Firestone Park Renovations

Historic Legacy Trail

The Legacy Trail Loop, an immersive and interpretive walking journey, invites you to meet the past stewards of the land we now call Harvey S. Firestone Recreational Park. There have been many, from the indigenous people who honored the land in pre-European settlement days to present day benefactors who rallied to restore the Park’s vigor and relevance. Rather than attempt to interpret hundreds of years of history, the Loop shines its spotlight on a brief yet important slice of the Park’s timeline - between the early 1800’s and mid-1900’s.

A Walk Through History

You’ll follow in the footsteps of the Wyandot, Mingo and Delaware Indians of centuries ago when these Native American tribes roamed this very land. You’ll stop at the spot where pioneer settlers built a log cabin near the cool, clear waters of a natural spring existing nearby, and still flowing today. You can listen in the wind for the echoes of the weary travelers from the 1800’s who stopped at this spring to water their mounts as they traveled through Columbiana to and from the early buffalo migration routes of days past. You’ll walk by the giant trees that grew, the lilacs that flourished and the wild roses that burst into bloom when the park was in its infancy. Like Harvey, you’ll stand at his special lookout where he surveyed the rolling farmlands as they were transformed into his vision of a recreational oasis for his community.

Welcome to the “Legacy Trail” under construction during the current renovation of Harvey S. Firestone Recreational Park, named after its gracious benefactor who, over 80 years ago, gave land and money to build, for his beloved hometown, what he described was going to be “the finest little park in the State.” Where will this historic trail take you? You’ll follow in the footsteps of the Wyandot, Mingo and Delaware Indians of centuries ago when these Native American tribes roamed this very land. You’ll stop at the spot where pioneer settlers built a log cabin near the cool, clear waters of a natural spring existing nearby, and still flowing today. You can listen in the wind for the echoes of the weary travelers from the 1800’s who stopped at this spring to water their mounts as they traveled through Columbiana to and from the early buffalo migration routes of days past. You’ll walk by the giant trees that grew, the lilacs that flourished and the wild roses that burst into bloom when the park was in its infancy. Like Harvey, you’ll stand at his special lookout where he surveyed the rolling farmlands as they were transformed into his vision of a recreational oasis for his community. Join us now for a walk through history that will take you to Harvey’s Lookout, the Hanna Cabin Ruin Garden, the Hanna Spring Garden and the Idabelle Firestone Gathering Place and Garden with its Great Tree Lawn and reconstructed Lilac “Allee.”

Legacy Trail Entrance

The Legacy Trail Loop, set to open in 2022, includes interpretive pocket gardens, the Idabelle Firestone Gathering Place and Garden, the Hanna Homestead Garden, Cabin Ruin Garden, and Harvey S. Firestone Lookout.

The Outer Legacy Trail wends pasts historic pavilions culminating at Mirror Lake

Your walk through history will take you to the gardens of Harvey’s Lookout, the Hanna Cabin Ruin, the Hanna Spring and the Idabelle Firestone Gathering Place and Garden with its Great Tree Lawn and reconstructed Lilac “Allee." Interpretive panels providing historical information will be located at each site within the Legacy Trail, which will meander through the park from the top of the hill across from the pool house, across the roadway, and extend down the hillside to the sports courts. A new brick entry will mark the entrance to the trail. The Legacy Trail Loop, a walking pathway of historic sites, will be unveiled in June of 2022.

Interpretive panels detailing the history of each beautifully-landscaped pocket garden will be on the path throughout to explain each location -- Harvey’s Lookout, the Hanna Cabin Ruin, the Hanna Spring and the Idabelle Firestone Gathering Place and Garden with its Great Tree Lawn and reconstructed Lilac “Allee." The Legacy Trail Loop takes you through the park from the top of the hill opposite the pool house, scross the roadway and down the hillside to Mirror Lake. A new brick entry marks the entrance to this illuminating glimpse of the park's past.

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Legacy Trail Map