Jackson Lake State Park in southern Ohio is a 106-acre public recreation area centered on 252-acre Jackson Lake, where visitors camp, boat, fish, swim, and picnic. Its setting also preserves traces of the region’s industrial past: during the 19th century, local forests were cut to fuel nearby iron furnaces, and remnants of the Jefferson Iron Furnace remain within the park. Jackson Lake was created in 1938 by damming Black Fork. After first operating as a state reserve with a small campground and beach, the area was expanded and improved before becoming Jackson Lake State Park in 1979. In Ohio’s Appalachian Highlands, regrown hardwood forest and protected wildlife surround the lake.