Officials remove pig houses placed along U.S. 35

Update @ 7:18 p.m.:

The Ohio Department of Transportation on Tuesday afternoon removed three miniature houses a day after they were placed along U.S. 35 in the area where a semi hauling more than 2,000 piglets crashed on June 9.

Xenia residents discovered the houses Monday morning. They’d been placed there by an unknown person or persons, and they were modeled after the houses from the Three Little Pigs folktale.

One of the homes was made of straw, another was made of sticks and the last was made of bricks.

They had to be removed from the side of the highway because they were a distraction for drivers, and officials feared they’d cause an accident. Motorist were pulling over and walking across the highway to take pictures with the houses, which resulted in a traffic back up.

The Greene County Sheriff’s office also feared someone would be struck by a car, so they asked the Ohio Department of Transportation removed the houses.

“That is a blind turn when you’re coming off of west bound U.S. 35 to merge onto east bound,” said Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Beth Prall. “It’s dangerous.”

She noted that the owner of the houses can pick them up at ODOT’s Xenia Office, and they won’t be punished.

Motorists considered the houses a tribute to the pigs that died in the crash. Officials estimate that about 1,000 piglets were killed, and some of the survivors could still be on the loose near Xenia, officias said.

“Any pigs who didn’t get picked up have a home now,” joked Jeanie Smith, who found out about the houses on social media. “If the pigs are smart they’ll take the brick home.”

Update @ 1:30 p.m.:

We’re trying to find the person or persons who built three small houses made of sticks, bricks and hay, and placed them along U.S. 35, where a truck hauling more than 2,000 piglets crashed last week. If you know who built the houses, please help us solve this mystery by calling our newsroom at (937) 259-2237 with the information.

First take:

Someone huffed, puffed and built the pigs houses.

Three small houses - one constructed of hay, one of sticks and another of bricks - have been erected along U.S. 35 in Greene County where a semitrailer hauling 2,200 piglets crashed last week. Officials were focused last week on finding surviving piglets. An estimated 1,100 piglets died in the crash.

It’s unknown who built the houses for the surviving piglets. As of Monday afternoon, all three houses were still standing and none had been blown in.

If you know who built the piglet houses, please help us solve this mystery and call our newsroom at (937) 259-2237.