July 17, 2018
Author Archives: JShonk
November 11, 2012
Abandon Schools in Perry County
In and around the little cities of black diamonds there are many abandon schools. Many of these small communities now have county consolidated schools systems leaving these skeletons behind that stand like statues of good times gone by, driving past these old relics you hardly take notice anymore so I thought I would share a few photos.
November 4, 2012
Mcguffey Lane Tennessee
By pure chance, I ran across one of my favorite songs from one of Ohio’s best home grown bands McGuffey Lane so I thought I would share it
McGuffey Lane: Tennessee [audio: http://www.jshonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/McGuffey-Lane-Tennessee.mp3]
November 1, 2012
Roseville & Junction City Ohio forgotten prisons
There are two Forgotten and abandon prisons in Perry County Ohio, the old Roseville prison and the Junction City prison were the movie Brubaker staring Robert Redford was filmed in 1980. The junction City prison has been demolished but the Roseville prison is still standing.
The Roseville Prison was built in 1926. It operated for twenty years, from 1927 through 1933 and later from 1952 through 1966. The medium security prison housed about 300 inmates. The inmates worked in a brick plant located at the facility. They were capable of producing 30,000 bricks each day.
October 23, 2012
The Little Cities of Black Diamonds Rendville Ohio
The little cities of black diamonds are made up of a dozen or so small coal mining towns located in rural south eastern Ohio and they are the bones of what was once a booming coal industry now plagued with poverty and a dying population.
A few of these forgotten small towns have historical significance and are a testimony of good times gone by, such as Rendville, San Toy, and Shawnee. I have blogged about San Toy (here) and I thought I would share some history about Rendville and few photos from a recent visit there.
It’s a tiny town with a big history, and although not much is left today I thought it would be interesting to share some recent photos of surviving structures and artifacts, as well as some history.
October 14, 2012
Broken Barn and Tombstones Perry County Ohio
October 12, 2012
Fall Photos from the rim of the world
Fall Photos St Rt 555, triple nickle, rim of the world, Burr Oak Lake State Park, 10-11-12
October 8, 2012
Sunday Drive Fall Photos 10-7-2012
It was a beautiful day for a drive Sunday, and the fall colors made for some awesome photos
September 14, 2012
Rock Mill Lancaster Ohio
The Rock Mill dam park located in Lancaster Ohio has been restored and the mill wheel has been replaced, it is now the largest working water mill wheel in north America.
The first gristmill at this site was built in 1799 by Joseph Loveland and Hezekiah Smith. They also built a store, a distillery, and the Blue Ball Tavern. The available alcohol created disturbances with the Wyandot and Shawnee Indians as well as the settlers. Soon the local community forced Loveland and Smith to leave.
August 4, 2012
The Godz – Gotta Keep a Runnin
Thought I would share a track form one of Ohio best 70′s rock & roll bands The Godz
Gotta Keep a Runnin [audio: http://www.jshonk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/The-Godz-Gotta-Keep-A-Runnin.mp3]
July 29, 2012
Vacation 2007 Yellowstone, Rocky Mountains
After waiting three years to take a good vacation we decided on a mega road trip that would take 11 days and include, The Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Rocky Mountains, Grand Tetons and we spent a few nights in Cody Wyoming and Winter Park Colorado.
This would be the first major road trip we had taken in our new Jeep Grand Cherokee and we were looking forward to camping out in it a few nights in Yellowstone.
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June 1, 2012
Big Muskie AEP’s Goliath dragline bucket
One of my favorite pastimes as a teens was to to go fishing at Ohio Power Lakes. Aep.s recreatiom land were there are over 700 man maid lakes and many nature made, That in it self was a blast but the best feature for me was to watch big muskie ripping away at the land, Built in 1969, owned by Central Ohio Coal Co. Last used in 1991. Cost $25 million to build. A model 4250-W Bucyrus Erie drag line: only one ever built. She moved in her life time over 608,000,000 cubic yards of overburden ( twice that amount during the construction of the Panama Canal) Pictures and video are cool but words can hardly explain the shear aw struck feeling that would overwhelm you when this beast was seen in action, It maid you feel very small and insignificant, Sadly like many other great man maid wonders this toy was dismantled and sold for scrap, The bucket was saved and is now on display at at Miners Memorial Park along rt 78 10 miles east of McConnelsville Ohio, READ MORE>
May 5, 2012
Baughman Park another Lost Ohio
Presidents in the Woods
HIGH ON A RIDGE IN A REMOTE, HEAVILY WOODED AREA OF SOUTHEASTERN Ohio, a towering stone figure of Warren G. Harding guards a rarely traveled gravel road. Barely visible through the undergrowth a hundred feet farther down the road are strange figures carved into sandstone outcroppings: an eagle in flight, an elephants head, Abraham Lincoln, an Indian chief. A crouching lion and a wildcat cast wary eyes at passersby. William McKinley stands presidential on a pedestal in the front yard of an abandoned house from which some of the siding has fallen, revealing the original log cabin underneath. The road continues past statues of James McPherson and James A. Garfield and climbs thirty feet to the top of the ridge, where solitary figures are dotted around a two-acre clearing: George Washington, a dough boy, a headless William Tecumseh Sherman, Theodore Roosevelt. Deep in the brush in a natural amphitheater on the hillside below the clearing, a stone shelf bears a carved dedication: “Baughman Memorial Park. Named by Chas. Long. The rest of the inscription is obscured by moss and dirt.
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April 9, 2012
Stonewall Cemetery Lancaster Ohio
I grew up on this road named after the Stonewall Cemetery, And ended up living in the farm house less than 1/4 behind it. We had a blast as children playing here and even more parking here as a teen.
There are several legends and myths about this place, So I thought I would post some history about it. Stonewall Cemetery is located on Stonewall Cemetery Road, about  ½ mile from US-22, outside Lancaster, Ohio (Hocking Township, Fairfield County). The coordinates are 39° 41′ 28.55″ N, 82° 38′ 22.9″ W. Stonewall Cemetery a small family cemetery that is no longer active. It is maintained by the Fairfield County Historical Parks. The cemetery is kept locked to prevent vandalism. The inscription above the gate gives some history about the cemetery. It reads:
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