Davidson Woods MetroPark, Butler County’s newest park, opened to the public on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 22, according to the Journal-News. The 168-acre site at 1200 Hogue Road in Hanover Township includes some of the county’s largest old-growth forest acreage, a scenic overlook of Four Mile Creek, creek access and more than three miles of hiking trails. One trail is ADA-accessible and leads to the overlook.
MetroParks of Butler County Executive Director Jackie O’Connell told the Journal-News that the property stayed in the Matthew Hueston family for more than two centuries, passing through the matriarchal line. The park system bought the land in 2007 from Hueston Farm Inc. and the family of Isabelle Davidson, described as Hueston descendants. O’Connell said Hueston acquired the land in 1809 after the Battle of Fallen Timbers, and she noted that Indigenous peoples including the Adena, Hopewell, Miami and Shawnee lived in the forest before the county or the United States existed.
MetroParks spokeswoman Ely-Wood said the agency manages 25 parks and regional trails. Construction funding included $450,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money from Butler County Commissioners in 2022 and a $369,848 Clean Ohio grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission in 2023, according to Ely-Wood.
O’Connell described the park as intentionally natural and passive, saying residents wanted it protected rather than heavily developed. She said MetroParks staff created art along the trails, including chainsaw carvings and placed stumps, trunks and stones.