CAMDEN — The Preble County Park District (PCPD) announced last week the unveiling of the “Devil’s Backbone” Legend & Lore roadside marker on Saturday, May 18, at 11 a.m. at the entrance of the Herbert & Patricia Wagers’ Devil’s Backbone Memorial Park located at 1301 Ohio 725 West.
In July 2023, the William G. Pomeroy Foundation awarded the Friends of Preble County Park District $1,550 for a Legends & Lore roadside marker for Devil’s Backbone. The Legends & Lore program is designed to promote cultural tourism and commemorate legends and folklore as part of our heritage.
The Preble County Park District Commissioners invites residents of the Village of Camden and the surrounding community to celebrate this significant event.
“We are delighted to support the Friends of Preble County Park District by providing a grant to fund this marker through our Legends & Lore partnership with the Ohio Arts Council,” said Bill Pomeroy, Founder and Trustee of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation. “Markers play an important role in communities by educating the public, encouraging pride of place and promoting tourism. This marker will help visitors to learn more about this unique aspect of the Buckeye State’s landscape of cultural heritage.”
In 2016, the family of Patricia and Herb Wagers donated the 24 acres of land known as Devil’s Backbone to the Preble County Park District. Devil’s Backbone is a 945-foot “mountain peak” located west of Camden on old Ohio 725.
Preble County and surrounding communities have enjoyed hiking Devil’s Backbone for hundreds of years before the Wagers Family donated the property to the PC Park District. The Pomeroy Foundation’s Legends & Lore marker will commemorate and officially designate the area known to the community as Devil’s Backbone, known for its many mysteries, according to PCPD officials.
Devil’s Backbone, situated in the heart of Paint Creek, has many mysteries and legends. Of those are the 1908 unexplained missing skunks in a “get rich quick” scheme by local residents, the 1977 Bigfoot sighting by two 13-year-old boys, tales of a hidden Coppermine, and baffling murders.
The Preble County Park District Board meets the first Thursday of every month at 9 a.m. at the Garber Nature Center, 9691 Ohio 503 North, Lewisburg. The next meeting will be May 2. The public is welcome to attend. Visit the Park District’s website www.preblecountyparks.org for up-to-date information.
The PCPD manages Preble County’s rural parks, The Allen and Adeline Garber Nature Center in Lewisburg and Herbert and Patricia Wagers’ Devil’s Backbone Park in Camden.
