With the development of Maxwell Park, the Village of Cardington will enter a new era. As a place where families can come together and kids can play, Maxwell Park represents a vision of our community where the Whetstone Creek is seen as a natural and recreational resource central to the Cardington community. Featuring over 2 miles of trails, multiple soccer fields and baseball diamonds, as well as several picnic shelters, Maxwell Park will allow persons of all ages to enjoy athletic activities and events along side one of the most scenic stretches of the Whetstone Creek in Morrow County.
The Maxwell Park property is being developed in conjunction with the Mill Race and Heimlich Park, with the aim of developing a cohesive system of parks and trails that will connect Maxwell Park to the Village's downtown area. All of these developments arise out of a comprehensive master plan developed for the Village in the late 1990s which identified the land along the Whetstone Creek, throughout its path thru the Village, for future recreational use.
Initial development will focus on developing the west end of Maxwell Park, along with the Mill Race and Heimlich Park. The Village is currently in the process of formulating cost estimates for these sections, and will be submitting grant applications to the State of Ohio to help supplement development costs for each of these sites.
Cecil Maxwell's life has long been tied to the Whetstone. As a youth, he harvested ice from the creek in the winter, and swam in its waters in the summer. As owner of Riverside Dairy, Cecil sold milk and ice cream from cows that grazed in the Whetstone floodplain. As a result of these experiences, he has always had a vision of Cardington's future that centered around the Whetstone. Together with his wife Kathryn, in 2006 Cecil donated the 32.5 acres of land where Maxwell Park will be developed. 