Places to go & Things to do

Summer in Downtown Covington Railroad Overpass

Blankenship, Greenville Falls & Stillwater Prairie Reserve
Blankenship Reserve
  About 1 mile south of Covington, Ohio on State Route 48
A small parking lot is located off of St. Rt. 48 where cars can park everyday, 8 a.m. to sunset.
5 acres
Canoe access to Stillwater River
Parking lot
Greenville Falls Reserve
  Located west of Covington on the corner of Rangeline Road and Covington-Gettysburg Road at 9140
Covington-Gettysburg Rd. The preserve is open to the public. The parking lot offers safe and easy access
to the trail system and to view the "falls area".
91 acres
Loop trail (future development)
Port-o-john
Picnic area
Viewing platform
Fishing area

“A History of Greenville Falls & Vicinity” Compiled by Terry Netzley
This book is available for purchase at The Covington-Newberry Historical Society Covington, Ohio
Stillwater Prairie Reserve
  You may now park at our Rangeline Road Access parking lot to reach the south side of Stillwater Prairie Reserve.
Stillwater Prairie Reserve is located at 9750 North State Route 185, west of State Route 48 and east of St. Rt. 721.
  380 acres
Native Ohio prairie
1600 feet of boardwalk
Contains woodlands, hills, and meadows
Over 2 miles of river frontage, fishing license required
2 fishing ponds - No license required
3 acre wetland site, wetland observation platform
 Picnic areas with grills, restroom facilities, drinking water
2 mile looped trail systems
Rangeline Road access to Stillwater Prairie Reserve
Small picnic area
Trail along Stillwater Scenic River
Restroom facilities
2.5 miles of hiking trails
Bikeway
Phase One
  Covington, Ohio is in the perfect location for people to enjoy life in a rural Village setting. Covington is located
in the center of an area populated by Bradford, Newton, Piqua, Troy and Versailles Ohio citizens. Covington is at the
intersection of three major State highways, Route 36, Route 41 and Route 48. Covington is also the intersection of the
Greenville Falls and Stillwater rivers and is between three nature reserves, Blankenship, Greenville Falls and Stillwater
Prairie Reserve. Covington is a thriving community with an excellent School system and a growing industrial park.

A new opportunity is facing Covington, Ohio. This opportunity is in the form of a bikeway that will follow the present
unused Rail Road tracks/path from Urbana, Ohio through Piqua up the Scenic Stillwater River through Covington to
Bradford on to Greenville, Ohio and Indiana.

It is the ultimate goal to provide an alternate route for ingress and egress transportation in the event of an emergency.
This Phase One trail will start and end at the Bridge Street Bridge parallel the Stillwater River on the West side to the
Rail Road overpass of the Stillwater River (.7 Mile). From the intersection of the Scenic Stillwater River and the Railroad
overpass the trail will turn West and follow the old Rail Road property on the South side to the Range Line Road (.7 Miles).
This Phase One section of the connector (1.4 Miles) will connect with the end of the Piqua Trail and continue on to
Bradford in other Phases (Total 12.2.Miles). This trial should provide transportation for Walking, Running, Bicycling,
Wheel Chairs, Horse Back riding and Horse Drawn Vehicles.

It is believed that the combination of the West Central Ohio Historical Trail and the Scenic Stillwater River Trail will
stimulate outside-county participation in recreation not only on the trails but with the following;
  -    Canoe Rentals
-    Rickshaw Type Bicycle Rentals
-    Bike Rentals
-    Bike sales and repair
 -  Horse Drawn Carriage rides
-  Picnic Lunches
-  Picnic Tours
-  Senior Tours
    o Horse drawn carriage    
    o Bicycle rickshaw rides    
    o Wheel chair walks    
    - Cross country ski rental    
    - Additional business with our current retailers.    
    o Miami County Dairy    
    o Flowers for Weddings on the Scenic trail and Scenic River
    o Exposure for people to return and purchase furniture and antiques
    - Bed and Breakfast business opportunities.
    - Increased real estate values.
    - Weddings on the River.
    -  Photo “moments” for all occasions.
    Ice Skate and Skii rental
    Winter Sports
    Sleigh Rides
    Snow mobile
    Cross Country Skiing
Other Bikeway links
  Miami Valley RailTrails
www.miamivalleytrails.org
Fort Rowdy Museum
  The history of Covington begins when General "Mad" Anthony Wayne had a fort built near the Stillwater River. The fort was dubbed "Fort Rowdy" in reference the the conduct of the soldiers that were stationed there. Every year on the first weekend in October Covington invites people from all over the area to celebrate their history with FORT ROWDY DAYS. The festival includes fun and games for the entire family. A footbridge is erected to link the main festivities on one side of the river to a historical Mountain Man encampment.

Operated by the Covington-Newberry Historical Society, the Fort Rowdy Museum is located on Spring Street across from the
village of Covington's fire station and post office. The building itself dates back to about 1850 and has served many tasks for the town, including a schoolhouse. What you will find inside is an impressive mix of Covington/Newberry Township artifacts.

The walls of the downstairs are covered with early photographs that date from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s. Display cases are full of products and promotional pieces from local merchants and political campaigns. Some of the products represented are, soap, talcum powder, cigars and Rogers drums.

In the back of the first floor are tools and parts of early Newberry Township mills, mixed with saws that were used to cut ice out of local ponds in the era before electric refrigeration. There is also a small collection of flower bags from mills in the Covington area that are long gone. On one wall is a painting of Leonard Covington, an officer that served with General "Mad" Anthony Wayne during the Indian wars, and for whom the village of Covington was named after.

Not to be missed, the upstairs contains a collection of antique toys and clothes, as well as kitchen items once produced in the Covington and Piqua areas. The museum also has a collection of vintage clothing, including military uniforms that were donated by longtime residents.

The Museum is open by appointment only http://www.tdn-net.com/tdnadmin/tdnhtml/html/miami/covington/rowdymuseum/index.htm

Covington's Historic Newberry Theater to Open Temporarily in October
  Covington Ohio - The vaudeville-style theater that once served as the center of this Miami County community - closed to the public since 1947, will re-open temporarily during weekends this October to help raise money for the building's restoration. The recently-formed Newberry Theater Foundation is sponsoring a month of special events to kick off its $2million capital campaign. Scheduled activities include a series of gospel concerts on Saturday, October 6th, and family-friendly 'Haunted Theater' tours during the remaining three weekends in October.

The former Newberry Township building, built in 1910 to house township officials, a 350-seat public hall and Masonic Lodge, was purchased by George Karayannis and his wife, Annie Harrison of Covington, in 2005. The couple founded the non-profit Newberry Theater Foundation this year to raise funds to finance the theater portion of the planned $4million building renovation.

"We're thrilled to bring this beautiful theater back to life after being dark for 60 years," said Karayannis. "Theater like this once served as the lifeblood of small communities across America, and our hope is that the Newberry Theater can again serve as a hub and economic engine for the area," he added.

The gospel concerts series is scheduled for 12pm, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm on Saturday, October 6th and features original and classic American gospel. Performers include Covington-based a cappella groups Cor22 and Feve Alive, as well as Piqua -based bluegrass gospel band Blue Morning, and contemporary Christian musician Justin Morgan from Huber Heights. Show times are 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, and 6pm. Tickets are $8 for adults, $5 for children. Seating is limited to 75 tickets per show.

The 30 minute Haunted Theater tours are designed for families with children ages 5-10, and run Friday 4pm- 10pm, Saturday 12pm -- 10 pm and Sunday 1pm - 6pm the last three weekends on October. In addition to touring nearly two dozen scare stations in the theater and under stage dressing rooms, children can sing and dance on stage o Halloween songs. Haunted Theater admission is $5 per person and a fun craft for children is included. Come in costume for even more fun. Games of life-sized, Ohio frontier-themed Clues will also take place in renovated first floor offices. Clue game tickets are $3per person or $5 per couple. All events are co-presented by Newberry Theater Foundation and Phio Onstage, the Miami Valley's newest non-profit theater group (www.ohioonstage.org).

Reservations are recommended, especially for large groups as only 99 people are permitted inside the theater concurrently during the pre-renovation phase. Refreshments including fresh donuts, apple cider, gourmet hot chocolate and Cappuccino will be available for purchase. Proceeds from all events and concessions will benefit the Newberry Theater Foundation. A meeting for volunteers is scheduled at the theater at 102 North Pearl Street, Saturday, September 29th from 12-2pm. For more information or to volunteer please call 937-473-5677, visit www.newberrytheater.com, or email info@newberrycenter.com.
Newberry Theater
  The Newberry Theater Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the finest live talent to the area, and to delighting, enriching and challenging our audiences. The Newberry Theater Foundation is pursuing 501 (c)(3) status to allow patrons & sponsoring companies to deduct their charitable contributions.

With 15,000 square feet of commercial space, Newberry Center is the perfect place for your weddings, company meeting or other special event.
> Intimate 350 seat Newberry Theater
> Large Reception Hall & Elegant Ballroom
> Miami County Dairy™ (opening Spring 2008)
> Executive Conference Rooms
> Grandma's Kitchen Kitchen™
> Family Game Room