Mill Race Park facts for kids
Mill Race Park is a fantastic city park located in Columbus, Indiana. It's a special place where two rivers, the Flat Rock and the Driftwood, join together. This meeting point forms the east fork of the White River. You can find this beautiful park right in downtown Columbus.
A Park's Journey: From "Death Valley" to Mill Race
Long ago, the area where Mill Race Park now stands wasn't a nice place to live. From the 1930s to the early 1960s, the land was often flooded. Homes there were in poor condition. Because of the floods and tough living conditions, people even called this area "Death Valley."
But things changed for the better! In 1963, the city bought this land. They cleaned it up and created the first version of the park. It was originally called Tipton Park. Later, in the late 1980s, a new design was planned by a famous landscape architect named Michael Van Valkenburgh. The park you see today was completed in 1993.
The Story of Covered Bridges
In the 1800s, there was a lot of wood available in the United States. So, wood was often used to build bridges. These bridges were then covered to protect their wooden floors from harsh winter weather. This helped them last much longer.
Many covered bridges are over a hundred years old and are still used today. However, only about 1,000 of them remain in North America. Indiana is lucky to have more than ninety of these historic structures.
Exploring Mill Race Park's Cool Features
Mill Race Park covers a large area of about 83 acres (33.6 hectares). It has a fun playground and an 84-foot (25.6-meter) observation tower. From the tower, you can get a great view of the park and the surrounding area.
The park's land can experience severe annual flooding. During these times, about sixty percent of the park might be underwater. But the park is designed to handle this!
The park has a loop road that goes around its edge. There are also many paths for walking or biking. You'll find two small lakes connected by a wooden bridge.
One of the park's cool design features is a circular lake. It's a perfect circle that stands out against the natural curves of the rivers nearby. This lake has a paved path around it and is surrounded by pretty flowering trees.
There's also an earthen amphitheater. This is like a natural outdoor stage with grassy seating areas. It was inspired by ancient Native American earthworks found in the Ohio River Valley. This special area stays above the water even during floods. The covered bridge in the park reminds visitors of the many historic covered bridges once found all over Indiana.
The park also offers lots of activities! You can go fishing in the lakes or play basketball on the courts. The People Trail is a boardwalk that connects the park's wetlands to a path system. This path continues into the surrounding community. You can easily get into the park using the loop road or by walking along the river.
Plus, Mill Race Park hosts many exciting events, festivals, and programs throughout the year. There's always something fun happening!
