Written by Lenn Black on May 23, 2026 (Simply Living Newsletter)

Blue Rock Station is a 38.2-acre sustainability center located at 1190 Virginia Ridge Road, Philo, Ohio, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southeastern Ohio. It features Ohio’s first Earthship, a unique living home made from used materials like tires, cans, and strawbales, and serves as a living laboratory for testing sustainable living concepts.

The goal of Blue Rock Station is to merge engineering art and the re-use of existing materials. The station aims to promote green living and offers a chance to experience sustainable agriculture and building techniques.

The Beginning

In 1993, Jay and Annie Warmke bought a 38.2-acre tract of land in Muskingum County with a dream of creating a retreat for their extended family. And they wanted to build a house that made a difference for the region, not just their family.

A few months later, Annie heard the architect Michael Reynolds from Taos, New Mexico talking about a new type of home he designed that used clean waste like old tires and bottles. He called his design an “Earthship.” The seed for Blue Rock Station had been sown.

But the one structure on the land was a pull-through with two make-shift walls and a leaking roof.

Construction Began in 1996

By 1996, Annie Warmke had taken on the giant task of contractor and project manager of the first Earthship east of the Mississippi River, a living laboratory to test & demonstrate sustainable living concepts & options.

Her first act was to obtain a permit from the EPA for 1,200 tires to be brought in from an illegal dump site near Roseville, Ohio. The tires were crammed with earth (weighing 300 pounds or more) to create the walls of the single-family dwelling. A partial roof was installed, and then everyone went home for the winter.

In 1997, Annie set out to find old barns that were either going to be burned down or demolished. The first barn was bought at an auction. The next ones were free, and they all had amazing stories. Most of the wood used in the construction of the roof trusses, window framing and bookcases was re-claimed from the local barns.

Annie spent the summers with their granddaughter managing a crew of men (two women worked briefly) on the original structure, with Jay showing up every three weeks on weekends to act as a cheerleader and amateur carpenter.

Tours and Workshops

Blue Rock Station was never intended to be open to the public. But folks just kept showing up, interrupting the workday. At one point Annie started charging visitors to the work site, and that’s when busloads of people began calling to ask for a visit.

Annie and Jay began hosting tours and workshops, creating the premier green living center. Since opening to the public, more than 60,000 visitors have walked through the living room of the Earthship.

Workshops became the mainstay of life in those early years because the Warmke’s goal was to offer hands-on opportunities to learn how to live more resiliently & sustainably through skill-building.

In 2004 the Warmke’s and their young granddaughter moved to France to spend three years exploring and learning how to live more resiliently in a place of rich history & beauty. When the family returned to live in Ohio at what is now called Blue Rock Station, the house was unfinished and no one had a paying job.

Internships

Internships were introduced in 2007, offering up to eight weeks of living & learning. Students from all over the world worked side-by-side with Annie & Jay, building tire walls, a rocket stove, bottle walls, framing doors, menu planning, living in a community with others, installing electrical networks, and even a little plumbing. They constructed the Earthship, three sleeping cottages, and the barns.

The entire area is surrounded by trees and food-producing gardens. A tiny child’s playhouse is used for raising chicks and two chicken tractors house a couple of hens.

More than 100 young people have found some of what they were searching for by working hard and living in community with others. Some learned how to wash dishes for the first time, while others designed rocket stoves and bio-gas generators. No job or task or project has been too small or more important than another.

Goats

In 2007, Annie bought Eleonore Rigby and her two doelings. Her goal was to provide healthy goat milk for her family and guests. She went on to write three books about goat herding & natural health. Over the years she has taught her own brand of cheese making and has served as a mentor to countless folks who want to know how to create a homestead, make a living, and raise goats.

Food Forest Garden

About five years ago Annie, along with Chad Cully, began the formation of a food forest garden. Chad propagated most of the food forest plants, and then everybody pitched in to finish planting more than 100 plants into the field. Today there is also a high tunnel for raising propagation material and a new urban food forest garden at a Marietta office property.

The food forest arm of Blue Rock Station is coming into its own with the creation of Warmke Farm LLC and the return of Women’s Peacepower Foundation. With this powerful combination, Annie plans to grow the food forest business. Value-added products are a hot topic right now as Annie considers budgets, pricing, marketing and how to reuse, re-purpose, & respect an industry that’s just emerging.

Solar Power

In 2009, the Warmke’s wrote the first comprehensive textbook on renewable energy. Jay began training teachers to utilize the book, and eventually he became a leading expert in the field of solar energy education.

Through the online courses and textbooks he designed and wrote, students from all over the world have been introduced to the field of solar energy.

Solar Noon Tuesdays

Solar Noon Tuesday occurs each week at noon (eastern time) and provides a chance to stay up-to-date with what is happening in the fast-changing world of solar PV. Host Jay Warmke answers questions about anything related to solar energy or solar installation. Register here to ask questions of fellow PV installers & designers or just listen to the discussion about topics touching this fast-growing industry.

Each of these sessions have been approved by ETA-I and qualify for 30 minutes (1/2 hour) of continuing education credit for their solar PV certifications. Access past sessions and/or get a certificate of attendance (find the session you attended and click “completed”) at SolarPVTraining.

When the Biomass Hits the Wind Turbine

When the Biomass Hits the Wind Turbine is a serious (but not too serious) discussion with Annie and Jay Warmke (and occasional guests) of the realities of sustainable living, heard on Saturdays 8:30 am on WGRN radio. If you are not somewhere that gets reception, livestream it from the website.

The Goals

The goal of Blue Rock Station is to create a world that Annie & Jay want to live in, a world where there is enough for humans, critters, insects, and microbes. They have accomplished this by merging opportunity, engineering, art, and the re-use of existing materials.

The buildings of re-used materials don’t just demonstrate a series of alternative building techniques, but they also generate thought about how to live & work resiliently & sustainably.

By living with the systems that they create, Annie & Jay have tried to go beyond the theory of green living. Through books, videos, podcasts, internship programs, workshops and tours, they have shared a bit of what they’ve found out.

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