Officials with River Heritage Conservancy have spent the better part of a decade preparing for Origin Park — which, when finished, is expected to be more than 400 acres of reclaimed land near the Ohio River in Clarksville.
Its mission is to celebrate the Ohio River while honoring the history of the land itself.
Conservancy CEO Dennis Schnurbusch said the work so far has included property acquisition, planning and design and starting to prepare the space.
“This land is comprised entirely of junkyards, brownfields, landfills, things that have been abused,” he said. “It's not like we're starting from scratch with land that you've purchased that doesn't maybe…have those types of challenges associated with them.”
The organization has secured around 80% of needed land, including some through an agreement with the town of Clarksville. Two former junkyards are being cleaned up. And last year, crews broke ground at an events center expected to help generate revenue to sustain the park. Other big projects are in the works.
“Now we’re getting to the fun part, which is the build-out on it,” Schnurbusch said.
Subhed: Upcoming projects
Schnurbusch said River Heritage Conservancy is focusing on three main projects for now.
At Buttonbush Woods, there is already nearly a mile of rough-cut trails, with plans for expanded paths. Schnurbusch said they still have to do a lot in terms of restoring streams and removing invasive plant species.
“It's 103 acres of beautiful, natural landscape that we want to make sure [is] protected, but…it needs some love right now, and we're working on that,” Schnurbusch said.
The Vista, a roughly 14,000-square-foot events center overlooking Buttonbush Woods, the Ohio River and Ohio River Greenway, is slated to open in spring. It will hold more than 400 people, depending on the type of event. It’s taking reservations now.
Designs are also in place for a whitewater facility to be built within the park. That’s being designed by the group behind the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Schnurbusch said they hope to be able to host Olympic trials, along with more casual water recreation. They hope to open by 2029, depending on funding. It’s part of an adventure park including zip lines and climbing.
A destination
Officials say the park will offer more amenities for local residents and be a huge economic driver for the area. Schnurbusch said they expect around 1-1.5 million people will visit annually.
Jim Epperson, executive director at SoIN Tourism, said a park of this scale — even without the events center and adventure park with whitewater rafting — would be a great attraction. But those elements change the game.
“The more primary motivations we have on this side of the river…it's an anchor,” he said. “It's a new reason to visit, and it's a…reason to visit again, beyond what we have, which is a collection of great experiences.”
The origins before Origin Park
The word “origin” in the park’s name hearkens back to who and what was here before, and RHC Board Member Jim Kenney said there is much history to be told.
He said it started with glacier activity that formed the Ohio River and Falls of the Ohio, near Origin Park. He said these environmental features forced indigenous people and later European settlers to portage or stop there.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark started on their expedition of the Northwest Territory from the area and George Rogers Clark had a homestead near the Falls. Buffalo crossed into the Origin Park area from the salt licks of Kentucky. Kenney said there were places operating within the Origin Park footprint during Prohibition, and it was also a spot for duels, which are illegal in Kentucky.
“Had it not been for the glaciers and the Falls of the Ohio…we'd be just another little sleepy river town,” he said. But because they did, there’s a lot of stories to tell about the history of the area.
Ongoing litigation
A low-head dam in Silver Creek that RHC wants to remove as part of a planned “blueway” has been the subject of ongoing litigation for the past several years.
The waterway borders Origin Park between Clarksville and New Albany. Four years ago, a contractor for the conservancy secured a permit to take out the Providence Mill Dam. New Albany continues to fight that effort in court.
The city is also involved in other court cases after a teen drowned at the site last May, and after Mayor Jeff Gahan had rocks placed at the dam to stop the reverse current below it. State and federal agencies say that was done without proper permitting.
Schnurbusch said the conservancy doesn’t own the creek and doesn’t plan to do anything commercial there, but wants to see the dam removed for safety and environmental reasons.
RHC recently helped pay for removal of the Blackiston Mill Dam on another part of the creek.
“We're not doing anything to Silver Creek except trying to make sure that that blueway is open and restored naturally, so that the habitat can grow and act like it's supposed to,” he said.
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