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Falls of the Ohio State Park

Coordinates: 38°16′32″N 85°45′49″W / 38.27556°N 85.76361°W / 38.27556; -85.76361
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Falls of the Ohio State Park
Map showing the location of Falls of the Ohio State Park
Map showing the location of Falls of the Ohio State Park
Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Falls of the Ohio State Park
LocationClark County, Indiana, US
Nearest cityClarksville, Indiana
Coordinates38°16′32″N 85°45′49″W / 38.27556°N 85.76361°W / 38.27556; -85.76361
Area165 acres (67 ha)
Established1990
Visitors158,680 (in 2018–2019<)[1]
Governing bodyIndiana Department of Natural Resources

Falls of the Ohio State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is located on the banks of the Ohio River at Clarksville, Indiana, across from Louisville, Kentucky. The park is part of the Falls of the Ohio National Wildlife Conservation Area. The exposed fossil beds of the Jeffersonville Limestone dated from the Devonian period are the main feature of the park, attracting about 160,000 visitors annually.[1] The Falls was the site where Lewis and Clark met for the Lewis and Clark Expedition at George Rogers Clark's cabin.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Fossil formations (Devonian Jeffersonville Limestone) found along the shores of the Ohio River.
View of the fossil bed from the overlook

The park includes an interpretive center open to the public. In 1990, the Indiana state government hired Terry Chase, a well-established exhibit developer, to design the center's displays. Construction began in September 1992, costing $4.9 million with a total area of 16,000 sq ft (1,500 m2).[8] The center functions as a museum with exhibits that concentrate on the natural history related to findings in the nearby fossil beds as well as the human history of the Louisville area, covering pre-settlement, early settlement, and the history of Louisville and southern Indiana through the 20th century.

Large rugose coral (above hammer) at the Falls of the Ohio

Unlike at other Indiana state parks, annual entrance permits do not allow unlimited free access (rather, only five people per pass per visit) to the interpretive center, as fees are still needed to reimburse the town of Clarksville for building the center.

The Woodland Loop Trail features ten stainless steel markers denoting the plant life of the trails, thanks to an Eagle Scout project.[9]

Strange wildlife has been seen in the park, including alligators and crocodiles.[10] Humorously, in August 2006, a fisherman hooked a dead octopus, but Zachary Treitz, a 21-year-old Louisville college student, admitted he had put the octopus there after purchasing it dead from a local seafood shop for a film project.[11]

  • Interpretive Center Lobby
    Interpretive Center Lobby
  • View from the shore looking towards Louisville.
    View from the shore looking towards Louisville.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "2018 / 2019 Estimated Fiscal Year Visits for Indiana State Parks ~ Alphabetical" (PDF). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  2. ^ "Indiana Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission". In.gov. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  3. ^ "Kentucky places : Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio". Lewis and Clark in Kentucky. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  4. ^ "At the Falls of the Ohio". Lewis-clark.org. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  5. ^ "Old Clarksville Site-Lewis and Clark Expedition: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary". Nps.gov. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  6. ^ "IHB: Lewis and Clark-Indiana connections - Focus". In.gov. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  7. ^ "Part 4: Ohio River - Lewis and Clark - Corps of Discovery - U.S. Army Center of Military History". History.army.mil. Archived from the original on 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  8. ^ Kramer, Carl. This Place We Call Home (Indiana University Press, 2007) p.495)
  9. ^ "Scout project enhances Woodland trail". News and Tribune.
  10. ^ "Fisherman finds octopus in Ohio River". News and Tribune.
  11. ^ Schneider, Grace. "Octopus pulled from river was leftover from student's film project". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
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