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About us: The Marion County Park District was formed in 1995, when Trella Romine suggested to the Marion County Commissioners that a park district be set up to accept her donation of the land that is now Terradise. The commissioners enthusiastically supported this idea, and three volunteer park commissioners were appointed by the Marion County Probate Court. In 1996 land was donated by Judge Charlton Myers, and Myers Woods was the first county park property. Trella Romine quickly followed with a donation of property at Terradise, and the village of Caledonia donated the Caledonia Nature Preserve. Greenspur joined the park district when the local match for this seven acre parcel was donated by former Marion County Commissioner John Watkins. The Holland Road Trailhead was donated by the city of Marion to serve as a trailhead for a rail trail. The park district negotiated with the railroad for more than a dozen years for the purchase of an abandoned rail corridor, finally reaching agreement with CSX in 2009. Construction of a nature center started in late 2009, and the first quarter mile of the Tallgrass Trail was built in late 2010. This project also included construction of the first two bridges of the Tallgrass Trail, at mile 0.25 and mile 0.8. In 2014 the park district used Clean Ohio Green Space funds to purchase a 83 acre property along the second half mile of the Tallgrass Trail from the city of Marion. This contains a 53 acre lake which is popular for fishing, and is surrounded by a 1.3 mile walking trail. With a total of $800,000 in donations from the community, the park district was able to qualify for Clean Ohio Trail Fund grants in 4 consecutive years. In 2014 the Tallgrass Trail was extended to Espyville, making it 3.7 miles long. The 2015 extension took the trail to Osbun Road, at mile 7.3, and in 2016 we stretched nearly to Riley Road, at mile 11. We were able to complete the trail to the county line in 2017, a project that included building a beautiful tunnel under Riley Road. Including the $800,000 in donations and about $3,000,000 in grants, the total cost for 12.44 miles of trail was about $3,800,000. A second trailhead was added in DeCliff in 2016, and Construction Trades Academy students from TriRivers built a pavilion at the trailhead in 2019. For the first few years, the park district was run solely by volunteers. The first employee, Jack Telfer, was hired in 1998, and we continued to have a park director (most recently, Karen Kelley) until 2011. After four years of relying solely on volunteers, including the Friends of the Prairie Parks, we hired naturalist James Anderson on a part-time basis in May, 2015. We continue to rely upon volunteers for nearly all park maintenance. The park district is a political subdivision of the state of Ohio, serving all of Marion County, including the area within townships and municipalities. The park board has five commissioners, who serve three year terms without compensation. The current commissioners are: Dan Sheridan, Chair
The Prairie Parks Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation set up to receive tax-deductible donations to help the Marion County Parks. Trustees of the Prairie Parks Foundation include: Dan Sheridan, Chair Heidi Ray serves as ex-officio treasurer for the Prairie Parks Foundation. |
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Volunteer, and make a difference! Join the Friends of Prairie Parks. Click here for more information. |
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Marion County Park District
Phone: (740) 223-4161 (answering machine) |
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Marion County Park District |
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Naturally wild, naturally fun! |
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About Us |
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We greatly appreciate the generous support of the Marion County Commissioners, Andy Appelfeller, Mark Davis, and Kerr Murray, and of Judge Rhonda Burggraf, who appoints park board members. |
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Community members join Marion County Park Board members to celebrate “Twelve Miles of Thanks” on October 21, 2017. This event celebrated the completion of the Tallgrass Trail to the county line. |
