May 6, 200817 yr God, enough with these COLDAY stalkers! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 6, 200817 yr great post. Man, talk about the true meaning of neglect! Is this near Shawnee State Park (rocks btw)? Nowhere close. Shawnee is near Athens. Shawnee State is west of Portsmouth. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 6, 200817 yr Great photos! Shawnee, in remote Perry County and in the middle of Wayne National Forest, (Ohio's only national forest) is my favorite Ohio community that I've never visited. Founded in the early 1870's and quickly growing and prosperous, Shawnee appears to have had the proverbial economic rug (coal mining and clay production) suddenly pulled out from under it, causing it to be frozen in time. It was too remote and too small for the national fast food chains or generic national retailers to invade the town in recent years so essentially, it remains a frayed but intact 19th century village. The greatest enemy of Shawnee has been benign neglect and there's ample proof there to show what happens when maintenance gets deferred for too long. As a restorer-preservation contractor, it pains me to look at these once graceful local storefronts with their characteristic second story ornate balconies supported by ornamental brackets/corbels, now on the verge (or past the point) of collapse. With the loss of each structure, the town has less to offer the appreciative visitor. I know the Tecumseh Theater received some emergency grant money to repair the roof but that is woefully short of what is needed to save many other fine old structures remaining in town. Where's John D. Rockefeller Jr. (who saved Colonial Williamsburg) when you need him? I'm hoping to make a personal visit to Shawnee before the town disappears entirely. Thanks for the photos. John S.
May 6, 200817 yr Looks like one of those fabled western ghost towns. That's what I was thinking! That's pretty far out that a garden is growing in what seems to be a shell of a building.
May 7, 200817 yr Wow, how could the people that live there let this happen?. These pics are just depressing.
May 7, 200817 yr OMG!!!! NICE FIND. LOL. Haven't you seen the 30 other threads of Shawnee? Wow, how could the people that live there let this happen?. These pics are just depressing. I doubt any have the resources financially to do anything. I believe there is a local foundation that owns and maintains some of the buildings, though.
May 7, 200817 yr OMG!!!! NICE FIND. LOL. Haven't you seen the 30 other threads of Shawnee? Negative! I am going to have to look the coordinates of this place up. That's what I love about this site, you learn something new everyday.
May 7, 200817 yr Wow, how could the people that live there let this happen?. These pics are just depressing. I doubt any have the resources financially to do anything. I believe there is a local foundation that owns and maintains some of the buildings, though. Well, at least that is something. It's a shame they couldn't afford to do more though.
May 7, 200817 yr I have not seen the apparently 30 threads on this place, but wow, just wow. Did you buy anything at that fine looking gift shop?
May 7, 200817 yr Yeah, this is only the second thread I have seen for the town, but all that aside, WOW. It seems like old coal-mining towns are the most interesting places. Even though this place is depressing as hell, I love it. I find it so fascinating and I could spend so much time there, just walking around and pretending I was in the time when the place flourished. The past echoes in that town, you can see it in just the photos. It is depressing, but the place still has beauty. That's what I believe, anyway.
May 7, 200817 yr OMG!!!! NICE FIND. LOL. Haven't you seen the 30 other threads of Shawnee? Negative! I am going to have to look the coordinates of this place up. That's what I love about this site, you learn something new everyday. *cough* Main Site --> SE Ohio --> Shawnee *cough* "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
May 9, 200817 yr Looks like one of those fabled western ghost towns. Yeah. What's interesting to me is that the western ghost towns have become tourist attractions. I wonder if the same could happen for Shawnee. It would seem to be the only thing that could save it.
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