A sconce dangles off the front of a polystyrene insulation-covered home on the edge of Spring Valley Nature Preserve.
After Spring Valley Pool’s glory days, it was a cute black house with a meticulously cared-for lawn. But for the past four years, the house has sat vacant and withering, with the once-manicured shrubbery growing more unruly by the day.
And now, the house stands waiting, prepped by the Granville Township Fire Department to be burned down as part of a training exercise.
Burning it down is a great opportunity for training the township’s team of firefighters, Granville Fire Chief Casey Curtis said. Practicing with live fire, he explained, is better than the simulated fire they use in some training. It allows firefighters to work in limited visibility and conditions like they would in a real emergency.
“It’s a real-world application of what heat and smoke and fire does,” Curtis said.
But burning it wasn’t the only option the current property managers — the Granville Township Trustees — considered.
The township bought the property from a local family in 2007, Granville Township Fiscal Officer Jerry Miller said. The property adjacent to the home used to house the well-loved spring-fed Spring Valley Pool and a host of recreational spaces, including a tennis court, a shelter house and garage next to the house.
The purchase of the property was partly funded with a $558,000 Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grant. The township used to rent the property out, but the OPWC grant stipulations prohibited the township from making a profit off the house.
In 2020, the township ceased renting the house.
“Without that grant, that property would have been completely lost to the community,” said Granville Township Trustee Bryn Bird. “I think people didn’t realize — even I didn’t — how much money OPWC put in for it. … But it did come with some pretty strict requirements that the building couldn’t be used for anything.”
Miller said the last tenants in the house wanted to buy the house, but the township was not allowed to sell it because of its location in the Spring Valley Nature Preserve.
The 45-acre preserve, developed after the pool closed more than 15 years ago, is home to trails, forests and creeks, and is frequented by hikers, dog walkers, picnickers and summer campers.
Township officials asked the community if anyone wanted to use the house. They asked the Granville Recreation District — which helps maintain the land in the nature preserve — and Denison University, but nobody in the community seemed to have any use for the house.
Bird explained that since the township could not make money off the building, there was not enough money for the upkeep — which was growing more expensive as the house aged. A storm damaged the roof and the township had to handle the expenses for the roof to be redone.
The fire department will be burning it several times throughout the day. Curtis said to expect traffic around OH-16 since it will create interest to passersby.
The department has assured that there is no asbestos in the house before burning it. All the carpet and furniture has been removed. They have built structures and added more drywall to the ceiling to better contain the fire, and make it a more controlled environment.
Curtis welcomes anyone to come and watch the burning. There will be barriers to keep people away from the dangerous zones.
Bird is concerned that some people may have an emotional attachment to the house, and will be sad to see it go since many Granville residents remember when the Spring Valley pool closed in 2004.
“This is kind of a piece that’s just a reminder,” Miller said.
The burn was originally scheduled for Saturday, Dec.14 but now it is undetermined when the burn will happen.
Caroline Zollinger writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.