Craig Goodwin, a member of Hillsboro Boy Scout Troop 171, recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting that a person can achieve.
It typically takes years of dedication and hard work completing a multitude of requirements and tasks to reach this point. The final requirement is to complete significant service project which would benefit the community.
For his Eagle Project, Goodwin chose to replace a series of wooden stairs along the Gorge Trail at the Fort Hill State Memorial that had deteriorated with age. This involved raising the necessary funds, purchasing the materials, recruiting a work force, and completing the reconstruction.
Fort Hill is a 1,900-acre nature preserve in Highland County located along S.R. 41. Besides having 12 miles of some of the best hiking trails in Ohio, it also features a well preserved, 46-acre, prehistoric hilltop enclosure atop a 400-foot-high hill.
One of the challenges Goodwin faced in completing this project was the location of the stairs. His crew had to park their cars in a farmer’s field on the back side of the park and enter the park along the Buckeye Trail. They then had to carry all the materials and tools two-thirds of a mile over rough terrain, and the tore out lumber had to be carried back out and disposed of.
The completion of the project made Goodwin a third generation Eagle Scout.
Many of the materials for Goodwin’s Eagle Project were donated by Bear Mechanical, a manufacturing firm located on S.R. 131.
Submitted by Tim Goodwin.
