Southern Indiana Living JulyAug 2016

State Parks of Indiana
Avisit to the unique, natural resource
known as the Falls of
the Ohio State Park is an opportunity
to let your imagination
take fight!
As you stand and survey the vast
200 acres of fossil beds, envision the Ohio
river trafc that once made its way along
nearly 1,000 miles of waterway during the
late 1700s to the late 1800s. The Falls of the
Ohio, a 26-foot drop of crashing rapids
that spanned the width of the river and
fowed for more than two miles, was the
one natural obstruction to smooth travel.
Picture the communities of native Indians
that controlled the fow of trafc and
traded their navigational expertise for the
goods early explorers and setlers moved
along the river.
Envision herds of bison—up to 8,000
July/Aug 2016 • 16
Fall in Love with the Falls of the Ohio
History and afordable family fun abound at one-of-a kind state park
head—splashing across the shallow waters
of the Falls on their migration west
to the prairies and east to the salt licks
of Kentucky and beyond. Early setlers
traveling the wilderness by wagon were
“The Falls of the Ohio is a
unique, one-of-a-kind urban
oasis that ofers something
for everyone,”
- Dani Cummins
no doubt thankful for the wide paths the
huge beasts cut through the woods and
prairies.
Glance westward and imagine
Story by Lisa Griffn
Photos provided by Falls of the Ohio
Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second
Lieutenant William Clark shaking hands
to seal the deal on leading their grueling
Corps of Discovery exploration. The twoand-a-half-year
expedition to map out the
newly acquired Louisiana Purchase and
fnd a practical route across the western
half of the continent began at the Falls of
the Ohio. A replica of the home of Clark’s
brother, George Rogers Clark, the highest
ranking American military ofcer during
the Revolutionary War, can be found on
the park’s grounds.
Try to see your surroundings
through the eyes of American author and
humorist Mark Twain and American poet,
essayist and journalist Walt Whitman
to discover what inspired them to write
about the Falls area.
Drop your gaze to the limestone