MOUNT VERNON — Today is the 10th anniversary of the dedication of Ariel-Foundation Park.

As people flock to the park for July 4th activities, they’ll enjoy green space and walking paths. Perhaps they’ll do a bit of fishing before the live music and fireworks.  

Newcomers and visitors see a beautiful park with bridges to cross and a tower to climb. However, many are unaware of the park’s rich history.

For others, memories fade of what the park looked like before or how it was created, and it’s easy to forget this gem didn’t exist until 10 years ago.

“Has there ever been a community improvement project that so broadly tapped our creative energy and philanthropic potential as Ariel-Foundation Park? I don’t think so.” Sam Barone, former director of the Knox County Foundation

As you celebrate Independence Day and the 10th anniversary of the park, look closer at what you see:

•The terraces — a reminder of the ancient Moundbuilders who once made Knox County their home.

•The River of Glass — a tribute to local ingenuity that revolutionized the glassmaking industry.

•The Ruins — a monument to the heritage of Belgian ancestors and an industry that helped build the city.

Take a closer look at the park itself, a lasting testament to what a community can achieve with private dollars, creative leadership, and a desire to improve the lives of residents.

Foundation Park

Ariel-Foundation Park is celebrating its 10th anniversary, but the vision began in 2000 when the Goodwin Sand & Gravel Company, located on Harcourt Road, ceased operations. The company decided to sell its property, which stretched between Harcourt Road and South Main Street.

Former Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis said that with the property “a stone’s throw away from municipal authority,” he recalled thinking that “maybe the city ought to be interested in that.”

With a $151,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Mount Vernon & Knox County, the city bought 84 acres on the eastern side of the property. The Community Foundation was the precursor to Knox County Foundation.

The property included the two lakes now known as East Lake and Central Lake. Recognizing the Community Foundation’s contribution, the city named it Foundation Park.

The Knox County Foundation continues to support Ariel-Foundation Park, helping to cover the ongoing costs of operating, maintaining, and enhancing the park. KCF Executive Director Jeff Scott said it is unrealistic for the foundation to end its commitment arbitrarily.

“Our name is on this park, and we believe it is an important part of Mount Vernon and Knox County in virtually every sphere: recreation, the arts, tourism, economic development, etc. The foundation’s ongoing investment in Ariel-Foundation Park is a direct result of our mission to ‘improve the quality of life in Knox County,’” Scott said.

The city recognized the advantages of accessing the park via Harcourt Road. It later acquired two additional 25-acre tracts, which provided access to the park.

Although the 125-acre Foundation Park was open to the public, few community members other than fishermen knew about it. That needed to change.

Foundation Park Conservancy

Established in 2009, the Foundation Park Conservancy was charged with creating a park master plan.

Realizing the economic benefits of having a world-class park and how it enhanced the life of the area residents, board members wanted to create a destination park.

“Although there were significant obstacles in the process, the group appreciated how important the end result would be to our community and became dedicated to making it happen,” Kim Rose, original conservancy board member, said.

“The amount of time, effort, and dedication Ted Schnormeier gave to oversee the project was amazing.  It would not have been possible without Ted’s vision and tenacity as well as the support of his wife Ann throughout the process.”

Schnormeier, former senior vice president of Jeld-Wen Corp. and a former member of the Board of Directors for Ariel Corp., volunteered to lead efforts to create a master plan. Bob Stovicek of Stovicek & Associates assisted him.

“This was not going to be and never was intended to be a baseball diamond or a soccer field,” Mavis said. “From the very beginning, it was intended to be a community park for several different activities.”

The adjacent Pittsburgh Plate Glass property offered an opportunity for expansion. PPG closed its glass manufacturing plant in 1976, and the property underwent several changes in ownership.

However, buying the property meant the conservancy would have to demolish the factory. Selling the steel for scrap would provide demolition money, but the conservancy still had to purchase the property.

The transition to Ariel-Foundation Park

Ariel Corp., through the Ariel Foundation, provided $1.75 million to buy the 75-acre property. The conservancy closed on the parcel in February 2013.

Ariel Foundation committed another $2.5 million in matching funds to help develop the park.

Grateful for Ariel’s support, the city renamed the park Ariel-Foundation Park.

“What I will never forget is the camaraderie and dedication of the volunteer team that dedicated the better part of six years to acquiring the parcels that comprise the park, and then shaping it into the community amenity it is today,” Sam Barone, former director of the Knox County Foundation and original conservancy board member, said.

“Central, and essential, to achieving our goal was the trust and generosity of Karen Buchwald Wright. Absent Karen, the park would not be what it is today.”

Rose said that Wright, Ariel Corp., and the Knox County Foundation were integral to the park’s success.

“It would not have been possible without their economic encouragement as well as a number of others who made gifts to the community in amounts previously unheard of in a small community such as ours. These donors also realized as a community what we could have,” he said.

“To create that park out of what was there, a gravel pit and an industrial site, to what we have today I think is a very successful endeavor for the whole community. I guess I’m like everybody else. I hope it keeps on forever.” Former Mayor Richard Mavis

The transformation

Part of the park’s vision included connecting the Heart of Ohio Trail with the Kokosing Gap Trail.

In 2010, using Knox County Foundation grant money, the city bought the right-of-way along the CA&C railroad.

Renovation of the depot began in April 2013 under the direction of Michael Percy, secretary of the conservancy board. It became the William A. Stroud Welcome Center for Ariel-Foundation Park in 2014.

Also that spring, crews started reshaping shorelines around the lakes, clearing brush and trash from the woods, and planting trees.

“I guess what we did, we planted the seed, and then from there many, many other people got involved, and it’s 250 acres now.”Former Mayor Richard Mavis

Crews installed two historic bridges and started demolishing the PPG factory. Steel from the buildings found a new home in sculptures at each entryway of the park; the rest was recycled.

Workers retained the clock house and several factory walls, and turned the framework of one building into the Schnormeier Event Center.

“I hope we never lose sight of the fact that Ariel-Foundation Park proved to be one of the most dramatic and transformative examples of industrial reuse ever witnessed,” Barone said.

“Ted Schnormeier’s and Bob Stovicek’s master plan simultaneously eliminated a massive and potentially dangerous eyesore and created a unique recreational space that honors Mount Vernon’s glassmaking heritage.”

Fond memories of PPG

Mavis’ father worked at Pittsburgh Plate Glass for 37 years. He recalls picking up his father when his shift ended.

“In the end, the structure of Pittsburgh Plate Glass pretty much was torn down, but for those of us who remember Pittsburgh Plate as one of the finest glassmaking industries around, we’ll always remember that factory there.

“Seeing that smokestack there is always a fine memory for me; no matter where in the city I’m looking, I see that stack, and most of the time, you can see the ladder going up. Driving out by it, you still see the clock house.

“I still see my dad; if he was working the 8-to-4 shift, he’d come out of the clock house. I still see him doing that. So you know, preserving the clock house, preserving the box shop, preserving that stack, and then of course the Schnormeier [Event] Center, really makes for a wonderful asset to the Mount Vernon community.”

Former Mayor Richard Mavis

Best days are still ahead

The city dedicated the park on July 4, 2015, and the community will celebrate that anniversary today.

Approximately 70,000 people visited the park 182,000 times last year, taking advantage of events, picnic pavilions, and water recreation.

“I did not envision the park growing to that size and having all those activities out there: the Schnormeier Event Center, Rastin Tower, three lakes, restrooms, and shelters. I would not have put all of that together at that time. It grew. I guess it’s like a plant you plant in the ground and it grows,” Mavis said.

“Ten years is a good start, but I believe Ariel-Foundation Park’s best days are still ahead as we continue to tap its potential as a community gathering space.” Sam Barone, former director of the Knox County Foundation

‘It’s the history of Mount Vernon and Knox County…’

Knox County Foundation Executive Director Jeff Scott grew up in small towns in rural Indiana and then lived in the sprawling suburbs of Washington, D.C., for 15 years.

He said he’s always impressed with the quality of amenities that Knox County has to offer, even when compared to the wealthier counties he has lived in around D.C.

“Perhaps Fairfax County, Virginia, has more parks than Knox County, but none are more serene than Wolf Run, and none are more beautiful than Honey Run. No bike trail I had access to out east compares to those available in Knox County,” Scott said.

“Similarly, Ariel-Foundation Park is unique. Nothing like it really exists elsewhere, nor could it. It is the history of Mount Vernon and Knox County that makes it possible — the abundant oil and silica sand, and the legacy of a glass-making factory.

“I am grateful that a few visionary leaders realized this opportunity for what it was when they did,” he continued. “For me, it represents what is best about a smaller rural community: a respect for its heritage, an appreciation of beauty, and a vision for adapting and reusing what once was for future generations.”

“Fifteen years later, it is rewarding to see Ariel-Foundation Park well-kept and heavily used and most importantly enjoyed,” Rose said. “It’s only getting better.”

If you’re attending the fireworks and July 4th activities at Ariel-Foundation Park today, look closely at what you see.

Editor’s Note: “Ariel-Foundation Park: The story of an Ohio town that preserved its history and transformed an abandoned industrial site into a world-class park” by Aaron J. Keirns offers a more in-depth look on the transformation of Ariel-Foundation Park. It is available at Paragraphs Bookstore and The Kenyon Bookstore.

Below are photos of the park in various stages of construction courtesy of Ariel-Foundation Park.

by Cheryl Splain July 4, 2025