MAUMEE – The Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark offers more than beautiful trails. It also serves as a reminder of the area’s history and a continuous effort to protect it for the education of future generations.
“Fallen Timbers is arguably one of the most important battles to the formation of the United States of America,” said Shannon Hughes, director of education and programming for Metroparks Toledo.
The park is made up of three historical sites: Fallen Timbers Battlefield, Fallen Timbers Memorial Park and Fort Miamis. Each site holds an important history, marking locations of the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 and the War of 1812.
“It’s hard to know how the country would’ve looked today had it not been for Anthony Wayne and this battle being won by the U.S. forces instead of the native forces,” said Julia Wiley, president of the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission.
On Aug. 20, 1794, Gen. Anthony Wayne led a trained army, along with Kentucky militiamen, into battle against a Native confederation backed by the British; it was led by Chiefs Blue Jacket, Buckongahelas and Little Turtle.
“There were a lot of different cultures involved in this battle, and yet people forget the significance of it. Without this battle, there would have continued to be constant bloodshed in all of the midwestern territories,” said Wiley, who also serves as the first vice president of the Waterville Historical Society.
According to the National Park Service, the Battle of Fallen Timbers was an important event that “demonstrated the tenacity of the American people in their quest for western expansion and the struggle for dominance in the Old Northwest Territory.”
The U.S. victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, and opened up parts of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin to settlement. It also resulted in loss of territory for the British military, who were ordered to abandon their forts.
Wiley credited a discovery of archaeologist Michael Pratt for saving at least part of the battlefield as plans to develop a shopping mall and apartment complexes were underway in the area. Metroparks Toledo was able to purchase land and the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission became a steward of its history.
“The battle was actually much larger and contained a much larger territory than what’s been saved in that original 189 acres,” Wiley said. “But that was at least a start, as a way to commemorate and honor all the lives that were lost on that battle on both sides.”
Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis are affiliated units of the National Park Service, and owned and managed by Metroparks Toledo. Hughes said that as an open archaeological site, there are a lot of rules governing the sites.
“We look at not only the conservation as in trees and land, but we also look at conserving any of the resources from any of the artifacts from the battle that may still be in the ground,” she said.
Hughes said they are very careful about the way they manage the site, using an approved method by the National Park Service called the dibble bar method.
“The goal is to bring land back up with the native species that would have been there, and so we do reforestation efforts, but we are very careful with the way we reforest,” Hughes said. “It is mostly hand-dug using the dibble bar method that then places the trees in and has minimal beginning-ground disturbance. That way, we are being very mindful of the artifacts, but we’re also bringing it back to what it would have looked like.”
Hughes said it’s important to preserve the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark because you can’t have history without the land.
“The natural resources really informed settlement, settlement informed the land wars, and that brings us to the Battle of the Fallen Timbers,” she said.
At the Fallen Timbers Battlefield, visitors can walk along a 1.5-mile path filled with historical information called the Northwest Territory Trail.
Hughes said Metroparks Toledo is focused on remembering that there were sacrifices made, and she described the park as a place for people to reflect, learn and understand what makes northwest Ohio interesting from a historical perspective.
“As you walk it, you don’t need a guide because we’ve put interpretative signs that tell the story, the human perspective and the natural resource perspective of it,” Hughes said. “You really get a good understanding of what the battle was, why it took place here, who was involved in it and what the aftermath of the battle was.”
The Fallen Timbers Battlefield Memorial Park, located across the Anthony Wayne Trail, contains a 10-foot bronze statue of General Anthony Wayne, with an American Indian guide on the right and a settler on the left. The park also contains two stone markers, one recognizing U.S. troops killed during the battle and the other honoring the native casualties.
Fort Miamis was a British fort several miles downriver (which is northeast of the memorial, as the Maumee River flows north) that played a role in the Battle of Fallen Timbers, as well as the War of 1812. The park site there includes a tower and observation deck where visitors can see much of the earthwork used to create the fort.
Metroparks Toledo and the Fallen Timbers Battlefield Preservation Commission both have educational programs and events throughout the year. The Fallen Timbers Battlefield Metropark is open year-round, and visitors can have their National Parks Passport stamped at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library Maumee Branch, at 501 River Road, Maumee.
For more information, visit metroparkstoledo.com, and for additional photos of the Fallen Timbers sites, visit facebook.com/anthonywaynefreepress.
