Morrow
Soil and Water
Conservation District
"To educate and assist all people in the conservation of the valuable natural resources of Morrow County."
Headwaters Outdoor Education Center
Free as all Outdoors
Educating in
Conservation
Since 1999
Headwaters Outdoor Education Center (HEOC) is located on 150 acres of County owned property just north of the sheriff's office on Home Road in Mount Gilead. For 25 years the property has been managed by the Morrow Soil and Water Conservation District with the help of a core group of dedicated volunteers and the support of our community.
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Monthly outdoor education programs are held at the education center for both children and adults at no cost.
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With 3 miles of maintained hiking trails (open from dusk to dawn), a sizable wetland, acres of forest and a quant duck-pond there's something for everyone at Headwaters!
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Programs and Resources
A Simple Set of Goals
Provide a physical space for the dispersal of, and learning about, information that is meaningful to Morrow County citizens regarding natural resources and the environmental.
Create an awareness of, and a concern about, our environment and the conservation of our natural resources within the local public, and particularly public schools.​
Collaborate with, other local agencies that align with the goals and objectives set forth by MCSWCD and HOEC.
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A Home and a History
For more than a century, the land on which the Headwaters Outdoor Education Center is located was operated as the Morrow County Home Farm.
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The Morrow County Home, once located on the west side of County Road 76 (“Home Road”), opened in 1871 after 200 acres were purchased by the County, one year earlier, for $12,000. An existing residence was remodeled into a three-story building with 48 rooms.​
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More than 2,100 individuals found there place in the Home from 1871 through the Home’s closing in 1986.
Residents that were able tended to the needs of the Home and working farm during their stay. Over the years orchards, large gardens, crops, cattle, sheep, hogs and chickens were managed by the tenants.
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The early to mid-1900's gave rise to social programs (Social Security, Medicare and Unemployment) that eroded the need for the County Home. After 115 years, the few remaining residents were relocated and operations ceased. In 2002, the County Home was demolished leaving behind a single standing barn.​
Today, a small memorial cemetery can be found at the Headwaters Outdoor Education Center across from the old County Home Barn. A 2022 joint effort with the Morrow County Historical Society preserved the site history through a County Home and Cemetery Dedication to those that lived, worked and passed away on site.
Headwaters Outdoor Education Committee
Eddie Lou Meimer
Chair
Marilyn Wieler
Mia Shotwell
Kim Forget
Gail West
Larry Shotwell
Kay Evans
Sharon Kincade
Kristin Ruth