wahkeena

The cooler, north-facing slopes below the cliffs provide an ideal environment for eastern hemlock, black birch, and a state-listed member of the heath family—the great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum). This area likely hosts the largest native population of this rhododendron in Ohio.

In 1931, Dr. Frank Warner of Columbus gave his new bride, Carmen, an unusual wedding present: ninety-four acres of old farmland in southern Fairfield County. Mrs. Warner named her estate Wahkeena – a Yakama Indian word meaning “most beautiful” – after a waterfall she had seen in Oregon.