Some say that nothing in this universe is left to chance. People have a certain path, a trail that they follow throughout their existence. The same can be said for objects. Antiques, for instance, have had trails that led them through decades and thousands of interactions. If these old treasures could talk, their tales would describe the many people whose paths they have crossed. The farmer who built the bureau, the glassblower who formed the vase, the little girl who first loved the doll that is now ragged with age—people are essential to the history of these items. As the antiques rest in stores, their journeys continue with the shop owners who bring new life into these works. In Fairfield County, a new trail has evolved—a string of stores where the paths of man and manmade intersect.

The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall

Coming from the southeast, the first stop on the Fairfield County antique trail is a large, dull-brown building just inside Lancaster on Business Route 33. The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall may seem to have a peculiar name, but owner Debbie Beard says the shop was formerly an Irving Drew shoe factory that began operating in the 1800s. 

Debbie and her husband, Jim, took over the store in 2002. It is currently filled with 120 vendors who display a mix of antiques, with each vendor’s booth operating as its own little antique world. Some spaces are filled with books, some hold primitives (items with a rustic look dating back centuries) and others contain dishware from the 1950s. One displays a variety of tea kettles in every color, shine, size and shape. 

The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall does not specialize in any one area of antiques. However, it does have something not found in many antique stores: farm antiques. Debbie walks downstairs and turns right, where, just past some furniture, is a basement full of old farming equipment. Weathered wood and rough, flakey metal fill the space, and each hammer, saw and pulley speaks of the equipment’s hardworking history. Seeing a man holding an old saw, one can sense that both he and the tool have had a life working on the farm—not a glamorous life, but one that connects man with metal. But the well-used tools are not the only things that dwell in the basement. One spinning display cart holds wheels, doorknobs and locks that boast a history just as strong as the equipment around them.

Antique hunters can find treasures such as an army of old blowtorches and even a loom made in Springfield hiding in obscure corners. The Olde Shoe Factory is a solid start to any antiquing journey, as every foot of floor space helps a visitor realize how much there still is to explore.

Summer House Antiques

Although Summer House Antiques is just a short drive from The Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall, it is easy to miss. It is located on North Columbus Street in a red house that, except for the small “open” sign on the front porch, blends in with the long-standing residential houses around it. 

Inside, a high-pitched melody like that from an old music box greets visitors. Walk through one more door, and shoppers see an entire house filled with dishes. A small path leads through the glistening maze of fragile glasses, stacked plates and dainty teacups. A grandmotherly woman sitting in an old chair introduces herself. Verylene Summers, the owner of the shop, says that while her store has all types of antiques, the Anchor Hocking Fire King glassware could be considered her specialization. 

Anchor Hocking is based in Lancaster and the Fire King line was made from the 1940s through the 1970s. These heavy dishes feel durable, yet they remain fragile. Although Verylene has many pieces in muted whites and tans, some more colorful items can be found in a cluster sitting by a bay window, dressed in pale greens, yellows, blues and reds. Verylene mentions that these items and others like them from the fifties are coming back into popularity with young people. 

“It’s a fun hobby,” she says, suggesting the antiquing appeal to a new generation. “There are so many areas you can get into.” Another draw for the younger set might be the cost, as pieces are priced modestly enough to accommodate even budget conscious college students.

Boling Antiques

Two miles down State Route 22 toward the outskirts of Lancaster sits the next antiquing destination: Boling Antiques. One can sense the heritage of the place even before pulling into the driveway. In front of an 1850s-era brick house is an old, elegant American basswood tree. The shop is farther down the lane in a white barn.

Owners Bob and Linda Boling explain that while they have been living here, generations of individuals who once lived in the house continue to visit. The big tree in the front is more than 200 years old and was named a 2009 Ohio Champion Tree by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. It is the biggest tree of its type in the state. 

The Bolings are a friendly couple who are willing to chat, especially when it comes to their collection of furniture, which they sell in the store and online. The Bolings have sold vintage and antique furniture for 35 years, and they joke that they have gone from being some of the youngest in the business to some of the oldest. 

Linda is pleased to give a tour of the spacious log cabin-turned-barn-turned-antique store. She displays Heywood Wakefield pieces manufactured from the 1930s through 1960s—light wood dressers and chairs with clean lines that she says are popular with engineers, architects and artists. She then presents some pieces from the early American era, including a piece that flips from a chair into a medium-sized table and that “was around when George Washington was president.” The chair lacks embellishments or decorations—it is a simple wooden chair with two practical functions. 

Linda and Bob tell how function and simplicity in construction were the key considerations with pieces at this time. People only had certain tools to work with, and they needed the items they made to be practical. To emphasize both points, Bob moves to a bureau from the same era. He points out the door that was hand planed, where one can see the unevenness of the inside and feel the rough wood that resists when a hand is run across it. Linda reveals pegs inside the cabinet that could be adjusted and removed to collapse the entire piece—very practical, as items of this nature usually had to be carried up narrow stairways. 

The Bolings emphasize practicality, usefulness and affordability during their tour, saying that these elements are what customers want. They also talk about what they have had to adjust to in order to stay in business. 

“People need a dresser, people need a desk,” Linda explains. 

“People don’t need a church podium,” Bob continues gruffly, pointing at a pulpit that they had found at an auction but had not yet managed to sell. The intricate carvings throughout the medium-toned wooden piece make it a gorgeous sight, but not necessarily a useful piece for the average individual.

Barnside Antiques

Leaving Lancaster, this antiquing trail heads toward Carroll and Barnside Antiques. It is different from any of the antique stores on the trail thus far. It is not in an old building or converted barn, but rather one part of a small strip mall covered in tan siding off County Road 31. 

Inside is the owners’ son, Aaron Casto, who is in his twenties and wears a lip ring. But he knows the store as well as anyone. Although he admits to not always being enthralled with the idea of antiques, he says he has been around this business for 14 years (when his parents opened their first antique shop) and it has grown on him. Walking around the small store, Aaron remarks that in August the family opened a much larger building in Lithopolis. 

The store specializes in primitives, but the jewel of the Barnside Antique store is its Fenton Glass line. Inside a case, a wall full of multicolored glass glistens. Like a kid in a toy shop, one feels the urge to touch the delicate, foggy opaque rabbits and kittens and hold the vases, bowls and similar classic pieces that sparkle in robin’s egg blues, moss greens and royal purples. 

Aaron explains that Fenton Glass began production in 1905 and to this day, the pieces are still hand blown. He warns that it is difficult to detect counterfeit pieces from the earlier lines because the stamp that marks the seal of approval was not used back then. He also mentions that Barnside Antiques is one of the few places in Ohio that still sells Fenton Glass, and that the delicate, elaborate pieces are popular with both the older crowd and middle-school girls.

Morning Glory Cottage

People of all ages are venturing into the antiquing hobby. After all, it is fun, and it is where Nancy Crabtree, the owner of the final shop along the trail, says she has “met the nicest people.”

Located in Lithopolis, Morning Glory Cottage offers a cozy feeling to its customers. This home-turned-store still contains its original kitchen table, cabinets and counters. Nancy says that the store has a barn and a spacious backyard that she takes advantage of in the spring and summer months. 

She explains that four other women also sell items in the store. Nancy does not charge rent; instead she asks that each woman works in the store one day a week and contributes some of the profits from her sales to the upkeep of the store. Nancy believes this collaboration helps as each person combines her strengths to make the shop the best it can be. 

Although Morning Glory has a variety of antiques, it is distinctive in that the women renovate many of the items that they find at auctions, yard sales and estate sales. One woman repaints tables to make faux slate and marble tops that result in a country look. Another collects and gives new life to linens and other cloths. 

Nancy says most of the furniture they have is in a “fixer-up” state, but with a little love, it is cheaper than furniture available at most chain stores. 

There are many kinds of collectibles, and even the most obscure ones can find their way into someone’s heart. Susan Henderly, from Amanda, has been collecting wall pockets and flower frogs for about 30 years. Wall pockets are starter pots for plants that are flat on one side so they can be hung on a wall, and flower frogs are small decorative containers with a small opening designed for a single flower stem. Although she says interesting ones are harder to find, she found one of each at the Olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall—both in a style meant to resemble the pottery of Arizona and New Mexico, with black brushworked scenes against a background of bright blues and oranges. This flower frog is not a frog at all but a bird that brings to mind a phoenix, bending in such a way to support the flower it is meant to hold. These items will join the more than 30 other wall pockets and flower frogs Susan has at her home. 

Antiquing is not always about being an expert or being able to identify a piece’s origins at first glance. It is about the joy that Susan and other antique hunters feel when they find an item that connects with them in a personal way. If one finds an antique along the journey that is in some way inspiring, he or she would be wise to follow Verylene’s advice.

“Just pick out a piece you like,” she suggests, “and go for it.”