McCormick's Creek State Park
| McCormick's Creek State Park | |
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IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
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| Location | Owen County, Indiana, USA |
| Nearest city | Spencer, Indiana |
| Coordinates | 39°17′40″N 86°43′40″W / 39.29444°N 86.72778°WCoordinates: 39°17′40″N 86°43′40″W / 39.29444°N 86.72778°W |
| Area | 1,924 acres (7.79 km2) |
| Established | 1916 |
| Governing body | Indiana Department of Natural Resources |
McCormick's Creek State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S. state of Indiana, dedicated as on July 4, 1916, as part of the state's centennial celebration. It is located 14 miles (23 km) west of Bloomington in Owen County.
The park was named after the area's first settler John McCormick, who settled on 100 acres (0.40 km2) there in 1816, along the canyon by the waterfalls. Previously, the land was hunted by Miami Indians. McCormick's Creek Falls is the main attraction at McCormick's Creek State Park.
On May 12, 1916, it was suggested by a local newspaper editor to an Indiana state legislator that McCormick's Creek area would be a suitable location for a state park. German-born Indianapolis businessman Richard Lieber championed the idea of establishing a system of state parks for Indiana, and, after winning the property at auction with a bid of $5,250, received it from the Dr. Frederick Denkewalter estate. McCormick's Creek was formally opened on December 11, 1916; the centennial birthday of Indiana. In 1927 a naturalist program was started, a first for Indiana and the United States.
Much of the infrastructure of the park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal era, and many of the CCC-built structures, retaining walls, and elegant, arched limestone bridges remain in use today. The park entrance gatehouse, former nature center, and a stone arch bridge over McCormick's Creek were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. There are eight numbered hiking trails in the park, accessing features and park attractions, which include a 90-foot (27 m) fire tower, a scenic ravine and waterfall, small cave, interesting sinkhole formations, and towering stands of second-growth Midwestern hardwoods. The park also features a fine system of equestrian paths.
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