History
The park was named after the area's first settler John McCormick, who homesteaded on 100 acres (0.40 km2) there in 1816, along the canyon by the waterfalls. Previously, the land was hunted by Miami Indians. McCormick's Creek Falls is the main attraction at McCormick's Creek State Park.
On May 12, 1916, it was suggested by a local newspaper editor to an Indiana state legislator that McCormick's Creek area would be a suitable location for a state park. German-born Indianapolis businessman Richard Lieber championed the idea of establishing a system of state parks for Indiana, and, after winning the property at auction with a bid of $5,250, received it from the Dr. Frederick Denkewalter estate. McCormick's Creek was formally opened on December 11, 1916; the centennial birthday of Indiana. In 1927 a naturalist program was started, a first for Indiana and the United States.
Much of the infrastructure of the park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal era, and many of the CCC-built structures, retaining walls, and elegant, arched limestone bridges remain in use today. The park entrance gatehouse and a stone arch bridge over McCormick's Creek are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are eight numbered hiking trails in the park, accessing features and park attractions, which include a 90-foot (27 m) fire tower, a scenic ravine and waterfall, small cave, interesting sinkhole formations, and towering stands of second-growth Midwestern hardwoods. The park also features a fine system of equestrian paths.
Also on site is The Canyon Inn, a former sanitarium that now hosts guests for the night. It has an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Overnight camping is also available. In addition, the Old State House quarry is a source of the Indiana limestone used in the Indiana State Capitol building.
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