Findley State Park

08/19/2026

Findley State Park, a Flower, and Abraham Lincoln

A little over 200 years ago (1818), the first white settlers arrived in what would become Wellington, Ohio.
Early accounts such as a letter written by Betsey Webster in 1822 tell of the heavily wooded lands that needed to be cleared for farming purposes.
The letter also mentions the common practice of how families “Milked a cow through the winter”, and some effects of drought conditions.
Many families of the era milked a single cow for the family’s dairy needs.
Often, the family milk cow would be left to graze in the wooded areas of the farm, especially in dry conditions when grasses were scarce.
Unfortunately, this commonsense practice resulted in family milk cows eating a rather bitter tasting plant called White Snakeroot.
White Snakeroot (Ageratina altissima) is a very common native plant found in Findley State Park.
It would not be till the 1830’s that Dr. Anna Pierce Hobbs Bixby would connect White Snakeroot with the then common and often-fatal disease known as Milk Sickness.
Dr. Hobbs Bixby’s work linked White Snakeroot to Milk Sickness, but it took nearly 100 years (1928) for science to advance to the point of identifying the toxic chemical Tremetol as the actual cause of Milk Sickness.
Milk Sickness is caused by a cow eating White Snakeroot which contains the chemical Tremetol. Tremetol is concentrated in the cow’s milk. People consuming the Tremetol tainted milk can experience Tremetol poisoning also known as Milk Sickness.
Milk Sickness is uncommon today in the United States. Current practices of animal husbandry generally control the pastures and feed of cattle, and the pooling of milk from many producers lowers the risk of Tremetol being present in dangerous amounts.
So, you ask, what does this have to do with Abraham Lincoln?
It is widely held that on October 5, 1818, the same year that settlers first arrived in the Wellington, Ohio area, a young Abraham Lincoln’s mother died of Milk Sickness caused by the family cow eating White Snakeroot.

Naturalist Wiz

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageratina_altissima
https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/wh_snakeroot.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_sickness
https://www.mainstreetwellington.org/wellington-statistics.html
https://19thcenturywellington.wordpress.com/2022/01/27/you-know-not-how-much-i-think-of-you/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Lincoln

08/16/2026

From our Friends Group.

Support Tasting in the Woods 2026!

We’re getting ready for the 11th Annual Tasting in the Woods at Findley State Park on Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 2–6 p.m. — and we need your help to make it another amazing event!

The Friends of Findley State Park, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting, protecting, preserving, and improving Findley State Park. Proceeds from Tasting in the Woods help us continue that mission and make a difference right here in our community.

Please consider making a donation or contributing a raffle prize!
We are looking for:
-Gift cards or gift certificates
-Gift baskets
-Wine glasses and wine accessories
-Picnic and outdoor or recreational items
-Products, services, or experiences from local business

Every donation, large or small, makes a difference!

If you’re a local business or individual who would like to support Tasting in the Woods, please contact Valerie Gardner at [email protected].

Thank you for helping us support Findley State Park and keep this wonderful event going! 💚

08/16/2026

Findley State Park naturalist programs for August 20 through 23, 2026.

08/14/2026

Come out and try what's SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard).
Join Naturalist Wiz Moore and try your hand at Paddleboarding.
Sessions start at 2:00PM, 4:00PM and 6:00PM
Registration by email only!
Email for reservations, space is limited to 5 participants.
Email Wiz Moore at [email protected]
Please include the date, time slot and number in your group.
We WILL be getting wet, dress for the water.
Must be at least 12 years old and physically able to maneuver the vessel.
Must sign a waiver to participate, parent or guardian must sign for those under 18.
Meet at the former beach area.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/atxB1uCLh3ubyKLi9

08/12/2026

Without a doubt, Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is my favorite summertime wildflower.
What is not to love about these large, brilliant red flowers that grow along the banks of Findley Lake?
These native flowers need moist soil to thrive, so here at Findley State Park, they are most often found right along the shore of our lake. There are a few pockets of Cardinal Flowers that can be found away from the lake, but only in consistently wet soils.
On rare occasions, you may find a plant or two sporting white flowers instead of the typical red as in the photos from my 2019 trip to Shawnee State Park.
If this is not enough to marvel at, I highly recommend reading the article “Hummingbirds & Cardinal Flowers: A Pollination Tale” by Laurie Dirkx in the Summer 2023 issue of Northern Woodlands.org.
https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/hummingbirds-cardinal-flowers-pollination
This article, with fantastic photography, shows how hummingbirds are the primary pollinators of cardinal flowers!
Naturalist Wiz
Further reading:
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=loca2
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/lobelia-cardinalis/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_cardinalis -caruso-7
https://norfolkbotanicalgarden.org/perfectly-paired-hummingbirds-and-the-cardinal-flower/
https://northernwoodlands.org/articles/article/hummingbirds-cardinal-flowers-pollination

08/09/2026

Here is a fun book for the young ones.
https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/ohiodnr.gov/documents/watercraft/kidswatersafety-coloringbook.pdf

08/09/2026

Findley State Park naturalist programs for August 15 and 16, 2026.

08/07/2026

Come out and explore our 93 acre lake by kayak.
Join Naturalist Wiz Moore on a guided excursion around Findley Lake.
Trips start at 2:00PM, 4:00PM and 6:00PM
Registration by email only!
Email for reservations, limited to 5 participants.
Please include the date, time slot and number in your group.
We will be making “wet foot” entries and exits. Water shoes are preferred.
Email Wiz Moore at [email protected]
Must be at least 12 years old and physically able to maneuver the vessel.
Must sign a waiver to participate, parent or guardian must sign for those under 18.
Meet at the former beach area.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/atxB1uCLh3ubyKLi9

08/05/2026

Findley State Park naturalist programs for August 6 through 9, 2026.

08/05/2026

Findley State Park is home to some very interesting plants.
This rather spooky looking plant is Ghost Pipe (Monotropa uniflora).
Ghost Pipe is a flowering plant that lacks chlorophyl. This means that is incapable of using sunlight to make its own food.
Ghost Pipe gets its food by being a parasite, in a sense, stealing food from another organism.
It was thought that Ghost Pipe was a direct parasite of tree roots, but it turns out that it is a parasite of a fungus that has a mycorrhizal relationship with the tree.
Mycorrhizal relationships are very common in the plant world.
In a mycorrhizal relationship, the plant makes organic molecules such as sugars by photosynthesis and supplies them to the fungus.
The fungus, in turn, supplies the plant with water and mineral nutrients, such as phosphorus, taken from the soil. The drawing gives a good visual representation of a mycorrhizal relationship. The tree and fungus have a symbiotic relationship since both tree and fungus benefit, and neither are harmed.
Ghost Pipe is a parasite of the mycorrhizal fungus because it only takes organic molecules such as sugars, made by the tree, from the fungus while contributing nothing to the fungus nor tree.
The first edition of “Poems by Emily Dickinson” published in 1890 features Ghost Pipe on the cover.
She called the Ghost Pipe “the preferred flower of life.” In a letter to Mabel Todd, she confides, “I still cherish the clutch with which I bore it from the ground when a wondering child, and unearthly b***y, and maturity only enhances the mystery, never decreases it.”
Naturalist Wiz
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotropa_uniflora
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/beauty/mycotrophic/monotropa_uniflora.shtml
https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-wildflowers-indian-pipe-monotropa-uniflora.html