Mary Haven Still Stalled

A year ago our Board of Trustees toured Mary Haven Orphan's Asylum and Children's Home.  We were curious to see if the building was still strong enough to be preserved, conserved or at least moth balled for future re-purposing.

We were all very surprised to find the building in relatively good shape considering the vandalism it had suffered in the last couple of years.  There was a little water in the basement due to the fact that all the copper drain pipes had been stolen and not replaced. A couple of rooms had water damage because the roof had some major holes and was leaking into the building. But by and large, the building sat firm on its stone foundations.  A few rooms had water damage but mostly the walls were in good shape and the floors seemed firm.  New, inexpensive drain pipes and some covering of the holes in the roof would have gone a long way to preserving the building.  It also needed a good cleaning as vagrants had used it as a dumping ground for trash. 

Our Board was ready to start looking for a partner for the restoration and re-use of Mary Haven. The Attorney General of the State of Ohio was expected to find some workable solution regarding the outdated Klingling Trust by the end of April, and we were prepared to move forward at that time. In the meantime we mounted an exhibit about Mary Ann Klingling and Mary Haven at our museum (its still in place and can be viewed during regular museum hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to  4pm).

It's almost a year later and the Attorney General's office still hasn't acted. The Warren County Commissioners hands are tied. The little bit of  money from the original 1867 trust has long since been used to care for the building and the County has been footing the bill for many years out of tax payer dollars.  In the meantime record rains have wrecked havoc on the roof and now the damage to the building is more than serious.  We can't really fault the Commissioners for not spending money to secure the building.  With the economic down turn, it might have been considered irresponsible to spend money to care for a building rather than the people of the county. 

At the same time, to tear down the building would be a waste of a good resource. Mary Haven could become anything from a beautiful development of apartments within the building, to a school, to a center for the arts, just to name a few re-use ideas.  I don't believe for one second that the old saw "its more cost effective to build new then to renovate old" is anything but a bunch of you know what!  A builder who tells me that is not a true craftsman and doesn't have his community's welfare at heart. 

If you would like more information contact us at the Warren County History Center, 513-932-1817 or wchs@wchsmuseum.org.