SANDUSKY COUNTY, Ohio — When Josh Courtney bought a historic celery farm in 2020, he had dreams of turning the abandoned marshland into paid tours of one of the oldest wetlands in Ohio.
"The thought, really, was that the property was so unique that it has natural resources that can be utilized and this property could fund its own cleanup," Courtney said.
Those dreams were thrown in the trash, because of trash.
What Courtney didn't know is that the property has been a makeshift dumping ground for decades.
Our Call 11 for Action team walked through the path where Courtney said most of the dumping happens. It's right next to the property line of St Joseph's Catholic Cemetery.
"Ninety-plus percent of what I encounter is cemetery debris," Courtney said, "It's broken vases, pottery, containers for flowers, grave blankets, tombstone bases; all matter of debris that was at one time decorating the cemetery or parts of the tombstones."
Our crews had to avoid broken vases in the mud.
Courtney's theory is that people throw trash over the cemetery's ledge down onto the marsh.
Sandusky County Health Department visited the property, too. Officials with the department say the trash on the celery farm is a health hazard. Courtney has to get it cleaned up or he can't open his tour business.
Courtney says he's kept count of what's been cleaned up since buying the property.
"We've personally removed over 100-tons of material from the celery garden in the three years since we've been here," Courtney said. "Not all of that amounts to trash. I would say two to three tons of just trash and broken glass - that type of material."
What Courtney says he wants right now is a fresh start. First and foremost, he wants the dumping to stop.
WTOL 11 has reached out to the city of Fremont and Ballville Township officials for comment since the celery farm is split up into both jurisdictions. They've both refused to comment.
WTOL 11 also reached out to the Toledo Diocese because the cemetery is held by a trust by Bishop Daniel Thomas. A representative said that the diocese is "aware of the matter and that the cemetery association charged with the operation of the cemetery has cooperated fully and (township officials) have found no wrongdoing on the part of the cemetery association or the diocese to our knowledge."