Tamsin Park Revisited – Part 2

The back of this postcard reads, “Navajo Rugs are among
the fine Indian Arts & Crafts displayed at the Indian Mill.

Tamsin Park’s unique, rustic atmosphere can largely be attributed to the strong American Indian influence.

From the colorful totem pole in front of the Ranger Station, to the collection of Indian arts and crafts inside the Indian Mill and, later, the American Indian Art Hall of Fame, it’s easy to see why Tamsin had such a special appeal.

But things began to wind down in the 1980s.

This September 1, 1983 Akron Beacon Journal article by Staff Writer Francis B. Murphey noted that the museum was going to be closed for good on November 20th, 1983.

Tom and Bertha Jones had operated the museum since 1973. (It was mentioned in one of the clippings here on the blog yesterday.)

Although the museum was closing, the article notes that the Indian Mill gift shop was going to stay open.  But the “For Sale” sign in front of the Mill and museum surely was a harbinger of things to come.

But the campground kept on going for a while. Here’s a wistful photo that appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal on September 30, 1985.

As I noted in my original blog series on Tamsin, it’s unclear exactly when the park closed. It was still open in the late 1990s, but by 2003, construction of 300 homes was planned for the property.

Here’s a Google maps aerial view of the former park property today.

As you can see, the two park lakes are still there, and figure prominently in the name of the housing development: “Hidden Lakes.”

But for those of us that camped at the park, we’ll always remember it this way (below) – as it looks on vintage postcards.

Squirrel Ridge Camping Area

The Ranger Station at the Campground Entrance