MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP — Jordan Tackett said it’s time to show off the newest jewel in the Richland County Park District.
A day-long event is planned Aug. 2 at the Fleming Falls Preserve to highlight the completion of a new observation deck at the park located just north of Mansfield off U.S. 42.
It’s also a great time to reflect on the decades-old history of the site, formerly known as Camp Mowana, a Lutheran Church summer camp for 75 years before it closed in 2019.
“While the park has been open, dusk to dawn, for over a year now, with the completion of the observation deck, we wanted to show off everything this 168-acre facility has to offer,” said Tackett, the Richland County Parks District operations director.
Those attending the event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. can enjoy wagon tours of the grounds; food trucks; hiking to the falls; and presentations on three things relative to the Fleming Falls Preserve — history, nature and birds.
The new observation deck will be dedicated at 3 p.m. in a ceremony that will include several speakers familiar with Fleming Falls history; the architect for the project; and Richland County Commissioner Darrell Banks.
The deck was made possible by more than $400,000 in donations—many from individuals with personal ties to Camp Mowana.
(Below are recent photos from the Fleming Falls Preserve, a 168-acre site owned and operated by the Richland County Park District.)
Those attending are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. After the ceremony, visitors will be invited up to view a series of permanent placards placed about the perimeter of the observation deck.
At 5 p.m., guests are invited to gather at what once was the “Chapel in the Woods” to share memories, sing camp songs and make s’mores.
In November 2019, officials announced Camp Mowana would be preserved in perpetuity for conservation, recreation and public enjoyment through cooperative efforts of the Trust for Public Land, the Richland County Park District and Lutheran Outdoor Ministries in Ohio.
Funding for the purchase, set at $2,062,500, came from the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund and a donation from Lutheran Outdoor Ministries.
Lutheran Outdoor Ministries had owned and managed the site as a camp for more than 50 years. Prior to LOMO ownership, it was a turn-of-the-century vacation destination known as Fleming Falls. In the 1930s and 1940s, it operated as a Boy Scouts of America camp.
Camp Mowana was a popular local camping destination and site for conferences, weddings and family retreats.
