A brief history
In 1929, the Antioch College trustees agreed to accept the gift of Glen Helen on the precondition that the College could build its power plant in the preserve. Conversely, when the Glen Helen Association acquired the preserve in 2020, the power plant had to be included as a result of its geographic location within the preserve.

As conceived and built, the power plant was not just a heat source for Antioch College, it was the basis of the electric grid for the Village of Yellow Springs. Before the power plant was constructed in 1929, the Village contracted with DP&L for electric service for residents. After construction, the Village benefitted from a cheaper supply of electricity. Eventually, the Village became its own utility, but that transition was facilitated by the initial transition to power from within the Glen.

The power plant was initially coal-fired, and later converted to natural gas. It is situated at the far end of the Dingle Dell, a spring-fed quarry wetland. A tunnel drilled through the limestone cliff prevented the Dell from filling with water. The tunnel also had potential to convey asbestos and other pollutants from the power plant into the Yellow Springs Creek where they could impact municipal water supplies and the Little Miami River.

The plant was a known hazard, and a source of “vandal tourism,” where people engaging in deviant behavior posted their photos on social media, attracting others to do the same in a destructive feedback loop. The site was thick with graffiti, broken glass, and reveler’s litter. People who bypassed the no trespassing signs and broke through the building doors did so at significant personal risk of injury from falls or other hazards.

Ironically, although Glen Helen was impacted by the power plant, the preserve never benefited from it. The heat and the electricity it generated never fed any of the buildings in the preserve. While we didn’t create this hazard, and never benefited from it, we wanted to do the right thing for the environment, for the ecology of the preserve, and for public safety in the Village.

Demolition
The demolition was a mission-critical component of our Campaign to Secure the Future of Glen Helen, with major funding provided by the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund and the Village of Yellow Springs. Stalwart volunteer Paul Sampson managed the project, allowing the Glen to save significant resources.

After a public bidding process, a contract was awarded to Fillmore Construction, and demolition took place in November, 2022. Before demolition could begin, all the asbestos needed to be removed from the site. The most significant challenge along the way was pulling down the brick smokestack. The crew accomplished this by wrapping a thick wire around the top of the stack, and pulling on it with a massive track hoe. The tower, although old and noticeably leaning, was tough, and twice the crew’s pull cable broke before they eventually succeeded. Truckload by truckload, the brick and concrete and metal left the preserve. As a last step, the crew put a layer of soil down, to cover any remaining bits of foundation.

The site today
Ecological restoration has a long arc. We know this to be true, and yet at the same time, it’s hard to be patient. As of 2024, the site still bears the marks of an open wound. Even though we tried to get every last brick and strip of bent metal out of there, many remain. We know it will take many, many years for native columbine and ferns to colonize the sheer rock faces. For now, those cliffs remain barren. Likewise, the ground is bare and brown in many places. It will likely be a long time before native flora is able to colonize the whole area.
And yet, signs of life and the irrepressible forces of nature are there. As soon as the power plant was removed, the natural spring trapped beneath it began to flow again, quickly creating a new wetland pond. It is not yet a rich and diverse habitat, but it’s on its way. Dragonflies hunt on the surface of the new pond, and hundreds upon hundreds of tadpoles wriggle at the water’s edge. Deer, geese, and sandpipers are visiting the pond.
So, nature is taking over the power plant site. And also, we intend to help it along, by supplying some of the species that are native to this area, but might not otherwise find their way here. So far, we have planted sedges around the pond edge. We’ll likely add to these plantings in time. We also have more cleanup to do. Once we’re confident that the site is safe to visit, we look forward to opening it up to public visitation. Left alone, nature would eventually bury the bits of coal and brick under soil, but we would like to accelerate that process.
With each step, we’re trying to find the balance between patience and a hunger to see change manifest.