HIGHEST POINT IN OHIO--

Yup, this Corps of Engineers survey mark is located on Campbell Hill out on the south side of Ohio route 540 about 2 miles east of Bellfontaine.

In spite of being abused you still can read the elevation of 1548.81 above; that's feet above sea level and is the highest known point in the state.

The hill is named for Charles Campbell who owned the land from 1898 to 1937.

My car GPS said 1546 feet; hardly scientific besides on the dash it was about 3 feet above the ground which would make the corrected reading at ground level of 1543 feet.

Wikipedia and Geology.com websites have our highest elevation at 1550 feet.  

Actually we are dealing with "mean" sea level for the base of this measurement and "mean" often is described as a middle point between extremes.

So, I certainly can live with 1548.81.  Really hard to prove otherwise anyhow.

From the early 1950s the hill was home to an Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron.  That facility was closed in 1969 and soon replaced by a vocational school which remains there.

Jim, our tour guide at the Ohio Caverns learned we were headed here and recalled he had taught mathematics in "the pink building beside the marker" for over 20 years.

He also told us he had heard the highest point distinction might soon be taken by a landfill rising past that elevation in the Cincinnati area.

I can hear the Bellefontaine Chamber of Commerce folks rattling their sabers at this challenge to their lofty status.  That would be just plain embarrassing to be overtaken by a garbage dump. 

For what it is worth, Richland County's highest elevation is a respectable 1,510 feet.  Plus or minus, of course.

    
That's Sue enjoying a historic marker at the site.  There is no majestic view toward a distant horizon from this perch.  Campus buildings and nearby woods have taken care of that.