Cowan Lake State Park
| Cowan Lake State Park | |
| Ohio State Park | |
 Sunset on Cowan Lake
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| Named for: Cowan Lake | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Ohio |
| County | Clinton |
| Location | |
| - elevation | 971 ft (296 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°23′20″N 83°54′18″W / 39.38889°N 83.90500°WCoordinates: 39°23′20″N 83°54′18″W / 39.38889°N 83.90500°W |
| Area | 1,775 acres (718 ha) |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Management | Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation |
| IUCN category | III - Natural Monument |
 Location of Cowan Lake State Park in Ohio
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| Website: Cowan Lake State Park | |
Cowan Lake State Park is a 1,775-acre (718 ha) Ohio state park in Clinton County, Ohio, in the United States. It is operated by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Cowan Lake State Park is open for year-round recreation and is known for a variety of birds that attract birdwatching enthuiasts to the park in southwestern Ohio.
What is now Cowan Lake State Park was once home to the Miami and Shawnee Indians. The Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 resulted in the opening of the land to American settlement.
The first settler in the area was William Smalley. Smalley had previously been held captive by the Lenape. His language skills and knowledge of the land, left him ideally suited to be among the pioneers in settling what became Clinton County.
William Smalley was born in 1759 or 1760 in New Jersey. The Smalley family moved to Western Pennsylvania in 1764 near Pittsburgh. At the age of 16 Smalley was abducted by a band of Lenape Indians while he was standing guard over the pioneer farmer's fields near Fort Pitt.
While held prisoner witnessed the death of his father and many other settlers at the hands of the Lenape. Smalley was taken to an Indian village along the Maumee River. He lived with the Lenape in for five years and became accustomed to the ways of the Lenape, learning both their language and how to survive in the forests of Ohio. He later served an envoy for the Lenape with French and English fur traders. Following a successful negotiations with a group of traders, Smalley was released from the custody of the Lenape in about 1781.
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