138 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
VIEW FROM HILL TOP ROAD, MILL CREEK PARK, YOUNGS- BRIDGE AND FALLS, CASCADE GORGE, MILL CREEK PARK, 
TOWN, O. 
Having secured the land contracts above 
mentioned, and prepared the bill for the 
proposed legislation, I now called on a 
large number of leading citizens and tax- 
payers of Youngstown, explained what I 
proposed, and requested them, if they ap- 
proved of the proposition, to sign a peti- 
tion addressed to the legislature of Ohio, 
asking that the bill I had prepared be en- 
acted into law. 
Every person to whom I presented the 
matter signed the petition and encouraged 
me in my undertaking. 
I then went to the state capitol and pre- 
sented my bill and petition to our ow'n 
representatives and senator there, and, with 
their help, the bill was passed, and the 
question of establishing the park as pro- 
posed was adopted by a vote of the people. 
Park bonds were then issued, contracts 
for lands optioned were conveyed to the 
park board, and when negotiations for land 
not optioned failed, it was condemned and 
appropriated to park uses. This is the 
story, in brief, as to how Mill Creek Park 
was secured in Youngstown. 
The land, improvements and upkeep so 
far have cost $632,000. 
There are in the park about twelve miles 
of main, side and cross drives, about five 
miles of footpaths, nine iron bridges, seven 
stone bridges, two park lakes with a water 
surface in both of seventy-one acres, a lily 
pond with a water surface of three acres, 
and two stone pavilions. 
Boats are supplied by park authorities 
and there are no private concessions of 
any kind. 
The controlling feature in park improve- 
ments has been to make the park accessible 
and useful, interfering with Nature’s work 
as little as possible. 
The hills and ravines are well clothed 
with native trees, shrubs and plants, and 
w'here plantings were necessary only native 
trees have been used. Vistas have been 
opened by removing trees which obstructed 
fine views from drives and footpaths. Two 
masonry dams have been built in the main 
valley to form the two park lakes, but, in 
the main. Nature has been undisturbed. 
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i 
LAKE GLACIER OVERFLOWS, FROM GLFtNWOOD AV., MILL BOATING ON LAKE COHASSET, MILL CREEK .PARK. 
CREEK PARK. 
