Clark County to donate parts of Upper Valley Mall to Heritage Center

Center given full reign from land bank to take materials to memorialize the history of Clark County.

Clark County will donate parts of the recently closed Upper Valley Mall to the Heritage Center to be preserved and later interpreted.

The Upper Valley Mall, which closed on June 16 after decades of business, currently lies in the hands of the Clark County Land Bank until ownership is transferred to the developer, Industrial Commercial Properties (ICP). ICP purchased the property earlier this month and plans to turn the former mall into a business park. The exact time frame of the ownership transfer is not currently set.

Upper Valley Mall’s Holiday Display Donated

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The Clark County Land Bank, a nonprofit community improvement organization, has given the Heritage Center full reign to take whatever materials they want to memorialize the history of Clark County, according to Ethan Harris, director of the Clark County Land Bank.

Jonathan Golden, an intern from Wittenberg University, brings "Peanuts" characters out from the Upper Valley Mall storage room Wednesday. The Clark County Land Bank donated the Upper Valley Mall's holiday display to the Clark County Historical Society. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

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Credit: Bill Lackey

“For us, it was important to document the significance that the mall has played in our community for the past 50 years,” Harris said.

The Heritage Center could decide to take any items that may be important to memorialize the mall including items like benches or displays. However, Harris says one of the bigger areas of interest was the Charlie Brown peanut characters’ Christmas displays.

According to Executive Director of the Clark County Historical Society Roger Sherock, they intend to display the peanut characters around the holidays.

The "Peanuts" gang was going for a ride Wednesday as the Clark County Historical Society collected the holiday display from the Upper Valley Mall and was transfering the character's to their storage facility. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

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Credit: Bill Lackey

“We feel it’s very important [to preserve]. It’s what we are here for. It’s our mission: collect, preserve, interpret.”

If not for the Heritage Center, these materials would either be sold or transferred with the property to the new owners, according to Harris.

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