In the late 1950s, construction was started on the Dow Lake Dam, which was completed in 1960, at which point the land became Strouds Run State Park in its entirety.

Adjacent to the Cone farm was a large, one-room school house that was dismantled when the lake was built.

The church was eventually converted into a private residence, and was subsequently completely destroyed in a fire a few years later.

In addition to Gillett and Cone, some other notable family names affected by the park's construction were Cain, Finsterwald, Weiss, and Stalder.

The Riddle State Nature Preserve is nearby, including Hawk Woods, which is one of Ohio's very few genuine old-growth forests.

[3] Significant areas of the park are pine plantations (white and red) from the mid-twentieth century, when the land was purchased, originally as the Athens State Forest.

The lake is also a very common destination of Ohio University students to enjoy the weather on sunny spring or summer days.

The lake is stocked on an annual basis with several kinds of fish, including rainbow trout, which cannot survive the winters.

In addition, the 264-acre (1.07 km2) Baker Tract, managed by the Athens Conservancy, is a short drive away, with a public access trailhead on Ohio State Route 690.