Silver Lake is proud to present to your our unique grounds for your company outing.  Located in one of the most beautiful settings in the Miami Valley, Silver Lake is a historical area where trees, rare plants and endangered animals are protected. This clear spring-fed lake is a natural treasure because it is one of the few remaining kettle hole lakes left in Ohio.  Kettle hole lakes were created by the last great glacier that left Ohio 13,000 years ago.  The Lake was formed when huge blocks of ice broke away from the glacier and were buried by sand and gravel out wash.  As the climate warmed,  the ice melted, leaving a deep kettle hole filled with water and surrounded by glacial deposits.

Behind the retreating glacial ice, vast belts of "till" were left. "Till" consists of the scooped up soil and scoured rock,   pushed and scraped off the land as the ice advanced.  Much of it became frozen into the ice and many boulders were carried as far as 10,000 miles from their source.   As an example; a big Canadian boulder that was deposited at Silver Lake 100,000 [possibly 2 million] years ago was discovered in our "till" hillsides last year.  It is now a part of our Vietnam Memorial,  be sure and see it.

Farther away from the water , the marl meadow around the lake makes a gradual transition into the fen meadow stage with the appearance of low growing shrubs, sedges, cinquefoil, marsh ferns, big bluestem, and many more unique and endangered plants that can only survive on sites fed by cold, highly alkaline springs in climatic conditions that approximate those shortly after glaciations.

As time flowed on, early man, Indian tribes and early settlers all enjoyed the clear spring-fed lake that they named ..... Silver Lake. As recent as 150 years ago,    the first local people began to swim in the clear water and picnic on the hillsides.