In addition to dining and shopping, a day in Thompson wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the town’s hidden gem, Thompson Ledges Township Park.
In addition to dining and shopping, a day in Thompson wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the town’s hidden gem, Thompson Ledges Township Park.
The ledges have enchanted locals and visitors alike since the 1800s. The northernmost outcropping of the Sharon Conglomerate, they provide an idyllic, fairytale-like setting of mossy ledges and hidden nooks and crannies, where wildlife roams and families can explore and picnic.
Thompson also boasts the newest branch of the Geauga County Public Library, which opened in 2020 and continues to surprise patrons with its beautiful architecture and resources.
Finally, Thompson Church on the Square provides a spiritual home and community resource for the residents, a place to gather weekly, as well as a community space for performance, meetings and other functions.
Thompson Ledges
The Thompson Ledges are a hidden gem of Geauga County, but the dedication of a few passionate Thompson residents may help shine a light on this natural wonder.
The Nature Center at Thompson Ledges Township Park is designed to provide an in-depth look at the ecosystem surrounding the ledges for visitors of all ages. It also serves as the capstone to an eight-year renovation process that has included trail rehabilitation, new signage and interpretative materials, and graffiti removal, said park board member Mike Kuehn.
There seems to be a magic in the ledges — one that has attracted families since the 1800s, sheltered Paleoindians and provided habitat for a diverse array of wildlife.
The Thompson Ledges represent the northernmost piece of the Sharon Conglomerate, a geological feature also found at Nelson Ledges in Garrettsville and in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Thompson’s piece of the conglomerate is unique, however, Kuehn said.
“The ecosystem is different here than at Nelson Ledges or the national park,” he said. “This could be the premier place if you wanted to learn about the Sharon Conglomerate.”
Spanning 180 acres, Thompson Ledges Township Park was the first park established in the county in 1941, independent of the Geauga Park District, Kuehn said.
Its transformation from a well-kept and sometimes neglected secret into a premier area destination is the result of a small group of dedicated Thompson residents, area naturalists and artists.
Kuehn has been entranced by the ledges since childhood, but never expected to become as involved as he is today.
“I came on board eight years ago. I’m a tool and die maker. I was raising my family, but once I got involved, it just kind of took over,” he explained.
Disheartened by the park’s neglect and desolation, graffiti and limited access, Kuehn became passionate about showing the ledges in a way that honored their beauty.
“I really wanted to leave a mark and turn it around,” he said. “I knew it had so much potential.”
The first major development began eight years ago with the construction of the Observation Deck, a platform and stairway that descends into the ledges. Envisioned as an outdoor classroom, the deck provided unprecedented access but required major improvements to the existing trails.
“(At that time,) it was muddy, kids would party down there, you almost needed barn boots to get down there,” Kuehn said. “Once people could get down there through the Observation Deck, that led to the whole trail improvement process with the boardwalks, drainage, cleaning it all up and then the park just took off.”
Since then, the renovation has expanded to include new trails, interpretive signage explaining the geology and unique ecosystem, and artwork by nature artist John Matyas.
Matyas, of Parma, and his wife, Emila, have created nature art for Cleveland Metroparks and the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo through his company, Second Nature Fabricators.
Working alongside naturalist Dan Best, Matyas designed and crafted art installations for the park, including interpretive signs, a black bear statue at the park’s entrance, silhouette sculptures of area wildlife along the trails, and a full-scale recreation of a section of the ledges — complete with native plants and animals.
The installation is on display at the nature center.
The exhibit is a striking showcase of detail and craftsmanship, and one Kuehn is especially proud of.
“If you couldn’t access the ledges, it gives you a sense of it without having to go down there,” Kuehn explained. “Matyas sculpted all of it by hand and his wife does a lot of painting.”
The installation took three years to complete. According to Kuehn, the 70-year-old artist told the board it would be his last major project.
“The board told him it was his greatest work and he said, ‘Yeah, it probably is,’” Kuehn said.
In awe-inspiring detail, Matyas created an immersive work that blends sculpture, painting, forced perspective and photography to evoke the natural setting — a testament to the enduring magic of the ledges.
“There’s something special about it,” said Kuehn. “It’s just a peaceful kind of secret little place. I saw so much potential in it and I wanted to make it something the community could be proud of. I think we’re there now.”
Kuehn also believes the nature center can restore some of the educational presence the community lost when its school closed.
“I thought this was a real link to getting that connection back. What student wouldn’t like to come here?” Kuehn said. “If we can get a partnership with Berkshire (Schools), to me it would make up for losing the school, if we could offer them this.”
The nature center will be open Sundays from 1-4 p.m. starting in December, with expanded hours coming in the spring.
Thompson Church on the Square
Thompson Church on the Square serves as a de facto community center, offering a basketball court and weight room, playground, kitchen and dining facilities, performance spaces and a historic sanctuary for Sunday services.
“It kind of works as a community center,” said Erin Burkholder, who has served as the church’s administrative assistant since 2018. “Twilight Studios baton twirlers rehearse here; Thompson Square Community Theater has existed for twenty years and performs here. They’re a very welcoming community and I love the ladies who run it.”
Burkholder manages the church’s schedule, filled with meetings such as Bible studies, prayer and support groups, basketball practices for Madison and Berkshire teams, and birthday parties.
Kitchen facilities and dining areas for large and small groups are also available with suggested donation, she said.
The church has recently hosted ladies’ luncheons, weddings and funeral luncheons. Burkholder said the church provides an important gathering space for a community that has weathered challenges.
“Everything (in terms of participation) started to decline when the school closed,” she said. “Then, once they started to recover, COVID hit, so we hit another downturn.”
She said the community finally feels like it’s turning a corner.
“I love the community,” Burkholder said. “The people are amazing and doing community events where we meet together, like the Halloween Trunk-or-Treat or the tree lighting, is always a lot of fun. (Being on) the square as a whole always feels like coming home. For example, on the Fourth of July parade, you see people you haven’t seen but maybe once a year, and you can pick up just like you saw them last week.”
The church offers a traditional service at 10 a.m. every Sunday. One highlight is the annual candle-lit Christmas Eve service. Burkholder hopes residents feel welcome to use all the church’s facilities.
“We really do want the community to use the space,” she said. “It’s silly to have it and not share it.”
Burkholder also organizes monthly food boxes and holiday meal boxes for anyone who expresses a need.
Donations fill the boxes, which can be dropped off in the donation box outside the church, she said, adding requests for assistance have more than doubled this year.
“If you call and say you need help, you get help,” Burkholder said.
Within the church’s rooms and halls — amid play props, furniture and wall art created by congregation members — Burkholder pointed out a full-size replica of Da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” painted by a church member in 1945.
To her, it represents the beauty of a community built on connection and sharing.
“Everybody kind of leaves a piece here,” she said.
To reserve one of the facilities at Thompson Church on the Square, contact Burkholder at thompsoncos29@gmail.com.
Thompson Library
The Thompson branch of Geauga County Public Library celebrated its fifth anniversary Nov. 1. After a muted opening during COVID, staff and patrons were thrilled to finally dedicate the branch, which has quickly found a place in the community.
“It’s our smallest branch, but that’s what’s nice about it,” said branch manager Mary Balog. “I find we can do such personalized service. We can spend a little more time with our patrons. With our regular patrons, if a book comes in and we think, ‘Oh, Jim would love this book,’ we can set it aside for them. We have files for them, we can sit down with patrons and spend time with them to help with computers, services like that.”
Like many amenities in Thompson, the library is still a surprise to many visitors.
“I think it’s a well-kept secret,” said Balog. “People come in and are pleasantly surprised, even people in Thompson are surprised at how nice it is.”
The branch features cozy reading areas, puzzle tables near a fireplace and large picture windows overlooking the surrounding foliage.
In addition to internet access, periodicals, DVDs, Blu-rays and books, the library offers a Digital Legacy Lab with equipment to digitize VHS tapes, photo slides, film and other analog media. Patrons can also reserve study and meeting rooms, Balog said.
“We have story times, we have an ongoing book sale,” she said. “We have a monthly homeschool meeting called Explorer Lab. It’s an elementary-age STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) program. We also have a tween club and a kids club once a month. We just had a pizza taste-off for the tweens. This month, we’re going to have a soda-making workshop.”
The library also preserves pieces of the town’s history. The old school bell hangs above a meeting room doorway, a reminder of the former school that once occupied the property.
“The school that was on this property, first the high school, which then became the elementary school,” said Robin Kuhlman, who has worked in the Thompson library for 30 years across its various locations in school buildings.
She is thrilled the library finally has its own permanent home.
“It’s so new and fresh,” Kuhlman said. “And every day, we get somebody new in here who says, ‘Wow, this is a great building. I’ve never been here before.’ We have great patrons and we’ve gotten a lot of new ones since then. It’s nice being on the main road here, for visibility.”
Balog, Kuhlman and the rest of the staff hope the library, like so many places in Thompson, becomes less of a secret and more of a community hub.
