Buffington Island commemorates the only significant Civil War battle that took place on Ohio soil. Here a Union army routed a column of Confederate cavalry commanded by General John Hunt Morgan in 1863. Major Daniel McCook, patriarch of the fighting McCook family, consisting of his eight sons and his brother John's five sons, was mortally wounded in the fight.

A monument made of broken Ohio glacial boulders is set in a four acre outdoor park where visitors can enjoy picnics and read the signs describing the history of the area.