Over time, Glen Helen was home to the Hopewell, Miami, and Shawnee Indians. By the early 1800's Lewis Davis welcomed travelers from near and far, offering healing and rest in the now famous Yellow Spring. The land holds many mysteries and legends from promises of health to stories of spirits walking the trails. Glen Helen is the legacy of alumnus Hugh Taylor Birch, who, in 1929, donated the wooded glen to Antioch College in memory of his daughter, Helen. With this gift, the College accepted the responsibility of preserving the land in perpetuity. Additional gifts have expanded the preserve, which now encompasses 1000 acres, all accessible from a 20-mile network of footpaths. The Glen Helen Raptor Center is part of the Glen Helen Ecology Institute, a non-profit organization. The Raptor Center operates two core programs; education of raptors and their role in Ohio ecosystems, and rehabilitation of injured raptors with the goal of release back to the wild.
Some of the first people to experience the area's beauty were the Moundbuilders, and later, the Shawnee Native Americans. Just five miles south of Yellow Springs, approximately where the town of Oldtown is now, was the site of Old Chillicothe, one of the leading Shawnee settlements in Ohio. The great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh, was a frequent visitor here and to the nearby James Galloway House, which is maintained by the Greene County Historical Society. The park takes its name from businessman John Bryan who was responsible for the preservation of much of the area as a state preserve. In 1896, Bryan purchased 335 acres along the gorge and called these acres, "Riverside Farm." In May of 1925, John Bryan's land became one of the state's first forest parks. John Bryan State Park and the adjoining Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve overlook the beautiful Little Miami River gorge that has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The National Afro-American Museum & Cultural Center opened to the public in April 1988 and is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The museum is the permanent home of one of the nation’s largest collections of Afro-American materials, with over 9,000 artifacts and artwork, 350 manuscript collections, and thousands of photographs. Items include Alex Haley’s typewriter and his final draft of Roots, a buffalo hide coat worn by a Buffalo Soldier, Gregory Hines’s tap shoes, collections representing the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and a vast collection of Black dolls, including the recently donated Lillian Bartok Collection.
A homebrewer and a potter decided to start a small town microbrewery back in 2013. The husband-wife duo of Nate Cornett and Lisa Wolters knew what they liked — good beer, interesting art and their funky hometown of Yellow Springs — and thought others might too. Yellow Springs Brewery became a synergy of all three — a true community brewery for villagers and visitors alike, an intimate art gallery displaying eclectic work and, most importantly, a haven for seasoned beer lovers as well as the craft beer curious.
Mother Stewart's Brewing is a family-owned production brewery in downtown Springfield, with a large tap room and spectacular outdoor beer garden. Food trucks and live entertainment are a regular part of the offering.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force galleries present military aviation history, boasting more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles on display -- many rare and one-of-a-kind -- along with thousands of historical items and powerful sensory exhibits that bring history to life and connect the Wright brothers' legacy with today's stealth and precision technology. The William E. Boeing Presidential Gallery gives visitors the opportunity to view an historic collection of presidential aircraft, and walk through four of them, including aircraft used by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower as well as the Boeing VC-137C also known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000, which was used by eight presidents -- Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton -- in addition to carrying heads of state, diplomats and other dignitaries and officials, on many historic journeys.
The Wright Cycle Company complex consists of the Wright Cycle Company building and the Wright–Dunbar Interpretive Center (the restored Hoover Block) and the new Aviation Trail Visitor Center and Museum. The Wright Cycle Company building was home to the Wright brothers’ bicycle business from 1895 to 1897. Here the Wright brothers began to manufacture their own brand of bicycles which gave the brothers the mechanical experience and financial resources necessary to began their experiments into powered human flight. The Wright Cycle Company building was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1990.
The Historic Clifton Mill is one of the largest water-powered grist mills still in existence. The first mill at this site was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman miller. The mill was built in this location to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge. Owen Davis and his son-in-law, General Benjamin Whiteman also built a saw mill and a distillery. Soon a village known as Davis Mills sprang up. The Little Miami River powered five other mills that were built within a mile of Historic Clifton Mill: a woolen mill, saw mill, paper mill, barrel mill and another grist mill. Historic Clifton Mill is the only one still standing. The restaurant inside Historic Clifton Mill will serve you a home cooked meal. Fresh whole grain breads, pies and cookies are baked daily.