History of Welton’s Gorge’s chimney?

Hi! I was wondering if you could share the history of the chimney at Welton’s Gorge. Thank you.

Reliable sources in the community have provided some information about the chimney located along Welton’s Gorge’s Overlook Trail. It is believed that the chimney was part of a wood structure, probably built around 1920, by a property owner whose last name was Murphy. Mr. Murphy’s business was in Cleveland, and he leased the farm fields to farmers, including an Amish family that farmed the land in the late 1930s. The farmers observed that on occasional weekends, up to 20 cars would come to the property and quietly spend Friday to Sunday in the building.

The farm family Byler bought the land in 1940. During the time that they owned the land, the chimney building was first used for storage, then as a chicken house. Also during this ownership, the wood siding began to deteriorate and fall off and the wood was replaced with tin siding. Neighbors remember the chimney was still in good condition in the early 60s.

I wish the chimney could tell us the rest of its story! That’s all the information we have right now, but if anyone has more to share, we’d love to hear it. Please email us at info@geaugaparkdistrict.org.

-Naturalist Dottie Drockton