Ohio Governor John Kasich to Dedicate State Park Named for Jesse Owens

By Kevin Harrish on July 15, 2018 at 3:15p

Jesse Owens will soon have a state park in his namesake.

As previously planned, Governor John Kasich will dedicate a new state park and wildlife area for the Ohio State and Olympic legend on Tuesday.

Owens famously broke three world records in a span of 45 minutes at the 1935 Big Ten Finals at Michigan's Ferry Field, and a year later won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany.

From 10tv.com:

Kasich said he will name the park after the Ohio State track legend, "that great Ohioan who stood up to Hitler and came home with a gold medal."

The land spans parts of Guernsey, Morgan, Muskingum and Noble counties. The new park was created after the Ohio Department of Natural Resources struck a deal last year with American Electric Power to buy a large portion of a 60,000-acre parcel owned by the company and known as ReCreation Land.

The state says the park will include a portion of that property.

Two dedications are planned for Tuesday, the first in Columbus at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium with another later at Miner's Memorial Park in McConnelsville.