Piece of Clary Gardens’ history preserved
Dessell Yoder from Yoder Construction completes some grout work in the springhouse at Clary Gardens. Josie Sellers | Beacon
COSHOCTON – After 167 plus years the springhouse at Clary Gardens was starting to show a little wear and tear.
“It was estimated that it was built sometime between 1830 and 1850 because the tan house was built in 1850 and the red brick house in 1830,” said Jandi Adams, director of Clary Gardens. “The past two years that I’ve been here we’ve had so much rain that water has been running off the hill and the side wall of the springhouse had stones that had moved at least five inches. It wasn’t a safety issue yet, but it was to the point that we had to do something.”
The Clary Garden Board asked her to research funding options for the repair work and she started with the Coshocton Foundation.
“We were able to get a grant from them that funded a large portion of it,” Adams said.
Some local residents also helped cover the cost of the repairs that were done by Yoder Construction.
“They’ve done a lot of work for us here on the groups this past year and were a good fit for the project,” Adams said. “They did it all by hand except for some gravel and dirt they had to move.”
In addition to fixing the wall, the crew from Yoder Construction also put in a drainage system so big rains will not cause any shifting and pushing of the structure.
“We are so impressed,” Adams said. “They are good guys to work with and it didn’t take them long at all to do this.”
The springhouse was originally used for refrigeration because water runs year-round from one of the many springs at Clary Gardens.
“They say we have 30 natural springs here which is what made this a perfect location for a botanical garden,” Adams said.
Today the springhouse is a popular location for pictures and Adams said people have even come there to get baptized.
“My big next step is to get it and our two houses listed on the registry for historical places,” she said. “I really want to make people aware of the history here in the gardens.”
Category: People & Places
