DeWine announces state park to honor Shawnee chief Tecumseh

OLDTOWN, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced the creation of the state’s 76th park at Oldtown that will honor Shawnee military and political leader Tecumseh.

The site is now the Tecumseh Motel and one of the largest known Shawnee settlements in Ohio, the Dayton Daily News reported.

According to the National Park Service, Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief that united native people in an effort to preserve their culture and homelands.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will purchase the motel and work with the three sovereign and federally recognized Shawnee tribes — the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, the Shawnee Tribe and the Absentee Shawnee to preserve the historical site that has been cited by historians as Tecumseh’s birthplace.

“Preserving this site gives us a unique opportunity to connect today’s generation of Ohioans with the past,” DeWine said. “By protecting this property, we are preserving Tecumseh’s legacy and Ohio’s long, rich history.”