This Zenas King bowstring bridge was built in 1879 and was originally part of two spans that crossed Loramie Creek on what today is State Route 66. The Great Flood of 1913 severely damaged the bridge’s abutments and this section was sold to Bernard Brandewie and relocated to his farm. Although the bridge fell into disuse as farm machinery grew larger, it remained on the farm until donated to the City of Sidney by the farm’s current owner, Tim Hemmelgarn. It was restored and relocated to Tawawa Park across Amos Lake in 2020 as part of the City’s Bicentennial celebration.
Courtesy photo
SIDNEY — Located at 12 Tawawa Drive, the deed transferring the Tawawa Park property was recorded Aug. 9, 1948. The original 80 acres was purchased for the community by the Tawawa Civic Park Trustees. The original Tawawa Civic Park Trustees included J. Oliver Amos, Wayne Bertsch, Murray Ferguson, William Milligan, Jerome Wagner, Sr., Cecil Watkins, and W.E. Whipp.
Named after Tawawa Creek, which runs through the preserve, the park was a beautiful, natural area that included two lakes (Tawawa [originally Maxwell’s Pond] and Amos), a mill race, wooded bluffs and a host of other natural features. For decades, the area had been used by members of the community for hiking, fishing, and picnicking. It was especially popular for reunions, church outings, and as an ideal location for a romantic rendezvous. In fact, the well-worn path alongside the mill race provided easy access to the property.
About 1892, the Kah Family, who had owned the property for some years, finished construction of a club house on the south side of Tawawa Lake. In addition to their family members using the property, they rented the Tawawa Lake Club House to Sidney residents and out-of-town guests from a wide area. They also had boats they rented by the hour. A later addition was the rental of fishing equipment.
That same year (1892), the State Fish Commissioner released 8,000 fish (bass, pike, perch and sunfish) in the two ponds and another 2,000 in the Great Miami River at the request of the Tawawa Fishing Club. Today, the state of Ohio continues to annually release fish into Tawawa Lake, much to the delight of local anglers.
Eventually, the Tawawa Fishing and Boating Club was formally organized. Shares of stock were sold, officers elected, and dues set at $10 per year (with inflation, approximately $350 per year today). The club was advertised as being “as fine an accommodation as could be found in Atlantic City.” In addition to other attractions, concerts were held featuring local bands that drew hundreds of residents.
After the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St.Louis Railway relocated their tracks in 1924, the abandoned road bed became a popular hiking trail, especially to access the two lakes for fishing and to Big Rock. As the name implies, “Big Rock” is a huge boulder, transported to its current location thousands of years ago by the Wisconsin Glacier. Located just off of Ward Trail in Tawawa Park, the large rock has been the subject of much curiosity for many years.
The land on which Big Rock came to rest was not part of the original Tawawa Park acreage. Virgil and Ethel Ward, whose property abutted the Kah property, transferred the popular picnic spot to the Tawawa Civic Park trustees in December 1948 after learning of the plans for the park.
Two other early acquisitions of property were two small parcels of property from the Sidney Local Council of Girl Scouts donated to Tawawa Civic Park Inc., perhaps a harbinger of what was to happen more than five decades later, when Camp Brookside became a part of Tawawa Park.
As an aside, the Ohio National Guard (Company L, 3rd Infantry) had a firing range in what became the Girl Scout Camp. The remnants of the range are clearly visible and are marked by signage. Company L regularly trained there. Interestingly, in late 1943, the 407 Air Service Squadron traveled north from Dayton for weapons training at the range. The all-Chinese unit became part of the Flying Tigers of the 14th Air Force. After several days of training, they marched triumphantly though Sidney to the cheers of local citizens, returning to Dayton by train and ultimately to fight in the Pacific Theatre.
There was always speculation as to when the Kah Family would eventually sell the property. By the end of World War II, those rumors grew, with the most popular rumor being that they intended to develop the land for housing (with soldiers returning home, there was a tremendous housing shortage). Those speculative rumors caused a great deal of concern among those who thought the best use for the land would be exactly what it had been for many years – a community park.
Shortly after the war ended, the Kah Family put the land up for sale for $15,000. In order to secure the land for a park, it is reported that Bill Milligan made a list of 15 people, each of whom he thought he could persuade to donate $1,000 enabling the purchase of the land.
Milligan’s first visit was to Wendell E. Whipp, President of The Monarch Machine Tool Company. After hearing the idea, Whipp wrote a check in the amount of $15,000 and reportedly said “Bill, go buy the land and then go to the others for their money! Let’s get this project started!” The effort was successful, the land purchased, and discussions about the development of the property were undertaken.
In addition to Milligan and Whipp, also tapped were J. Oliver Amos (publisher of The Sidney Daily News), Wayne Bertsch (Sidney Machine Tool Company), Murray Ferguson (Ferguson Construction Company), Jerome Wagner Sr. (Wagner Manufacturing), and Cecil Watkins (The Sidney Daily News). Because of the popularity of the idea, the funds were raised from just seven donors, not the 15 it was expected to require. That was in part due to the fact that the Kah family liked the idea of a community park, and reduced their original price by $2,000.
The idea of a park of such size was widely supported across the area. In an editorial in the Dayton Journal, it was reported that “Under the sponsorship of the Sidney Civic Association, seven residents of Shelby County last summer bought the eighty acres involved in Tawawa Civic Park. In addition to the game refuge and fishing grounds, an old mill race will be restored. This should provide a point of historical interest and, with the entire Tawawa project, stand out a picnic ground and provider of elbow space for all who like a whiff of fresh country air. Since the Miami Valley is none too well supplied with vacation and recreation spots, other cities and counties in this area might well take a cue from Sidney and Shelby County.”
Inasmuch as the Park Board wanted to open up the mill race for canoeing enabling approximately five miles of connected waterway within the park, an outlet for the water was necessary. The mill race originally powered Maxwell’s Mill located near the Great Miami River (the foundations are still visible). Later, the mill race provided the water that turned the turbine in the “Sidney Electric Company” building on Brooklyn Avenue. That facility provided electric power to residences and businesses in the early part of the 20th Century. Work was begun to reopen the mill race and allow the water to flow through the “abandoned” electric generating building, which still stands on Brooklyn Avenue.
However, in the winter of 1948, there was a heavy rain during a January thaw that saturated the embankment of the mill race along SR47 (Riverside Drive). The embankment was breached and flooded the Brunner Service Station on the north side of the road.
A lengthy law suit ensued, during which time all work on the park was suspended. The jury deliberated and came to agreement that the breach was an act of God and not caused by the Park Board. As a result, work on the park resumed. However, the original idea of using the mill race for canoeing was abandoned. The mill race was filled in from Tawawa Lake to SR47 and an outlet was installed under the road bed of what is now Whipp Road allowing the water to flow to Tawawa Creek.
Over the years, a number of land donations and purchases have expanded the park’s original acreage, more than doubling the size of the park’s original 80 acres. Arguably the largest of the acquisitions (approximately 36 acres) was Camp Brookside, an overnight and day camp for the Appleseed Ridge Girl Scout Council (Boy Scouts frequently used the camp as well.) After lengthy negotiations, the ownership of the camp was transferred from the Community Foundation to the City of Sidney in 2009.
At the time of the donation, the decision was made to not have automobile access to the newly acquired property so that families would have a place to go within the park and not have to worry about their children darting in front of vehicular traffic. Over time, the fences that delineated the Girl Scout camp were removed, and trails created and paved.
Today the Tawawa Park has two metal pavilions (Geib and Binkley) and 11 other shelter houses that can be reserved for parties and reunions, 11.5 miles of recreational trail, a replica covered bridge (named for local industrialist and historian Bill Ross), and a historic Zenas King bridge refurbished and relocated to the park.
In addition, the park includes soccer fields, the Sidney Water Park, multiple play structures. The play structures include an inclusive play area. There are also observation decks on two of the bluffs overlooking Tawawa Creek, and a third overlooking the former railroad bed in Brookside.
The park is a virtual paradise for birders and those who like to observe wildlife. It is estimated that there are more than 150 species of birds that either migrate through the park or permanently live there. Former City Manager Steve Stillwell, an avid birder, advised that during the migration season, it is possible to see more than 100 species on any given day. In addition to common species of birds, heron, eagles, woodpeckers (including pileated woodpeckers), hawks and owls populate the park.
Wildlife abounds, including deer, turkey, fox, mink, muskrat, woodchucks, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and coyote. Although beaver returned to the park some years ago, they were relocated after they began “cutting” trees and building a dam, threatening to dramatically alter the park’s features.
More than 50,000 visitors come to the park each year. In addition to local residents, the park annually welcomes travelers from nearly every state and multiple foreign countries. Today the park has areas named for each of the civic-minded individuals whose foresight made possible this tremendous local asset. Their efforts have made possible one of the finest parks and natural areas in a city of any size in the United States.
