XENIA, Ohio – Twenty-five years before Ohio became a state, members of the Shawnee tribe founded a village near modern-day Xenia, where they built a council house and traded with settlers.
The site of that village, abandoned in 1780, is the centerpiece of Ohio’s newest state park, which opens to the public Friday.
“The site is really significant,” said William Mahon, director of interpretation and experience at the Ohio History Connection, which has been working with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to develop the park. “It’s the last official settlement of the Shawnee tribe before removal.”
The park, Great Council State Park, is the state’s 76th – but the first to take such a comprehensive look at Ohio’s complicated Native American history.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine grew up in the area, said Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. “And he wanted to tell those stories,” she said. “It’s a significant way for people to connect with Ohio’s indigenous past.”
The centerpiece of the park is a 12,000-square-foot interpretive center that pays tribute to a Shawnee longhouse, which served as a central hub and community center for tribes in the 1700s.
On the top floor of the three-story center, numerous exhibits outline Native American history in the region – from the return of the Shawnee to the Ohio country in the 1600s, the settlement and coexistence with white settlers in the 1700s, and the tribes’ removal and resettlement in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
Numerous historical characters with ties to the village are profiled, including Tecumseh, the famous Shawnee chief who resisted colonial expansion and who lived here for a time; and frontiersman Daniel Boone, who was held captive and then adopted by the Shawnee in the late 1770s.
The main floor of the center features a living stream, with fish and other aquatic creatures that visitors will be able to touch and interact with.
Outside, the half-mile Blackfish Trail winds through a restored prairie and the Tecumseh Preserve Trail features a view of the Little Miami River.
A Shawnee dwelling is recreated inside the interpretive center at Great Council State Park, opening Friday near Xenia.Courtesy Ohio Department of Natural Resources
At 14 acres, Great Council is considerably smaller than most Ohio state parks.
“It’s pretty small but very meaningful,” said Mertz.
The park is located just off U.S. 68 between Xenia and Yellow Springs in Greene County, about 200 miles southwest of Cleveland.
As many as 1,000 Shawnee lived on this land from 1777 to 1780, when they were displaced by colonial settlers.
The Shawnee called the village Chillicothe – a general term for “where the chief lives,” according to Mahon. White settlers called the village “Old Chillicothe,” and, later, Oldtown. (It’s about 60 miles northwest of the current city of Chillicothe, Ohio’s first capital, founded in 1796, seven years before Ohio became a state.)
The Ohio History Connection and Ohio Department of Natural Resources worked with three federally recognized Shawnee tribes to develop the exhibits at the park, including the Shawnee Tribe, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma.
“One of the main things I hope visitors take away from the park is that the tribes are alive today, alive and rich, working to preserve their traditions,” said Mahon.
Numerous members of the Shawnee tribes are expected to attend the grand opening on Friday.
The grand opening is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday. Due to expected crowds, visitors are asked to park at the nearby Greene County Fairgrounds, 120 Fairground Road in Xenia, and take a shuttle to the park.
The outdoor areas of the park are open daily sunrise to sunset. The interpretive center will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday).
For information: ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/great-council-state-park
