I didn't have to work this weekend, so a friend and I decided to take a trip to southeast Ohio to see a few of the places on our ever-growing list. None of these locations were mind-blowing but it was still a good time and a nice break from a stressful couple of months. We ended up exploring four locations in four different counties with two other attempts that didn't work out.
1. Our first stop was this house on a heavily wooded road with nothing else around. It was abandoned when the owner passed away in the 1960s and nothing has been done with it since. It has had one interior collapse and other parts of the house are very unstable. We were not able to explore the second story because there was no floor at the top of the stairs.
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2. Without having gone upstairs, as far as I can tell, the house consisted of six rooms plus a basement that included a food cellar. Most of the first floor was okay if you were careful. The front room had a bunch of tires, toys, vaccuum cleaners and other objects that it appears somebody dumped there.
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3. The interior collapse viewed from the stairwell.
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4. Very little of the roof was left in the rear of the house.
DSC04950 by
KMD1720, on Flickr
5. Door to the food cellar in the basement.
DSC04958 by
KMD1720, on Flickr
Full album on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.../with/31735849645/ 6. Next up was an abandoned one-room church in a location even more isolated than the first. It sits down a hilly one-lane gravel road with nothing else on it except forest. Trespassing signs were posted at frequent intervals on trees. Interestingly, the only place that wasn't posted was the church. This church was founded in the 1800s by a man named Jesse Haines. Originally a log church, the wood frame building was constructed in 1887. It is unknown when it was abandoned but it has become overgrown.
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7. The bell remained in the tower until around 2011 when someone attempted to steal it. Fortunately, the bell was confiscated by the sheriff and now belongs to a local historical museum.
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11. A cemetery named for Jesse Haines adjoins the church. Many of his descendents and other members of the congregation are buried there.
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13. Unfortunately, the cemetery has suffered some vandalism through the years. A few headstones have been separated from their bases or knocked over. The local township does mow the grass and several graves had flowers or flags placed on them.
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https://www.flickr.../with/31589304162/ 14. Not much is known about this house on the south side of a small unincorporated community. Apparently, some people in the community believe it to be haunted which I'm not sure I buy. A creek running nearby provides the sound of running water throughout the explore.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
15. The back room of the house is interesting. The back door opens up straight into a bathroom that seems to have been a late addition to the house. I'm guessing it was built prior to indoor plumbing. Cleaning supplies, hygiene supplies and various other things still remain on three shelves here. Although most of the rest of the house is sturdy enough, this room is by far the most unsafe.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
16. A common theme throughout the house is heavily peeling wallpaper that has draped itself over furniture and other objects.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
17. This was one of three bedrooms on the second floor, directly accessed from the stairs. The other two bedrooms look as if they had been used for storage.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
18. The rear of the house is not holding up well to time.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
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Full album on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.../with/31620742241/ 22. Our final location for the day was the ruins of a small-town school. It was built in 1913 and burned to the ground in 1960. The ruins were never cleared away and still remain on location over 50 years later. The school gym was located across the street and was not damaged in the fire. It still stands and is now the gym for the local community.
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24. Remnants of a couple of stairwells still exist. They were located just inside the front door.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
25. You can still see down into a basement hallway painted green and white.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
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30. There were still a few mechanical and basement rooms that were accessible.
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KMD1720, on Flickr
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KMD1720, on Flickr
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33. Inside one of the rooms was this backpack that spilled writing utensils and other objects. There were also two fire pits constructed from fallen bricks.
DSC05106 by
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Full album on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.../with/31699330956/ 34. In addition to the four successful visits, we also had two failures. First was an abandoned school located a few miles from the church. It was completely locked up. It appeared from the road that a small collapse would allow us entry but the openings it created had been buttoned up pretty well. We were able to peek through windows and it looks like it is being used for storage.
Our second failure of the day was an abandoned house we spotted just south of the second house shown above. Since it was so close, we decided to go ahead and check it out too so we headed over. We were looking for a way in when a crazy angry neighbor started yelling at us from his house so we packed up and left. As we were leaving, the crazy angry guy came out of his house and flipped us off. So that was a bit of comedic relief.
This is the school we weren't able to get in. I have a few pictures of the house too but it's nothing special.
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KMD1720, on Flickr