The History of Shor Park

Shor Horse Barn

What Shor Park is now, and what it was supposed to be.

There seems to be a little misunderstanding as to who donated Shor park and why it became what it is today. The Shor Park is located on Tealtown Rd in Clermont County, Ohio. The park is situated on the horse farm that David and Sylvia once owned for their Ohio race horses. The farm was lived in by some close friends of the Shor family for handling the care of the land and horses.

The Shor family horse farm had fields of hay and woodlands which sits adjacent to the Cincinnati Nature Center, Rowe Woods. Many people who now live in the Clermont County area do not know the true story as to how Shor Park came to be what it is today. This was not what Mrs. Shor wanted when she wished to donate the land as well as financial resources for future generations.

The Shor Family

Over the years I have listed to people talk about the Shor family who had no clue as to who they are and why they wanted to give their horse farm to future generations for nature and equestrian enjoyment. I myself only know the family via minor business sales some years ago. They own a Northern Kentucky company that produces one product that just about everyone has touched at one time in their lives. Grocery paper bags. The Shor family to me always seemed to me to be very modest with not their showing their wealth.

The Evolution of Shor Park

Here soon I will provide the path of Shor Park as to what it is now today and what Mr. and Mrs. Shor wanted the land to be used for by the public. What you see today was not the desired plan for the money and land donation by the Shor family. Mrs. Shor did not wish to have the family name on the park, which was dedicated to her husband, David Shor.

 

Shor Park Excavation Begins - Earth Moving

Shor Park begins with the earth moving and excavating for the parking lot and the trail entrances. It took several weeks for the bulldozers and earth moving equipment to clear and sculpted the farm land into what would become the main parking lot.

Driving by it most every morning I could see the progress and the changes. I had hoped they might leave a couple of trees that had been on Shor's horse farm.

But with time they soon disappeared into a pile of dirt, bushes and debris. These were taken at the very beginning of the excavating of Shor park, along Tealtown Road.

From Horse Farm to Shor Park Work Begins

The following pictures are of the excavation of the parking area of Shor Park. The pictures will be over several days of work. I would stop some mornings, and some evening on my way to and from work.

It took some time to see how they planned on moving stuff and dirt around to form the parking area. There someday maybe a restroom and other facilities in the park. Donation to Clermont County Parks toward Shor Park is always welcome.

The contribution is tax deductible. These are some early morning shots, next Blog will be some day time pictures.

Shor Park Autumn 2011

This year the house and barn are gone but a nice paved parking area is there. You can see the many trails and more to come. I have not walked them just yet. Clermont County Park District has done a excellent job of building the park so far. I think Mr. Shor would be very proud of the out come of Mrs. Shor's gift to the people of Clermont County.



Next Blog I will show some pictures of the excavating of the parking lot and trail headings. The park workers and other volunteers have begun well in the task of building a nature preserve and park.

Shor Park 2008 Before the Development

Back in 2008 I began this Blog to do a photograph documentary of the development of 53 ares of land in north Union twp. This was once a farm when I first moved into this area.

I asked the Director of Clermont county parks if this would be okay. Jim welcomed the idea so here are some of the pictures taken before and during the area we now know as Shor Park.

I also like to call it Tealtown Nature Preserve. I was able to walk around quite a bit of the park on several week ends either by myself or with my son Max. I wish I could have taken a ladder with me. Would have made for some much nicer landscapes.

I have quite a few more pictures of Shor Park. I wanted to post as many as possible in honor of Mrs Shor who donated the land with special conditions of limited development. She and her husband loved nature and wanted this land to stay as natural to nature for kids and families to enjoy.

A Clermont County Park that allows kids to explore nature in a natural way. Not a simulated play area. A real place to get back with nature. Get a little muddy and walk the trails and enjoy the fields and woodlands off Tealtown road. It is called Shor park, Tealtown Nature Preserve.

Tealtown Park - Nature Preserve

I had sent a email to Chris Clingman asking more about how the park and nature preserve was going to be set up. I live just up the road from this property in the Tealtown area of Clermont County. I asked him if it would be OK to take some photographs of the land before it was developed. Chris was very nice and thought it would be a good idea for the park. There is a Tealtown Blog with some pictures of Tealtown Park and Nature Preserve when it was a horse farm.



You can contact Chris Clingman at this email
address or call him if you are interested in helping take this park to the next level. In short donations are needed to fund the park and nature preserve set up and completion. The donor of the land requested 45 acres not be devolved. But there will be walking trails and over look area, Clermont County Park District Clermont County Park District needs your help to truly make this a nice park. The Tealtown
Park and Nature preserve needs a little funding from a kind donor.

The Park In the Begining - Old Stable

Tealtown was given a gift from the heart. The owner of the farm did not want the land developed, nature wins one. I live next to Rowe Woods right up the road from this nice piece of land. This area has always seemed the entrance to the Tealtown nature type area of North Union Township. A area with a huge nature preserve and now a public area that will evolve into a small park and nice wetlands nature preserve. Chris Clingman of Clermont County Parks directs this project.

I am taking some picture to document the evolution of the farm to a park and nature preserve with Chris Clingman's permission. I am creating a website to help promote the need for some funding to develop the park and trails for the nature preserve. A park where you can take your dog for a leached walk with nature. Union Township does not allow dogs in township parks. This will be a Clermont county park and nature preserve.