By Sherry Larson
“I’ll believe it when they dig a hole in the ground,” Tom Cross, Executive Director of Adams County Travel and Visitors Bureau, said several years ago about the prospect of building a Welcome Center. A dream that began with talks pre-COVID is now almost complete, as Cross and community members finalize the interior and exterior details.
After COVID and considerable building cost escalations, David Stone with TSHD Architects in Portsmouth, who originally drew the plans in 2021, drew several revisions. In late 2024, once additional funding was secured, plans were drawn, accepted, and approved. Cross said that he had hoped for a local builder, but they didn’t receive the bids. In the end, Axcraft General Contracting in Clermont County completed the project.
“There were several individuals who made the wheels turn on this thing to get it done,” Cross said. He added that the Commissioners (past and present) were behind the project 100% and credited Economic Development Director Paul Worley with driving the bus to secure the final funding for the project. Worley stated that the total funding for the construction of the Welcome Center was $ 693,000, which came from the Ohio General Assembly in two separate capital budgets in 2021 and 2024, for a total of $700,000. Cross shared that the 2021 award was $350,000. Worley and the County Commissioners worked with State Representative Justin Pizzulli and State Senator Terry Johnson to obtain an additional $350,000 in 2024. Additional monies were provided by the Adams County Board of Commissioners, TVB, ODNR, ODOT, McCoy Lumber, and the Nature Conservancy and used for infrastructure, signage, and interior finishes.
The Center is located at Adams Lake State Park, provided by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Visitors will enjoy the large front porch, where they can sit in the shade and rest or have lunch with a view of the lake. The Center has public restrooms and a water fountain and sits directly across from the boat ramp and parking area. The West Union High School Art class painted the Liberty Star quilt square, which has been placed on the side of the Center. The inside greets visitors with stunning murals, memorabilia, the county courthouse bear, local taxidermy, and beautiful historic photos of Adams County.
A linchpin in the community, The Welcome Center will offer information about outdoor recreation, lodging, Amish Shops, events, festivals, quilt barns, nature preserves, and the well-known Serpent Mound. The Center will also be a space to host special events. An ODNR naturalist will have a desk at the new Center and hold programs at Adams Lake.
Cross admits he had some sleepless nights and maybe fewer gray hairs before the project was complete. He said, “There was a lot of support in the right places and at the right time.” He is hoping to work with ODNR on an early September ribbon-cutting and a full day of events. Worley said, “The Adams County Welcome Center is an exciting addition to our community and will serve as a gateway for connecting visitors to our local attractions.”
Once a pessimist about the Welcome Center project, Cross said this building will be here long after he is out of the tourism business. He continued, “It will be a showcase for the county,” and concluded, “There are opportunities in life that something comes by and if it is not seized upon, it will never happen again. This is one time where everything just came together.”