In 1926, the land for Camp Hook was donated to the council. The camp opened in 1927 and operated until 1991. The land for Camp Hook was donated by the Charles R. Hook family. Charles Hook was the President of the American Rolling Mill Company (ARMCO). In early 1929 Mr. Hook donated a significant amount of stock to the Middletown Area Council with the instructions to immediately sell it and use the proceeds to put in a swimming pool at the camp. The timing on this event was advantageous considering early in the fall of 1929 was the crash of the stock market known as Black Friday and the beginning of the Great Depression. The sale of the stock yielded enough money to put in the swimming pool and purchase more land to the north, expanding the camp’s size significantly. The waterfront of the camp was later named Lake George after Charles Hook’s son, George Verity Hook. For years, Camp Hook hosted Boy Scout retreats that attracted about 100 Scouts every week.

After the camp’s closure, the majority of the structures were torn down and the swimming pool filled in. Most of the campsites have grown over as well, but many landmarks or signs of the former use of the area remain. A large rock with embedded plaque thanking the Hooks for the donation remains, as does the amphitheatre campfire bowl, the Administration Lodge, the Maintenance Building, the Chapel (now called the Natuary) and a few other structures that are in ruins. One point of interest that remains is the Gilwell Tree. A local Scout in the 1970s took a vacation to England with his family, during which they visited Gilwell Park, the home of the Scouting movement. A sapling of one of the English Oaks was brought back from Gilwell Park and planted at Camp Hook to signify the ties between Scouting in the US and the worldwide movement. In 2010 a plaque and a split rail fence were created to honor the tree and one of the leading, and oldest, scout leaders in the Council. It was an Eagle Scout Service Project.

The Thunderbird Trail existed as a 6-mile (9.7-km) long loop around Camp Hook. It was in use for many years during the camp’s time as a part of Mound Builders Area Council and Dan Beard Council. Scouts could earn a patch upon completing the entire trail. Although the Thunderbird trail is no longer maintained, those who remember where it was may find the trail markers and Order of the Arrow (OA) fire-rings still visible.

Camp Hook remains an important place for local scout troops to camp and hold badge ceremonies. Hundreds of Boy Scouts attend the annual Camp Hook Reunion held at the park each summer.

Carlisle Fort existed about 2,000 years ago. It is a Hopewell Indian hilltop fortification that lies on the west bank of the Twin Creek. It’s long, low mound winds along the edge of steep ravines and encloses about 10 acres. Carlisle Fort is thought to have been built from AD 1 to AD 300. Historians believe this type of defensive fortification was a reflective measure concerning a declining cultural race. The first survey of the site was by S.H. Binkley and C.E. Blossom in 1835. They returned to the site in 1875 for further examination. Carlisle Fort is different in respect to other earthworks located along the Scioto, Ohio, Great Miami, and the Muskingum Rivers, because of its location along a secondary waterway. The actual site is located on the peak of a hill a short distance west of the Twin Creek. On the north and south side of the hill are deep ravines; on the east of the extensive bluff is a sharp declining drop of from one hundred and twenty-five to two hundred feet. On the east of the bluff is a terrace leading to the Twin Creek.

J.P. MacLean, an early archaeologist, writes in 1885 in regards to the layout of the fort: “The terrace is separated in two parts, an upper and lower, formed in the direction of the stream. On the west the hill is connected with the level lands by a broad peninsula. The wall is not accompanied by a ditch, and is situated on the brow of the hill, except on the northern side, where it occurs a little below. The wall, for the most part, is made of surface material although limestone is found in the southwestern gate. On the west, where the enclosure is most exposed, are discovered three walls. The entire length of the wall on the direct line of the middle wall, is three thousand six hundred and seventy-six feet, and encloses an area of from twelve to fifteen acres. The length of the wall on the Twin bluff is eleven hundred and ten feet.”

Within the enclosure two stone mounds and one stone circle was originally located, the circle being near the center of the enclosed area. The stones within this enclosure were of such great abundance that when the first white settlers first saw the enormity of this find, they hurriedly made a makeshift road. With many hundreds of wagons they removed the stone contents, which were used in building dwellings, houses, barns, wells, etc., leaving only depression marks where the stone and circle mounds once stood.

It is largely because of Fort Carlisle that Twin Creek MetroPark took shape. Most of these earthworks were on a privately owned 175-acre tract. The owner wanted the mounds, forests, and natural beauty of his land preserved. He contacted the Miami Conservancy District, and their Property Manager, Bob Riemmlin, arranged for the purchase in 1973.

Carlisle Fort was in the headlines in early 1990 concerning the installation of a 36-inch natural gas pipeline from Indiana to Lebanon, Ohio, by the American Natural Resources Pipeline Company. The Miami Valley Council of Native Americans made claims that the pipeline would interfere with the Indian burying sites. An agreement was made to install the pipeline at least 600 feet outside the Carlisle Fort border. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places concerning its safekeeping for future generations and further study.