Open Periodically for Special Events

Currently CLOSED for renovations

The 310-acre property we know today as Creek Bend Farm was originally purchased from the State of Ohio by David Hess in 1825 for $174.09. Hess was also the founder of Hessville. In 1836 he sold the property to David Higgins, then repurchased it in 1837. Hess then sold it to J. Nicodemus in 1850. In 1852 the property was sold to Phillip Overmyer, beginning the Overmyer-Waggoner-Roush legacy. Phillip and his wife Margaret Waggoner Overmyer constructed the farmhouse in 1862 and the barns in 1871. They sold the property to Margaret’s cousin John J. Waggoner in 1878. In 1951 Grace Waggoner Roush, John Waggoners’s only child, took ownership of the property. Grace’s husband, Ernest, in conjunction with the Ohio Division of Forestry, established the tree farm on the property. Ernest and his son Robert also worked in cooperation with the Ohio Division of Wildlife to stock Muddy Creek with fish. Robert Roush received ownership of the property in 1964, approximately one year after his mother’s passing. However, Robert had been managing the operations of the farm since 1940. Robert died in 1999, leaving the property to his wife Frances Magsig Roush. In 2002 Frances and her children generously donated the historic homestead to the Sandusky County Park District. Today we know it as the Homestead House.