Stoney Ridge Nursery

Location: Lima, Ohio

Date Visited: March 9, 2017

Long time no see. It turns out that college is a soul-sucking, time consuming endeavor. Everyday on my way to class I would pass this rundown-looking house and barn. Now, I'm usually wary of exploring houses because it's hard to tell whether they are actually abandoned or not. People will live in some pretty decayed places. It wasn't until a friend of mine who had been there informed me that it was indeed abandoned that I decided to make my way over there.

I parked at a nearby apartment complex and waded through the tall grass until I made it to a gravel path. The walk was short and pleasant on this 55 degree day. It wasn't until I saw the sign on the barn that I realized that this wasn't a residence at all, but a nursery.

From what I could gather from the internet and my father, who knew the owner, Stoney Ridge Nursery opened sometime in the 1980s and closed somewhere in the late '00s to the early '10s. The technology in there seemed to support that claim. It felt like stepping back into my early childhood.

According to the county auditor's website, the property still belongs to the Stone family who ran the nursery. According to my father, the owner got into building houses and left the landscaping business.

On my way to the property.

Metal box.

Small barn.

The big barn.

Stoney Ridge Nursery.

It sat near a busy intersection.

"Ring bell for service"

The barn was locked up tight.

I peeked through some cracks. There didn't appear to be anything inside anyways.

Next up, the office.

The most challenging part of my little adventure was getting through the branches.

The back door was wide open.

Desks and lots of files.

Everything was left behind.

Another filing cabinet.

Labor law posters.

Office.

I'm not sure why there was a water ski in here.

Cash register.

Clutter.

Whiteboard.

Shelves.

Another cash register.

Various keys.

While it was technically an office, the building appeared to have once been used as a residence.

Another bathroom.

What was probably once a dining room.

Possibly the past location of a fireplace.

Yet another cash register.

The Stones also did exterior design and landscaping.

One of my favorite things to do is read the various papers left in abandoned buildings.

Pages upon pages.

One of my favorite finds. A letter from the executor of Grandma Pike's estate from 1978.

Going up the stairs in this one and a half story.

Who would leave behind such a nice couch?

Upstairs office.

The couch even had a matching chair!

Stacks and stacks of paper.

To be honest, I hate being on the second story. Every little creak in the floor has me thinking I'm going to fall through.

Speaker.

Desk.

Chair.

So many boxes, so little time.

"Vintage" technology.

There were many framed photos upstairs. Probably examples of work they completed.

Nice deck.

There were tons of blueprints.

More photos.

Possibly receipts.

Work space.

They apparently did the landscaping for a McDonald's in 1996.

 

Wireless phone/two-way radio.

A typewriter maybe?

Recognition as a member in good standing.

Even more blueprints.

Table.

Advertising for the nearby apartment complex.

Another one of my favorite finds. I wonder if they got their $15 back.

Files.

 

I imagine this is where the plants from the nursery were sold.

Inside the shelter.

Inside looking out.

More advertising for the apartment complex, which opened in 2008.

I spent a good 5-10 minutes trying to get out of this tangle of branches.

One more shot of the barn before I leave.

Goodbye, Stoney Ridge Nursery.

While maybe not the most exciting place I've ever been, it was nice to go to after a long hiatus. Considering it's right next to my campus, why not? As someone who works for a family business, it makes me wonder why someone would just abandon the business they built.