Fallen Timbers Battlefield, the Region's Newest MetroPark
From the MetroParks of the Toledo Area:
On Monday, October 26, Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark officially opened to the public.
Visitors to Fallen Timbers will learn about the 1794 battle that took place on the site, leading to the westward expansion of the United States (and statehood for Ohio). Walking the 1.5-mile Northwest Territory Trail, visitors will encounter 17 interpretive signs where they will learn about the historical events that transpired on the site. The new park will also serve those using the nearby Wabash-Cannonball Trail.
As with all Metroparks of the Toledo Area, the new park will be open every day, 7 a.m. until dark with no admission fee. The new Visitors Center can be reserved for private functions.
BACKGROUND
About The Battle
The Battle of Timbers, August 20, 1794, was the last major conflict of the Northwest Territory Indian War between Native Americans and the United States. General Anthony Wayne led U.S. troops to victory over a confederation of Native American tribes allied with the British. As a result of the battle, the Treaty of Greenville, signed the following year, opened up much of present-day Ohio to settlers.
Noteworthy Participants in the Battle:
General Anthony Wayne
Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket
Miami Chief Little Turtle
William Henry Harrison (later the 9th president of the United States)
William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame)
How It Became A Metropark
For 200 years, historians believed that the Battle of Fallen Timbers took place on the Maumee River floodplain. A bronze monument was erected there in 1929, and remains there today. The monument park, just across the Anthony Wayne Trail, is owned by Ohio History Connection and managed as part of Side Cut Metropark.
In 1995, however, G. Michael Pratt, Ph.D., then an archaeology professor at Heidelberg University, organized a group of volunteers to investigate his theory that the battle did not take place in the floodplain, but on the north side of present-day U.S. 24. The evidence Dr. Pratt and his volunteer, amateur archaeologists uncovered literally rewrote the history books.
One of the most important clues that lead Dr. Pratt to discover the true site of the battle was a ravine mentioned in written, firsthand accounts. Visitors today will be able to cross that ravine on an 80 foot, arched bridge.
Once the location of the battle was determined, a group of citizens, including members of the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission and the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor, set out to preserve the historical site and enlisted the help of Metroparks.
Thanks to the persistence of these citizens, Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis National Historic Site was established by an Act of Congress on December 9, 1999. It consists of three sites: Fort Miamis (also owned by Metroparks), the Fallen Timbers Monument and the Fallen Timbers Battlefield.
The legislation also designated the three sites combined as an Affiliated Unit of the National Park Service, to be managed by Metroparks in partnership with the Ohio Historical Society, now known as Ohio History Connection.
The Battlefield is located in the City of Maumee, but the land was owned by the City of Toledo. Metroparks purchased the majority of the property from Toledo in two transactions: 66 acres in September, 2000, for $2.8 million and 114 acres in July, 2001, for $2.7 million.
The land was purchased with funds from the City of Maumee, Lucas County, the state of Ohio and a $2.5 million federal appropriation secured in 2001 by Congresswoman Kaptur.