So how long did the park stay open? According to various online accounts, Tamsin Park was still hosting campers as late as 1997. Its glory days were passed, however, and the park eventually closed within a few years.
In 2003, according to the Cuyahoga Valley Arcadia Book, “the property laid idle awaiting annexation to Cuyahoga Falls and the construction of nearly 300 homes."
Indeed today, the former Tamsin Park property is home to a huge residential development called Hidden Lakes.
Although I haven’t had a chance to drive out there and take some pictures, some aerial views available online tell the story.
Remember the 1964 park map (below)?
 |
| Courtesy of Bing Maps |
 |
| Courtesy of Google Maps |
And what about the Indian Mill featured on the postcard (below)?
It was listed for a sale just a few years ago, and some listings from that era still survive online. Here’s a photo (below) courtesy of zillow.com.
Happily, the Indian Mill found new life in 2014 as the Wine Mill (below). Here’s a link to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
****
Well, that wraps up my weeklong series on Tamsin Park. Hopefully, other people that camped there in its heyday will find these posts and enjoy some of the postcards and brochures.
To some, it might seem silly to be nostalgic about a campground that’s long gone. But you’ve probably figured out that it’s not just about the campground itself, or the real estate it sat on. For me, it’s about memories of a simpler time when my parents were both alive and my siblings and I were young and innocent.
Happy memories of camping, shared by anyone who ever pitched a tent in a wooded meadow, helped set up a pop-up camper or sat in the darkness in front of the glow of a warm campfire with their family, toasting marshmallows.
Tamsin was the perfect backdrop for those kinds of memories.
Be sure to visit my new 2-part series on Tamsin Park with additional postcards, as well as news articles!
To some, it might seem silly to be nostalgic about a campground that’s long gone. But you’ve probably figured out that it’s not just about the campground itself, or the real estate it sat on. For me, it’s about memories of a simpler time when my parents were both alive and my siblings and I were young and innocent.
Happy memories of camping, shared by anyone who ever pitched a tent in a wooded meadow, helped set up a pop-up camper or sat in the darkness in front of the glow of a warm campfire with their family, toasting marshmallows.
Tamsin was the perfect backdrop for those kinds of memories.
****
UPDATE (August 12, 2020)Be sure to visit my new 2-part series on Tamsin Park with additional postcards, as well as news articles!
34 comments:
I never went there, but had heard stories from others who had...sounds like a piece of local history that will not be again. Too many things to keep families and kids occupied these days - cell phones, video games etc. Very interesting series - thanks!
Fascinating story! We live here now and I love the great history surrounding this neighborhood!
I WAS A "TAMSIN KID" IN THE 60'S AT THE PARK. SURE MISS THOSE GREAT TIMES. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES.
Our family were permanent campers there for years. I basically grew up there. It was a beautiful park & lots of memories & fun times. Always tons of kids and activities. Then there was the Indian Festival which was like none other. Good times growing up!
Hello and thank you for providing this fun and fascinating bit of Tamsin history! I too was at the Indian Festival in I believe 1969. I acquired a group of Pana-Vue slides from the event on ebay and am planning on making them in to photo's. If anyone knows of any slides or photo's from the event please let me know as I would be much interested in purchasing them, thank you so much, Stephanie
My Grandparents had a season site across from the honey locust shelter. My grandpa had a large tiki and a sign "please, no indian rain dancing". Anyone remember the fountain of youth?
I too remember the fountain of youth. My mom and Mrs. Miller planted flowers and tended to the garden in front of it for many years. It's so great to hear peoples fun memories of Tamsin. The Indian Festival was the best. Our first campsite that I remember was down the hill from the trading post and then we moved in to Deer Lick Meadow.. Great times playing flashlight tag in the meadow and using the horseshoe pits.
hi anne! happy birthday, although a bit late! say 'hey' to mike for me. love. rob
Do you remember the "hidden lake"? as I remember there was a path that led to it from Deer Lick Meadows. It was overgrown with algae and had some mysterious fish living in it.
Rob thank you for the belated birthday wishes! I really can't believe that you remember when my birthday was. I enjoyed reading about your family thank you for sharing. Mom and Dad are still alive and around and I am most definitely will be sharing what you had written about your family and your mom Gretchen. I will share all of this with Michael also he will be thrilled. I do remember the pond that was on the path from Deer Lick Meadow to the Big Lake. Indeed it was rather overgrown but it was great for catching frogs.
One of these days I'll post some pictures.......
anne: thanks for the kind words about my mom. she passed away feb 27 after her heart failed due to scarring of the lungs. maybe it was because of my dad's smoking; maybe it was from growing up in a coal-heated home- we'll never know. my dad passed in 97 from (we believe) heart stoppage. in 2008, mom married dan heald (a retired rocket scientist for general dynamics) in 2008 and they were the happiest couple in the world until dsn passed in feb 27 2015. at that point I moved in to mom's house and got to spend 3 great years with her. i'm still here with dog Nobrie and cat Striper (they are 12 years old) thanks to brother john who is making it possible for me to live here. we miss mom, dad, and dan so much. i have three stepbrothers, now, too! hope you are doing well and good to hear ken and rory are doing well, too. my nephew john (mark's son) is a cop at csu, not too far from you guys. better go, thanks mr. brady love to you anne. rob
tenk van dool: that would have the pumphouse pond. the pumphouse covered a deep well that fed the water system in the campground, as well as the showerhouse and flush toilets at the little lake playground. to get there, you would head east from the front of the toilets near deer-lick meadow. we called it 'the indian trail' but it was actually the electrical right-of-way for the ohio edison/campground power system. what anne was referring to was the drains for the lakes and the creek they formed. this creek fed into the pumphouse pond. there was no signage at the pond but we knew tom jones didn't want anyone in the area of the well so us kids usually stayed away from the pond. there was another larger pond off to the northeast near the whites' house in quail valley. thelma white and her husband paul both worked at tamsim in the 60's- thelma at the ranger station (which was the store back then- before the 'indian mill' opened) and paul helped with grounds maintenance and the fuel store across the road from the ranger station. thelma was a truxell which meant she was tom's sister-in-law. they were really nice people, as were their daughters judy and ginette, who worked up at the main gate. later on, dewey and emily sondles would move into the whites' old place. emily was the youngest truxell daughter- she worked with her grandmother, mrs. truxell, at the concession stand by the big lake and at the front gate, when needed. emily's husband, the late duane sondles, was a handy guy who worked for years at an automotive machine shop. dew and em had two cute kids- dawn and duane. young duane has also passed away, but i'm not sure how or when. lots of memories here, people, and io'n only just getting started. most of my years are regarding the 60's, i'll talk about the 70's, and the 'changing of the guard' at tamsin. so who were your grandparents?- i prolly knew them.... rob
i'm wrong, mrs. truxell was emily's mom. sorry about that. rob
Hello and thanks for the comments Rob. My Grandparents were Gary and Florence Wise. Grandpa wise was friends with Tom Jones and was always active in the Indian festivals. My last year camping there was in 72 or 73, and I was only 11.
okay, didn't the wises camp near the wild crabapple shelter? that was a tight part of the campground. my family camped at site 20 (grabers' old campsite) and our last season was 71. surprised we didn't meet up at some point, my best friends were mike zverina and steve swartz. when we started camping there in 65 i hung out with jeff graber, too. jeff was pretty crazy. when i heard about the death of his son at the hands of a drunk driver- my heart went out to him. if you see this, jeff- God bless you and your family. I'm so sorry for your loss! remember kruty and ponchak chasing kids out of the playground at curfew? LOL rob
Wow. So many memories at Tamsin Park. My aunt and uncle owned the park in the 70's and early eighties. My cousins worked as lifeguards , staffed the store ,and did the maintenance. Occasionally my brother and I would stay for a few nights. My uncle Bob would put us to work. We would rise early( early for two kids on summer break) and help my cousin Johnny empty all the garbage cans. I even got to drive the steam roller doing road maintenance!
I grew up in a House directly across the Street from Tamsin Park so was there in the Sixtys and early Seventys until I joined the Army. My Family and I were friends of the original owner and his Son Tom Jones who Inherited Tamsin Park. I worked at Tamsin Park for a Summer and had Free access to the Park all the time I was growing up. In the Summer there would be Festivals put on by Native Americans for One week as the Parks owner Tom Jones no relation to the Singer did Business with Native American Tribes in the West later Tom Opened the Indian Museum at Tamsin Park with a working Waterwheel and big Wooden Indian in front the Museum Sold Native American Arts and Crafts like Blankets, Carvings, etc.. I remember during the Summers the Park was always packed with Campers and Visitors there was Fishing in the Two Lakes and on the Weekends Movies were shown mostly Disney Movies. I visited the Park in the early Ninetys the new owner was letting it run down and seem to be just milking what money he could out of it.
Just wanted to finish by saying that another reason I think the Park ended is most of the regular Campers who would return every year just got Older or Past away and their Children had little interest in Tamsin Park. Anyway it was sad to see how the Park had become and it was obvious it would not be around much longer but I will always have the memories of Tamsin Park because it was a special place.
erwin: glad to see youre doing okay. how's that mattel vroom vroom bike?? rob from san diego
The Bike is long gone it was accidentally ran over by someone wish I still had it it is probably pretty valuable now. I really miss Tamsin Park I spent a lot of time there even in the off season just walking around and no one was there. During the 60's and 70's the place was packed with visitors and Campers and it was really a nice place.
good to know you're doing fine, erwin. i'm in my parents' place in alpine, ca. a whole different world than yours, i'm sure. i used to like to hike there in the snow- the quiet solitude- so different from the seemingly endless summer days at the lake or hiking to quicks orchard. too bad about the vroom bike- yes they are really rare and valuable now. take care. rob
tamsin kids: remember when we used to tell ghost stories around the fire at Krutys' camp? remember when we had a hypnotist show on saturday night and mr. way was hypnotized and couldn't figure out how to tie a knot in a piece of rope?
Oh boy….reading all of your comments brought back memories! I recognize many of your names. My family had a season campsite in Deer Lick Meadow in the 60’s, then bought Tamsin in early 70’s. They sold it in mid 80’s when my dad retired from the Cleve Police Dept. They LOVED that park, but it became a lot of work after my siblings and I were married and started families of our own. And as one person commented, the new generation was going to Disney not camping any more. Miss those great times.
Hey Anonymous!
We were the Monda family. Remember playing the accordion around the campfire with my Dad? or when the regulator failed on his CO2 tank for his keg, and the keg and exploded? My dad also went on a wild ride with Bob sr chasing down some troublemakers one night. That park was a great place to grow up. I can still smell those smoke cannons they used to drive around with to keep the mosquitos in check! I wonder what that was?
The name sounds very familiar. My older siblings would remember for sure, especially my older brother, Bob Jr. He played the accordion also, so I’m sure there were many shared campfires with music. My mom recently passed away, and as we sorted out their house, we found her “season camper ledger”. Talk about memories as we went through that. It’s been great reading everyone’s comments and what the park meant to them, Cindy Kruty
I was born in 1965, last child, we lived in Bedford Heights. Whole family went there starting from before I was born for day-trip picnics & swimming, we may have even camped there, not sure. Later, my mom bought summer passes for her and I every year until I was in I think 7th or 8th grade. She & I swam there all summer, every summer, from about 1971 until 1977 or '78. The older sibs were either out of the house already or disinterested. But not me, I LOVED those lakes. It was the best getaway for her and I when school was out for the summers! We'd bring lunch and chairs and rafts, make a day of it. We always stopped in at the Indian Mill for candy or popsicles, little trinkets. Worth the drive and time. Years later in the late eighties I used to drive past it when I was going to the Akron Agora to dance & drink (also not there anymore), then college and work took over, and I put Tamsin in the back of my mind. Then one day I discovered it was closed. I'm sure that the people who are living there now love it, but I have to admit I cried. It was like losing a piece of your past - but even if it were around still, it would NOT be the same. Times have changed too much for it to ever be what it was. But I have the memories :)
tamsin trivia question: who camped in a trailer that was lettered '5 GUYS AND A GAL- WOW!'?
ps: they had popsicles at the indian mill? we used to get them from the concession stand or they had cheaper frozen stuff at the humble station across the street. kids could also buy smokes from there, too, as long as the owner wasn't there. there were times when we would ride our bikes up to kendall park road to get cigs. the phone at the humble station was just a dime to call cuyahoga falls (home) or akron- the phone booth at the ranger station was at least 3 times that. rob
7/20/22 An Invitation to write your memories of the Indian Mill museum tour with Docents, Ralph and Jewell Reinhart, Sr.
Mrs. Jewell Reinhart was a long-time teacher in the Hudson School system / Her husband, Ralph Reinhart, Sr. gave lectures on astronomy, geology, geography, and together they traveled to many American Indian Reservations, taking donations, and making new friends.
A book is being developed focusing on the Reinhart, Srs: Their Life and Times.
Kindly be in touch with me, their daughter:
Dr. Jewell Reinhart Coburn
email: drjuliecoburn@gmail.com
phone: 805-965-7330
Tell me your memories and if you wish, I will write it up. Be in touch / Send photos / Be sure to give your full name and permission to include in the book in process.
the indian mill is what became of the original house of the jones farm and that transition occurred in 1969. at that time, tom still had control of the front end of the park and we concluded camping at the park before tom relinquished control of the lakes, concession stand and picnic receipts so i have little knowledge of the place after it opened to the public. the indian mill, at that time, sold many of the same items and inventory that were offered at the ranger station, before it had become the kruty family house. still remember mary jones and thelma white who teamed up to help run the ranger station in the 60's. my older brother mark worked there selling ice and fuel across the road from the store. also, the indian festivals that happened every fall were awesome. i loved watching john burnside doing his sand paintings and silversmithing, and, as i recall, his wife was very talented, as well. thank you, tom jones and mr. brady! rob
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANN! ROB
Richardson camped there as kid
Wow! So Excited to read Everyone,s thoughts, brings back such Happy Lifelong Memories!!
My twin brothers and little sister and me the eldest sister would be so excited to see our dad since our parents were divorced as we were at such a young age. We were all touched emotionally through this separation of life.
Our dad came up with the Greatest solution, Tamsin Park!! The Indian Mill was awesome!The carved wooden Cowboys and Indians and handpainted one of my twin brothers. Our dad bought him balsa wood that he would carve and recreate detailed cowboys and handprint! Today he is a famous artist! My dad's sister Lottie and Uncle George and cousins would have a trailer next to our trailers . We would laugh and sing around the campfire and cousin would play guitar! Simply , fun life of being together! Our Family is the Gantos Family and we were there years Brady owned. As Adults now We All talk about the days at Tampsin Park! Thank you for opening up the Park for all of us to grow up and still talk about these Memories!!
Post a Comment