Abandoned Towns
Brick ruins among bare trees at San Toy, seen from behind a roadside guardrail

Coal mining town

San Toy

San Toy lost most of its population when coal mining ended. Brickwork and foundations recall the company town, while newer homes occupy the surrounding area.

39°38′32″N 82°02′12″W · ≈830 ft

Photo: Nyttend, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Ruins · 2013 photo

The newest dated view of the ruins we found is a photo of brickwork taken from Township Road 308 on December 27, 2013. We found no dated report on public access, an authorized parking area or road conditions at the ruins. People live in the area. A town name on a map or an old roadside photograph does not give permission to enter land or buildings. Obtain permission before leaving a lawful public route.

Overview

A coal town that lost its reason to grow

San Toy developed around the Sunday Creek Coal Company’s mines. Ohio Ghost Town Exploration Co. dates the company town to 1900 and describes a settlement with a hospital, theater and baseball team. Its industrial life was brief. The same local history dates the final mining closure to 1927, after a mine fire in 1924.

The scale of the decline is clearer than any story about the town’s reputation. Wikipedia cites census populations of 976 in 1920 and 128 in 1930. It also records a 1931 vote in which 17 of 19 registered voters favored abandoning the town. Those 19 were voters, not a count of all residents.

San Toy is not empty countryside. The local history describes newer residences among the old town’s remnants, and Wikipedia gives an undated estimate of about 50 people in the former town area. That estimate is not a current census. The documented population collapse and surviving masonry support a ghost-town history, while the present homes require the same privacy and care as any rural neighborhood.

Timeline

The short life of a company town

  1. Ohio Ghost Town Exploration Co. dates construction of the Sunday Creek Coal Company town to this year.
  2. The census figure cited by Wikipedia is 976 residents.
  3. Local history records a mine fire in 1924 and the end of mining in 1927. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency also identifies fire and mine closure in the 1920s as the causes of abandonment.
  4. Population falls to 128 in the 1930 census. The following year, 17 of 19 registered voters favor abandoning the town.
  5. Nyttend photographs surviving brickwork from Monroe Township Road 308. The photograph documents remains at that date, not present permission to visit.

Physical evidence

Masonry behind the roadside trees

The December 27, 2013 photograph shows red-brick walls behind a metal guardrail. Openings remain in the masonry, with trees growing between and around the walls. Its Commons description identifies building foundations and says the view looks north from Monroe Township Road 308. It does not identify a particular building, so we do not caption it as the jail.

Ohio Ghost Town Exploration Co. describes a former jail, a roofless well pump house and steps left by a vanished house. These descriptions are undated. The Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s October 2022 overview also records building foundations. None of those accounts establishes the condition or safe accessibility of each feature in 2026.

  • Brick walls documented in the 2013 photograph
  • Former jail described in local history
  • Well pump-house walls described in local history
  • Foundations and house steps

Map check

Two different points for San Toy

Wikipedia places San Toy at 39.65611, −82.03583 and describes it as southeastern Bearfield Township. That point is about 1.5 kilometres north of the geolocated ruins photograph. The photo identifies Monroe Township Road 308, and the local history also places the remains in Monroe Township. We use the photograph’s 39.642222, −82.036667 point for this guide, with the discrepancy stated here.

The 1911 New Lexington sheet labels Santoy beside the railway in the valley. The 1961 Deavertown sheet labels San Toy beside a smaller group of building symbols, with San Toy Dam southwest of it. Both crops show the valley settlement around the southern point. They help explain where the former town stood without claiming that an old route remains passable.

USGS topo of San Toy Creek, San Toy Lake and the Perry–Morgan county line
Modern topo. San Toy Creek runs down the valley. San Toy Lake lies to its west; the Perry–Morgan county line lies to the east.
Wooded San Toy valley with scattered buildings and a north–south road
Aerial imagery, same area. Scattered buildings and clearings interrupt the woodland. This view does not establish property boundaries or permission.

Unresolved

No verified public visiting arrangement

No site operator or public-access notice was found in our October 2026 checks. The historic accounts describe remains, not an admission policy. We have not confirmed who owns each structure, whether a roadside stopping place is lawful, or whether any walking route is open to the public.

Treat the route map as a way to understand the location. Arrange permission before making a trip to explore the ruins. Do not enter a building, old mine opening, yard or wooded parcel on the strength of this guide. No day-trip schedule, fee claim or vehicle recommendation is provided because those details remain unverified.

Historic maps

San Toy on USGS maps, 1911–1961

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around San Toy, 1911
New Lexington sheet, 1911, 1:62,500 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

The cached routes locate the southern, photographed ruins area near Santoy Road and Township Road 308. They end about 41 metres from the photograph’s camera point. They do not establish a public entrance, parking permission or a lawful route onto the ruins.

USGS map of the Corning to San Toy road approach

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From central Corning5.0 miabout 17 min
  1. From West Main Street, turn left onto Jefferson Street (SR 13), then right onto Township Highway 463 and left onto Township Highway 291.1.0 mi
  2. Continue on Chapel Hill Road Southeast and Irish Ridge Road Southeast.2.7 mi
  3. Turn right onto Santoy Road and left onto Township Highway 308 to the mapped endpoint. Visitor access is unverified.1.3 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • ODOT reports flagged lane closures for clearing on SR 13 between Somerset and New Lexington, on the Columbus approach. Traffic is maintained in both directions, with completion estimated November 2026. Check OHGO before travelling; the stored route time does not include work delays.
  • Saved October 2026 OSRM estimates: Corning 5.0 miles and 17 minutes; Columbus 69.5 miles and 101 minutes. These are routing calculations, not road inspections.
  • No dated source on road surface, bridge condition, parking or vehicle suitability was found. Do not interpret an old 2WD directory label as a current assessment.
  • The endpoint is on Township Road 308 near the 2013 photograph’s camera location. It is not a verified public entrance to the ruins.

Photos

A documented view of the ruins

Visitor reports

Been to San Toy?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near San Toy

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Ohio index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ODOT, Traffic Impacts in Perry County, read October 20, 2026: SR 13 clearing work and flagged lane closures between Somerset and New Lexington, estimated completion November 2026. This does not establish conditions on Santoy Road or Township Road 308, which remain unverified.
  2. ghosttowns.com, San Toy: Perry County and fact-sheet remains fields only. Its undated visitor comments are not used as access evidence.
  3. Wikipedia, San Toy, Ohio, read October 20, 2026: Sunday Creek company town, census figures 976/128, registered-voter wording and the northern coordinate. The present population estimate is undated.
  4. Ohio Ghost Town Exploration Co., Perry County, read October 20, 2026: founding in 1900, mine closure in 1927, jail/pump-house/steps descriptions and newer residences. Its undated remains descriptions do not establish present access.
  5. Ohio Housing Finance Agency, DataByte ghost towns overview, October 2022: San Toy’s former hospital, theater and baseball team; fire, 1920s mine closure and building foundations. Not current visitor guidance.
  6. Nyttend, San Toy ruins, own photograph taken December 27, 2013, released to the public domain: north-facing view from Monroe Township Road 308, with camera coordinates 39.642222, −82.036667.
  7. USGS New Lexington (1911) and Deavertown (1961) sheets, viewed for town location and map descriptions. Terrain at the southern ruins point: USGS 3DEP, 831.7 feet, queried October 20, 2026. Routes: saved October 2026 OSRM / OpenStreetMap data, not field-checked.

Photo and map credits

  • Building remains seen looking north from Monroe Township Road 308 on December 27, 2013. The structure’s original use is not identified in the photo record.: Nyttend, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Area base map, topographic maps and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
  • Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): New Lexington 1911, 1:62,500; Deavertown 1961, 1:24,000.