Craig Beach, OH

Craig Beach is a Mahoning County village on Lake Milton, and the lake is the reason the village exists in its current shape. Youngstown bought land along the Mahoning River in 1910 and built a reservoir for its water supply. Ward Craig started Craig's Landing near the construction site with a refreshment stand, swimming area, boat docks, and picnic grounds. By 1922, the operation had become Craig Beach Amusement Park, with rides, a dance hall, rental cottages, and summer crowds; the village incorporated in 1931.

The park's dance hall hosted big bands, and a teenage Dino Crocetti, later known as Dean Martin, sang there before the park closed in 1966. Lake Milton later became part of Ohio's state park system after repairs to the dam, and Craig Beach settled into its present role as a lake village with the public beach, boat traffic, cottages, and Jackson-Milton schools. The old midway is gone, but the water still organizes the place. Craig Beach is one of those Ohio communities where a municipal water project accidentally made a resort, then left a village with a very specific memory: rides by the lake and music coming out of the dance hall.