Each month, we feature an Ohio Legacy City on our #GOPCThread Series, #OHCommunitySpotlight. This month we head to the heart of Appalachian Ohio and visit one of Ohio’s oldest settlements, Athens.
The #OHCommunity Spotlight is back for 2023, kicking-off the year with this month’s community spotlight in Athens, OH, in the heart of Appalachian Ohio!
Athens is one of oldest communities in Ohio permanently settled by Europeans as part of the expansion of the US into the Northwest Territory; they settled the area in 1797.
Before Europeans, members of the Hopewell culture lived in the region. By the time Europeans were moving into the area now known as Athens, the Shawnee had been the most recent inhabitants. (Hat tip to @nativelandnet for native settlement history.)
Today, @CityofAthensOH’s population of 62k residents is 89.8% white, 2.9% black/African American, 2.8% Asian, 2.6% 2+ races, 2.0% Latino/Hispanic, 0.5% American Indian + Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander.
Besides @JoeyB, Athens is, perhaps, most well-known to other Ohioans as being the home of @OhioU. The Univ was chartered in 1804; 1 year after #OH became a state. It was the 1st public college/univ in the Northwest Territory.
Ohio University Alumni Gate: Image by Orchysterium via Wikimedia
Today, there is also a major regional hospital—OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital—which has served and employed regional workers for a century.
Nurses at Tea. Image via Library of Congress
Ohioans may also think of Athens as the home of the Athens Lunatics Asylum/Athens Hospital for the Insane, which operated from 1874-1993. Today the hospital grounds are now called The Ridges and used as @OhioU offices and classrooms.
Athens Lunatics Asylum/Athens Hospital. Image by Dan Keck via Wikimedia
.@OhioU’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service is a leading public policy school in the region, and has its offices in The Ridges.
Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University.
Image: Ohio University College Green by Ed! via Wikimedia
Another nationally recognized program at @ohioU is the journalism school, @scrippsjschool, which is a top journalism program in Ohio and produced leading journalists nationwide.
E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Image via source.
In addition to the univ. and hospitals, historically, residents from the city/region worked in coal mining and brick-making. These industries declined in the mid-20th C, and recently have been replaced with tourism.
Athens Block. Image by @dbhightower via Facebook.
Today, Athens has a lively entrepreneurial scene, particularly based around food-based products. @ACEnetAthens is an important financier, incubator, commercial kitchen, and food processing resource to hundreds of microenterprises.
Brands such as @JackieosBrewery hail from Athens.
Athens is working hard to go beyond being “just a college town” by expanding its eco-tourism sector. The city and county together have over 100 miles of walking and bike trails through beautiful forests and hills:
Bike Athens Ohio. Image via source.
In town, @CityofAthensOH is investing millions to make all streets & roads walkable + safe. The $7M redevelopment project along E. Stimson, a gateway into the city, will increase sidewalk size, add bike lanes, & prepare the area for new investment. https://woub.org/2021/03/10/athens-stimson-avenue-getting-a-7-million-makeover/
Athens’ “hippie” culture, (in)famous Halloween Block Party, and beautiful nature make it another great place in Ohio!
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