dam has an area of . Construction started in 1971 and was finished in 1978. The Army Corps site states: :"Congress authorized Caesar Creek Lake under the

Flood Control Act of 1938 The Flood Control Act of 1938 was an Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that authorized civil engineering projects such as dams, levees, dikes, and other flood control measures through the Un ...

. The

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

District of the

designed, built, and operates Caesar Creek Lake. :"During the fall and winter months, the lake level is lowered to prepare for the storage of heavy spring rainfall. If heavy rains occur, surface water runoff is stored in the lake until the swollen streams and rivers below the dam have receded. Once they can handle the discharge of the stored water without damage to lives or property, the extra water is released." The site is in the Warren County townships of Massie and Wayne.

Flooding of New Burlington

The construction of the Caesar Creek Lake flooded the small farming village of New Burlington, Ohio in 1978. The history of the community was collected through stories, letters, and journals in the book '' New Burlington: The Life and Death of an American Village'' by John Baskin.

References

Sources

*John Baskin. ''New Burlington: The Life and Death of an American Village.'' New York: W. W. Norton, 1976. *Ohio. Department of Natural Resources. Division of Geological Survey. ''Excursion to Caesar Creek State Park in Warren County, Ohio.'' By Douglas L. Shrake. Geological Survey Guidebook No. 12. Columbus, Ohio: The Department, 1992 *

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

. Natural Resources Conservation Service. ''Caesar Creek Watershed, Miami Valley Resource Conservation and Development Area : Clinton, Greene, and Warren Counties, Ohio''. Fort Worth, Texas: The Service, 1995. *United States. Department of the Army. Corps of Engineers. Louisville District. ''Final Updated Environmental Impact Statement: Caesar Creek Lake Project, Ohio''. Louisville, Kentucky: The Corps, 1974. *Art Weber. ''Ohio State Parks''. Saginaw, Michigan: Glovebox Guidebooks, 1995. .

External links

Caesar Creek State Park
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Caesar Creek State Park Map
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Caesar Creek Lake Map
ODNR Division of Wildlife
Caesar Creek Wildlife Area
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve
ODNR Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Caesar Creek Lake
Louisville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Nature Center Association of Caesar Creek
{{authority control Protected areas of Warren County, Ohio Protected areas of Clinton County, Ohio Protected areas of Greene County, Ohio State parks of Ohio Reservoirs in Ohio Nature centers in Ohio Protected areas established in 1978 1978 establishments in Ohio Education in Warren County, Ohio Bodies of water of Warren County, Ohio Bodies of water of Clinton County, Ohio Bodies of water of Greene County, Ohio