Nick McWilliams reporting – With nine decades of service to the community and the conservation sector, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District is celebrating and will be featured at the Dennison Railroad Depot Museum.
The district was founded 20 years after the Great Flood of 1913, which killed over 400 people in Ohio and led to what would have been over $3 billion worth of damage today.
Sitting as the largest conservation district in Ohio, the MWCD represents over 8,000 square miles of state land, reaching into 27 counties, and containing 16 dams and reservoirs.
Now, for one year, an exhibit at the Depot Museum highlights the history of the district and recreational opportunities, along with the ways it helps keep the area safe from flood waters and how it was founded, according to MWCD Engagement and Outreach Coordinator Ethan Zucal.
He says that the exhibit, which opens to the public on June 3rd, ties in well to the rail history component, given the relationship between the height of railroad activity and the development of the MWCD.
“When the lakes were being created, when the dams were being put in place, there was a lot of work that had to be done, and the railway was in its heyday. The railroads and the conservancy district worked together to really ensure that, one, transportation did not come to a halt. That it was not impeded in any way.”
Museum Executive Director Wendy Zucal says that the new exhibit is educational and interactive, and highlights the partnership between the railroad and the conservation region.
“Over a decade ago, our first exhibit was a Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District exhibit, so this is the second time we’ve had them. It’s for the 90th anniversary, and we’re looking forward to the 100th anniversary in 10 years.”
Pieces that are included include original surveying equipment used to map the region during the founding of the MWCD in 1933, recreational items used over the last nine decades, and the timeline of milestones and leadership changes throughout its history.
The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and $4 for children seven to 17.
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