Van Buren State Park is a 296 acres (119.8 ha) Ohio state park in Van Buren

Van Buren, Ohio

Van Buren is a village in Hancock County, Ohio, United States. The population was 313 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Van Buren is located at ....

, Hancock County

Hancock County, Ohio

Hancock County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 74,782. Its county seat is Findlay and was named for John Hancock, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 in the United States. The park, named for the 8th U.S. President, Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren

Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States . Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson ....

, was opened to the public in 1950. It is in a small patch of woods in Northwestern Ohio and is surrounded by thousands of acres of fields of corn

Maize

Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...

, wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 and soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...

s. Van Buren State Park is open for year-round recreation.

History

Van Buren State Park is in a region of Ohio that was once populated by members of the Shawnee

Shawnee

The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...

 nation. The Shawnee migrated to the area from south central Ohio. The area in and around the park represented the last stronghold for the Shawnee in Ohio before they were forced to move west of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 by the encroachment of Anglo-American pioneers.

The process of creating Van Buren State Park began in 1939 when a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 was built over Rocky Ford Creek creating what is now Van Buren Lake. This lake was part of a private wildlife preserve. The lake and preserve were transferred to the state of Ohio in 1950.

Ecology

Van Buren State Park is in a rich agricultural

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 area. Northwest Ohio is part of the Interior Plains

Interior Plains

The Interior Plains is a vast physiographic region that spreads across the Laurentian craton of central North America.-Geography:The Interior Plains are an extensive physiographic division encompassing 8 distinct physiographic provinces, the Interior Low Plateaus, Great Plains, Central Lowland,...

 region of North America. The land is largely flat with a few hills that are a remnant of the last ice age. Beneath the topsoil lies a layer of dolomitic

Dolomite

Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....

 limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

.

The land was largely forested before it was cleared by farmers. A small patch of woodland, made mostly of beech

Beech

Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...

 and sugar maple

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...

 trees, remains at Van Buren State Park. Typical woodland mammals found in the park include white-tailed deer

White-tailed Deer

The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...

, red fox

Red Fox

The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...

, red squirrel

American Red Squirrel

The American Red Squirrel is one of three species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and known as pine squirrels...

, skunk

Skunk

Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...

, and opossum. Bird species include the cowbird

Cowbird

Cowbirds are birds belonging to the genus Molothrus in the family Icteridae. They are brood parasitic New World birds which are unrelated to the Old World cuckoos, one of which, the Common Cuckoo, is the best-known brood parasitic bird....

, woodcock

Woodcock

The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...

, eastern bluebird

Eastern Bluebird

The Eastern Bluebird, Sialia sialis, is a small thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands and orchards, and most recently can be spotted in suburban areas. It is the state bird of Missouri and New York....

, short-eared owl

Short-eared Owl

The Short-eared Owl is a species of typical owl . In Scotland this species of owl is often referred to as a cataface, grass owl or short-horned hootlet. Owls belonging to genus Asio are known as the eared owls, as they have tufts of feathers resembling mammalian ears. These "ear" tufts may or may...

 and eastern meadowlark

Eastern Meadowlark

The Eastern Meadowlark, Sturnella magna, is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to the Western Meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to South America, where it is also most widespread in the east.-Description:...

. The park is also home to garter snake

Garter snake

The Garter snake is a Colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America. The garter snake is also the Massachusettsstate reptile.There is no real consensus on the...

s and spring peepers. Wildflower

Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...

s in the area include chicory

Chicory

Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons , or for roots , which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also...

, spring beauty

Claytonia

Claytonia is a genus of 26 species of flowering plants in the family Montiaceae, primarily native to North America, with a few species extending south to Guatemala in Central America, and northwest to northeastern Asia....

, Dutchman's breeches

Dicentra cucullaria

Dicentra cucullaria is a perennial herbaceous plant, native to rich woods of eastern North America, with a disjunct population in the Columbia River Basin....

, daisy fleabane

Erigeron annuus

Erigeron annuus is a plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae.-Description:Erigeron annuus is a herbaceous plant with alternate, simple leaves, and green, sparsely haired stems. The flowers are white with yellow centers, borne in spring through fall....

 and thimbleweed

Rudbeckia laciniata

The Cutleaf, Cutleaf Coneflower, Goldenglow, Green-headed Coneflower, Tall Coneflower or, Thimbleweed is a large perennial forb, native to Eastern North America, most often found in flood plains and moist soils. This plant grows up to 3 meters tall, with slightly glaucous leaves, and composite...

.

Camping and trails

There are three separate camping areas at Van Buren State Park. The family campground is on the eastern end of the park. It has 29 campsites. Ten campsites have electrical connections, the other 19 do not. There is an equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 campground with 31 campsites, just three have electrical hookups. These campsites feature tie rails, picket line

Picket line

A picket line is a horizontal rope, along which horses are tied at intervals. The rope can be on the ground, at chest height , or overhead. The overhead form usually is called a high line....

s and manure

Manure

Manure is organic matter used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and nutrients, such as nitrogen, that are trapped by bacteria in the soil...

 bins. A large, primitive, youth group oriented for up to 200 campers is located in the southeastern corner of the park.

Van Buren State Park features 6 miles (9.7 km) of hiking trails along the southern shore of Lake Van Buren. The trail is open for hiking, jogging and bird and wildlife observation. There are 12 miles (19.3 km) of trails open to hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders that cross through ravines and woodlands. A three mile (5 km) trail in the woods on the southern shore of the lake is open to mountain bikes.

Boating, hunting and fishing

Van Buren Lake is open to boating and fishing. Boating is limited to electric powered boats, rowboats and canoes. There is a launch area on the northern end of the lake just off Township Road 229. The lake is home to a variety of fish species including largemouth bass

Largemouth bass

The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

, carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

, bluegill

Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...

, channel catfish

Channel catfish

Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States they are the most fished catfish species with approximately 8...

, bullhead

Bullhead catfish

Ameiurus is a genus of catfishes in the family Ictaluridae. It contains the three common types of bullhead catfish found in waters of the United States, the black bullhead , the brown bullhead , and the yellow bullhead , as well as other species, such as the white catfish Ameiurus is a genus of...

 and crappie

Crappie

Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...

. Hunting is limited to bowhunting

Bowhunting

Bowhunting is the practice of killing game animals by archery. It has been a normal use of archery in every culture that had bows.- Technique :...

only. All hunters and anglers are required to have a license issued by the state of Ohio.