The Longaberger Company
Do you remember Longaberger Baskets? I’d venture to guess (especially if you’re a Midwesterner), that at least one of your family members had one, or 100 of these baskets prominently (and proudly) on display. They were a huge success for many years. These handcrafted baskets made their way into homes all over the county, as they were even sold as an MLM product, like Mary Kay or Amway.
The company was thriving, and these wicker baskets were selling like crazy! In 1999 owner Dave Longaberger opened the Longaberger Homestead. This massive property contained the original Longaberger home, the 1890 Crawford Barn, restaurants, and a mall with several stores containing these wicker creations. The Homestead used to be a Destination where families could have the experience of creating their own baskets and just having a day full of memories. It truly sounded like a remarkable place. Marketing was one thing Dave Longaberger knew, and he turned this small basket company into an empire!
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The Beginning of the End
With so many beloved fans, how did this company meet it’s end? Well, after Dave Longaberger died very unexpectedly, much of the magic did as well. His daughter took over the reins, but there were no plans in place for operation upon Dave’s death. As the years passed, the sales took a monumental downward and to cut costs, the quality temporarily became subpar. The company was sold to a Dallas Based Holding Firm and that was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. They started a massive layoff and when they saw the financial burden was not waning, they stopped paying property taxes in 2014 and left the HQ in 2016. At its peak, the company employed about 8,500 workers. Now the old HQ, factory, and Homestead are sadly just sitting empty awaiting their fate.
Visiting the Basket HQ
Today you can visit the old headquarters building or simply see it off the highway. The grounds used to be impeccably beautiful, but now the property is definitely showing signs of wear. If you peek in the windows, you can see the memories left behind. The grand staircases wraps up to the next level with a slight grandeur. The desks and details were all impeccable despite the building being abandoned for about 7 years now.
Sadly, the Homestead is like a literal ghost town. The parking lots are empty, with the cracks of their age showing through. The buildings are all defunct and time has started to take over, as it does. Some buildings looked as if they closed yesterday, others looked ragged. It’s an eerie feeling to drive up with the empty pond, and the huge basket of apples that was once a prime family photo spot.
You can visit the HQ, but I’d double check the situation on the Homestead before going.
The Future of Longaberger
The future of the amazing and iconic Basket building is uncertain at this time. It had been purchased by a developer with plans to turn the building into a hotel. The talks started, and then in early 2020, Covid 19 swept through the nation, destroying any plans of moving ahead. Now there are talks about a deal with the incoming Intel Corporation. So, for today, the building sits silently as a reminder of the past, and current roadside attraction.
The Homestead was purchased by a company but has not been put to use as of yet. Longaberger as we knew it, is gone. However the demand for these beautiful baskets is still there, and they came back as Dresden & Co. Today they employ many of the former basket weavers, and are building an online presence. They continue to have distributors and are adding new products to their lineup. I hope they can build the former empire back up to a household name once again. If you’re still interested in the baskets, you can purchase them here.
Other Notable Locations
If you’re already in the area and looking for some other things to do, you should check out the Buxton Inn or the town of Granville in general.
If you can’t make the visit but would like to see the places for yourself, check out our YouTube video! We walked all over the place so you could see what remains! If you’re looking for other abandoned locations check them out here