{"nrhp_refnum":"79000313","name":"Stumpy Basin","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"200 ft. E of Cuyahoga River and approx. 0.5 mi. S of Ohio Turnpike","address_restricted":false,"city":"Peninsula","county":"Summit County","state":"OH","lat":41.252565341000036,"lon":-81.54577880199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-12-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Stumpy Basin is a roughly 30-acre natural area and former canal wide-water site near Peninsula, in Boston Township, Summit County, Ohio, east of the Cuyahoga River. It dates to the Ohio and Erie Canal period, 1825-1827.","why_significant":"The basin was once used by canal boats as a wide-water turnaround and winter shelter. It is also a unique natural area with more native plant species than any area of similar size in Ohio, including rare orchids, Buckeye trees, western prairie plants and northern species. Scattered foundation remains suggest potential for historical archeology.","narrative":"Stumpy Basin is a 30-acre site east of the Cuyahoga River, about half a mile south of the Ohio Turnpike in Boston Township near Peninsula. Built between 1825 and 1827 as part of the Ohio and Erie Canal, it served as a wide-water where canal boats could turn around and take shelter in winter. Today the flat bottom land holds an unusual forest of small trees, with cat-tails growing in the basin itself, which is ringed by steep hillsides. The area is noted for its plant life: more native species grow here than in any area of similar size in Ohio, including rare orchids, Buckeye trees, western prairie plants, and northern species such as hemlock and white pine. Random foundation remains, possibly of canal-related structures, suggest potential for historical archeology. Reachable only on foot, the site is owned by Kent State University and used as an outdoor classroom for ecology students.","period_of_significance":"1825-1827","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Used today as an outdoor classroom for ecology students at Kent State University, as part of the university's natural areas system. Accessible only on foot.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.039764-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/79000313.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000313/571ce346eb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79000313/571ce346eb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Frank John Aleksandrowicz","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STUMPY_BASIN,_A_BOTANICAL_AREA_NORTH_OF_PENINSULA,_OHIO,_NEAR_CLEVELAND,_THAT_IS_OWNED_BY_KENT_STATE_UNIVERSITY...._-_NARA_-_558088.tif\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank John Aleksandrowicz</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STUMPY_BASIN,_A_BOTANICAL_AREA_NORTH_OF_PENINSULA,_OHIO,_NEAR_CLEVELAND,_THAT_IS_OWNED_BY_KENT_STATE_UNIVERSITY...._-_NARA_-_558088.tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986320","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q49268917"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/summit-county/stumpy-basin-79000313/"}