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In 1975, Mr. Charles
Lofino
developed a subdivision on the northeast corner of Kemp and North
Fairfield Roads. At that time, Beavercreek building code
stipulated that a builder must set aside "green space" for a park when
laying out a development. Approximately five acres of this
land were set aside for a park. Later, the southwest corner
was designated for a new fire station, which left about 4.3 acres for
the park itself.
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WARTINGER PARK
was named in remembrance of
John
Wartinger 1949-1975
John
Wartinger was the oldest son of Ken and Marie Wartinger of Beavercreek.
John
had worked for the Greene County Parks and Recreation Department during
his
college years and later at the Greene County YMCA located in Xenia. He
had also
worked as Safety Director for the City of Kettering and had developed
the
Safety Patrol Program for the Kettering
School System. John refereed 5
grade basketball and was a teacher at Prasse Elementary School, so he
had
dedicated most of his young life to the development of children before
he
suffered a fatal heart attack in 1975. At
the request of the
Greene County Commissioners, Wartinger Park was named and dedicated as “John
H.
Wartinger Park” on December 6, 1975. In 1976 The
Flower Trail
Garden assumed care of the park as a bicentennial project. The deed for
the property was turned over to the city of Beavercreek in 1983.
Wartinger Park became under the jurisdiction of the Beavercreek Parks,
Rec. and Culture Dept. of the City of Beavercreek.
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Philip Harshman House
(circa 1803-1807)
The
Philip Harshman house was discovered in 1985 when a
wood-sided two-story house, which was originally located just south of
St. Luke
Catholic
Church on North Fairfield Road,
was
condemned and slated for demolition. When the wood siding was removed,
the
original log house was revealed. An
effort was quickly begun by a group of
local citizens, that later became the Beavercreek Historical Society,
to save
the historic structure for
restoration.
The stone pathways to the Harshman House kitchen garden as well as
those leading to the Ankeney House are limestone rocks which
were
saved from the foundation of the old Lantz Barn on Kemp Road.
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George Jarusiewic's Cabin, Replica
(circa 1805)
The
Jarusiewic Cabin was discovered in April 1972 on North Fairfield
Road on the current site
of B. R. Scotese’s
Italian Restaurant. In 1972, Beavercreek
resident George
Jarusiewic owned the property, and his restaurant was named Scotties.
George Jarusiewic wanted to
preserve the old house for Beavercreek. The
house was dismantled, meticulously, and rebuilt at Wartinger Park by
George Jarusiewic. In the spring of 1997, the 16 by
24-foot
structure was removed from the park
because of insect infestation
by the Beavercreek Parks, Rec. and Culture Dept. Only
the
fireplace was salvaged. Brady Kress, Executive Director of Dayton
History made the replica, authentic to the period.
Ten
tons of stone made the stone fireplace from a
cabin located on Sperling Lane in Beavercreek.
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Samuel Ankeney House (circa 1828)
This
house was originally
located on Ankeney Road on the property owned by Mary
and Phil Ankeney. It
was donated to the Beavercreek Historical Society by them and rebuilt
at Wartinger Park in 1993. Samuel Ankeney, age 19, bought the Ankeney
House in 1830 along with 210 acres after his father died in 1830,
having just arrived from western Maryland. Samuel
built a kitchen for his mother and added it onto the house. He
was the oldest of ten children. The cabin was about four
years old when Samuel
Ankeney bought it from
John Davis.
The Ankeney House
fireplace
was rebuilt in
1997 with bricks from the old Beavercreek High School which had burned
in 1996.
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John Nicodemus Cabin (circa 1811)
It
was donated by Max Zink to the
Flower
Trail Garden Club in 1979 and moved to Wartinger Park.
Originally
located on the southeast corner of New Germany and Grange Hall Roads
on property which was owned by the Zink family. The Zink
family
had moved there in 1932. For many years, the home was rental
property , then it stood empty. Finally, the Board of
Health issued a close order. In the process of
tearing off
the weather stripping, the old log cabin was discovered.
Research
showed that the cabin was built by John Nicodemus in
1811. The Nicodemus Cabin became the second cabin
at Wartinger Park, the first being the Jarusiewic Cabin, both are used
by The
Flower Trail
Garden Club.
Stone removed from the cabin's original foundation was used around the
cabin base.
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Peter Tobias-Zimmer Barn (circa
1858)
The
1858 Peter Tobias-Zimmer barn is a one-story salt box design with the
white oak frame mortised and pinned. It was built by Peter Tobias in
1858 and subsequently owned by The Zimmer Family. From the plain
style
of the barn, it is thought that the carpenters were Shakers. It came
from the area known as "The Big Woods" in Beavercreek. The
original siding was vertical white pine with hand-split walnut
lap-sided gable ends. All materials came from the farm except the white
pine siding. Originally, it was located in
Zimmer Estates on the property of
Bob and
Agnes
Zimmer who
donated the barn and moved it in one piece to Wartinger Park
in 1996. The
barn was used among other things, for threshing. Sheaves of
grain (mostly wheat, oats, and barley) were stored in
the mow following a short curing time in the shock. During
the
yearly threshing season, the threshing machine was positioned on the
barn floor with the rear barn doors open. Straw was blown on
a
pile out in the barnyard.
After
the move, new board and batten siding
was added along with a concrete
floor. The
old metal roof and wood roof shingles were removed and
replaced
with a new standing seam metal roof.
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