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Snow and ice cover the fields and building at the Braun Farm along Cooper Road and Cleveland Avenue. (Photo by Gary Gardiner)

Braun Farm Winter Photos

Although small compared to a rural farm, this is an active farm growing hay in one of its larger sections and rotating corn and soybean crops in another. There are only three working farms remaining in Westerville.

The farm was recently sold to Lifestyle Communities which plans to develop the property depending upon approval of its design by the the planning commission and city council.

What Photos Can I Find In Winter?

The photo above is a good representation of what you might find in the winter. This photo was taken from the right-of-way on Cooper Road. The barn is part of the active farm and may have implements and machinery around it.

The old farmhouse is abandoned and has frequently been broken into by scrappers, people looking for a way out of the weather, and photographers looking for their next IG photo. It is now boarded up and covered in poison ivy.

The barn looks great no matter which angle you shoot it from. It’s an unusual shape with a slightly faded red roof and recently painted white exterior. It is weathered but sturdy.

Suggest when an afternoon snowstorm is in the forecast that you go to the farm at sunrise for a photo. Mark your location with a stick in the ground. After the snowstorm, go back, find your stick in the snow, and shoot the same photo. This might take several snowstorms to accomplish as the sunrise might not be very photographic and the storm might not yield a dramatic change.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fill a memory card with snow photos from the farm. Shoot away.

Also, look for stands of wildflower stalks and weed stems. They can be effective foreground objects with the barn and house as background.

A moderate zoom lens will let you compose to eliminate clutter and objects that don’t contribute to telling the photo’s story. It may be that a wide-angle shot of the stalks and stems that includes a moody sky marking the gloom of winter is going to work best. Don’t expect to get all of these photos in one trip.

Look for Red-tail and Cooper hawks, coyote, deer, fox, rabbit, groundhog, and field mice.

Two areas of the farm were recently developed. A large section along the bike path near Alum Creek is now covered with an apartment complex. Another section in the corner of the field across Cooper Road from the apartment complex is now multi-story senior housing.

Trespassing

All of the farm and the two buildings are private property. Ohio law prohibits trespassing on private property, even if signs are not posted. You will be asked to leave. You might get a trespass warning which means you will get a trespass citation if you violate the warning. That may be a criminal citation.

Trespassing Rule: Don’t.

If you do and are asked to leave, leave quietly, without discussion. After you’re off the property you can then begin to explain your purpose for making photos, what you intend to do with them, and ask permission or ask how to get permission.

(Photo via SmallTown Stock)

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The Old Post Office

The old Post Office in Uptown Westerville once housed the police department detective bureau. The police department moved into its new building on Huber Village Boulevard beginning is September 2022.

The building was sold in 2022 to a developer with occupancy to be determined after the police department move is completed.

The building sits long a brick alleyway next to Java Central coffee house that once was a bowling alley.

Across the street is the more modern city hall.

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Alum Creek Park

Alum Creek Park is just West of Otterbein University with its western flank sitting on the bank of Alum Creek, a tributary to the Scioto River.

The most prominent feature of the park is its amphitheater built into the hillside closest to Otterbein. The space hosts concerts during the spring and summer with artists ranging from the Westerville Symphony to a Beatles tribute band.

Westerville Parks and Recreation also hosts a series of children's event including musical performances and hands-on events such as a storytelling class and animal visitors from the Columbus Zoo.

The park, begun in 1934, is almost 12 acres of green space with a baseball diamond, a soccer field, a sand volleyball court, lighted basketball court, a large playground, a shelter house, and restrooms. There are 45 parking spots with overflow parking across the street at Astronaut's Park, and across the creek at the Senior Citizens Center. Additional parking is available in a nearby Otterbein lot although it is patrolled when classes are in session and best used only for the Sunday night concerts when enforcement is relaxed.

Fishing is allowed along the banks of the creek with most anglers using the space below the low-head dam for their lures.

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Corbin's Saloon

Henry Corbin's Saloon most recently was an embroidery shop, far different than its early years when it suffered at the hands of protestors who opposed Corbin operating a saloon in the building. It is now empty and rumored to reopen as a bar.

The Westerville Whiskey War of 1875 began with Corbin's attempt to sell liquor in the town where the sale of "fermented spirits" was outlawed in 1858.

The protest became so fierce that the building was twice damaged by explosions that some described as dynamite although there wasn't conclusive proof the damage came from that specific explosive.

The saloon survives today at the corner of West Main Street and Knox Avenue.

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The Stoner House

The Stoner House at the edge of Uptown Westerville is on the National Registry of Historical Places. It sits across the street from the Masonic Lodge and its neighbor the Westerville Public Library.

Built in the early 1860s (perhaps 1862) it served as an inn, tavern, and a spot on the Underground Railroad.

George Stoner drove the stagecoach from Columbus to Westerville bringing its passengers to his small inn. Runaway slaves used the stagecoach's baggage compartment as a hiding place to be brought to the inn where they hid in the cellar until they were able to continue travel to Canada.

It now houses Catholica, a Catholic book store.

It's a short walk from here to Uptown with about a dozen historic sites including Corbin's Saloon which suffered two explosions when its owner tried to open a tavern.

At the library across the street from the Stoner House is a museum for the Anti-Saloon League whose fervor against alcohol resulted in a constitutional amendment to prohibit its manufacture and consumption.

The library also houses John R. Kasich Congressional Collection when he was in the U.S.House of Representatives.

Google Search for Stoner House

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Huber Village Park

The afternoon sun  lights up the soccer fields along the back corner of Huber Village Park in southeastern Westerville.

The park, with a multitude of sports fields built for football, lacrosse, baseball, and soccer, sits near Pointview Elementary sharing it playground as part of the park.

This view is from a residential street that ends in the parking lot of The American Bible Church. There is little parking along the street and in the church parking lot. Most people park in the school parking lot or the large lots at the front of the park.

From this angle Pointview Elementary is to the right of the water tower. A large parking lot is at its base and six baseball fields are a little further away.

At the entrance to Huber Village Park along Huber Village Blvd. is a sports field used for football, soccer, and lacrosse. It has an adjacent parking lot.

The primary structure at the park is Planet Westerville, a playground with a collection of structures, swings, climbers, and toys for younger children.

Near Planet Westerville is a pavilion with a charcoal grill.

362 Huber Villlage Blvd. Westerville, Oh 43081

Google map of Huber Village Park