On July 4, 1825, construction of the Ohio-Erie Canal began with the turning of the first shovel of earth in the Buckeye Lake area. Completed in 1830, it formed the Licking Summit Reservoir, which became known as Buckeye Lake. To increase weekend business on its streetcars, the Columbus, Buckeye Lake and Newark Traction Company bought land at Buckeye Lake and built an amusement park, advertising it as “the Playground of Ohio.” The Buckeye Lake Amusement Park and the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club on Watkins Island were very popular, and during the big band era, many visitors came to dance at the Crystal Pavilion and the Lake Breeze Pier Ballroom, which featured the sounds of Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton, Lawrence Welk, and Louis Armstrong.

This fascinating account of one of the state's largest resorts is richly embellished with old photographs and illustrations. Donna Fisher Braig covers the prosperity of the area, the community, the people, historical houses and farms, the Islands, and the many changes. In the 1960's, the park's decline started and the area took on a new look and atmosphere. The progress and development of Buckeye Lake in the '80s and '90s rounds out a long and important history. The author's accounting of this place she calls home is truly original and moving, and written from the heart.