Campbell Hill, Mountain summit in Bellefontaine, Ohio, US.
Campbell Hill is a grassy, rounded mound rising from a dark asphalt lot with white parking lines, in Bellefontaine, Ohio. At 1,549.09 feet (472.16 m) it is the highest point in the state, a glacial moraine about 2 miles northeast of downtown. A small dark post with a rectangular base sits near the crest, with trees, a flagpole and two light-colored buildings behind.
The Federal government acquired Campbell Hill in 1950 and established a military radar station for the 664th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron during the Cold War. The facility played a role in the region's air defense strategy of that era.
The hill's name honours Charles D. Campbell, who bought the land in 1898; it had earlier been called Hogue's Hill after Solomon Hoge, who first deeded it in 1830. Since 1974 the summit has held the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, a vocational-technical school. A 2015 White House petition proposed renaming the hill for Sarah Palin, a satirical response to Mount McKinley becoming Denali.
The summit is accessible on weekdays from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM, with parking available at the vocational school facility on the grounds. Weekend access may be limited depending on school activities.
The hill's hard rock resisted the glaciers that flattened much of Ohio, and the unglaciated land south of it channelled glacial runoff to form the Mad River. That river, five miles from the summit, is one of the state's few trout streams. A 2015 White House petition satirically proposed renaming the hill after Sarah Palin.
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