Milton Lindsay Photography

Brothers Declan (left) and Riach Roberts ride around the Coolville Elementary schoolyard endlessly during the warmer months. “It’s what I like about living here,” their father Russell said, who has lived with his three sons in the house next to the school for 15 years. “There’s space, they can get out and do what they want.”

Amari and her cousin Harper Lorah run through the backyard of her family’s house in town. Harper’s mom, Cass, makes her house a place “where kids in the neighborhood can come to. They’re always around. I love that. That’s what I want to happen where I live.”

Jeremy Miller, who grew up going to his aunt’s farm outside nearby Guysville, Ohio, has one of the two neighborhood farms tucked away among the modest one-and-two-story houses that line Coolville’s streets. “They’re therapy for me,” he said about the 70 chickens he has on his half-acre property. “I’ve got a great relationship with them. It’s love. I went from working seven days a week to none after I got hurt on the job. They’re what get me through.” 

Laura Gibson, 14, has been shooting guns since she was 3 years old. “I have more fun with them than I should,” she said, laughing. For her father, Josh, understanding how to use a gun is an essential part of life around Coolville and the surrounding area. While Josh says the area is safer than it once was, “You never know who’s gonna knock on the door. It’s for protection and it’s for lifestyle.” 

The sun sets on Mound Cemetary, south of Coolville. The burial mound was built by the Adena people that lived in this area between 1000 and 200 B.C. Early settlers of the area continued to use it as a cemetery and today many people in town know people buried there. 

The building that once housed Chapman’s Department Store is more or less structurally sound, but the vibrancy and commerce disappeared many years ago. “It was really sad when I moved back to Coolville and saw Chapmans wasn’t there anymore,” Coolville resident Anita Taylor said. 

Throughout the years, many lifelong bonds and friendships have been made in the schoolyard at Coolville Elementary. The majority of residents in Coolville attended at some point in their lives. 

Dave Duckworth lights the candle for twins Sadie and Trace Russel, the Acolytes for that week’s Sunday service at Coolville Methodist Church. In the Methodist Church, children serve as Acolytes to symbolize the continuation of Christ’s teachings and influence. 

“There are a lot of elderly people, handicapped people, poor people, in Coolville. We gotta speak up for them and make sure their thoughts are heard about what they need,” said Village Councilmember Curtis Rood (foreground). “Without us a lot of them would be lost.” 

Pastor Phil Thomas checks in with Dan and Jean Duckworth before Sunday service at Coolville Methodist Church. An enduring presence in Coolville since 1853, the church provides a place for worship and socializing for the 30 or so congregants who attend services each week. 

For 70 years, Route 7 brought a constant traffic of traffic and commerce down Coolville’s Main Street, making the town a commercial and cultural hub in the Lower Hocking Valley. The diversion would change the town forever. It meant there wasn’t as much of a reason to come through Coolville; businesses and people followed suit. 

US Route 50 crosses the Hocking River near where the Coolville Mill stood for over a century. The expansion of Route 50 in 1965 redefined the way of life for the Lower Hocking Valley. 

“I’m at home on a farm, it’s what I know. I’d rather be here working in the barn than going to town and shopping or anything,” Kay Smeeks said. “It’s what I’d grown up with. I’m a farmer’s daughter and now a farmer’s wife.” Kay and Gary have been farming together on their 60 acres on the ridge south of Coolville for over 50 years. 

Bill Airhart (left) his son Andrew and Eric Young bring a calf into the yard to take photos of it for an upcoming auction. The Airharts run one of the last remaining family farms on Brimstone Ridge, south of Coolville. The family runs the farm part-time, though it has begun to become profitable in recent years, a rarity for what people around Coolville refer to as hobby farming. Andrew has plans to take over the farm once his father retires. 

Kellie Stevens brings lunch on a busy Sunday afternoon at the Coolville Café. Located in the GoMart Gas Station across Route 50 from town, it is the only restaurant for 15 miles in either direction – a departure from Coolville’s heyday when five restaurants could be found on Main Street.

“[Audrey] has been around here her whole life,” said Jerimiah Kline, a member of the Coolville Volunteer Fire Department, who has known Audrey’s father, Zack Hall, for 30 years. “Her daddy was a firefighter, his dad; that’s how it is.” During the monthly community breakfasts at the firehouse, the kids run around the trucks for hours on end. 

During its peak in the first half of the 20th Century, Coolville was the economic center for the surrounding towns in the Lower Hocking Valley. Today, the bank building is used as Coolville’s town hall. The vault has been empty since the 1950s.

The back bar at the People’s Club displays old photos and postcards from Coolville. “I can look at every one of these and tell you what happened there, or what I did then,” said Dwayne Ollom, who has lived in Coolville his entire life. “The mill was a good place to cut school back then,” pointing to one of the photos and laughing. 

Cass Lorah’s husband Daniel works as a lineman in northern Ohio – the best-paying job he could find within three hours of Coolville. The weeks Daniel spends away for work put some strain on Cass with the demands of raising their 4-year-old daughter Harper. While Cass says Daniel loves the work and it pays well, “if there was a way that like it could work around this area and come home every night, it would make things a lot easier. Nice to have someone to eat dinner with every night. Help with our little tornado. But it’s what we got.”

Mckenzie Ollum and her dad, Dwayne, wait at the People’s Club for Mckenzie's cousin Zack to get dropped off by the school bus. The People’s Club, a social club of about 30 members from the town and the surrounding area, is one of the few communal spaces left in Coolville. 

Throughout town, many residents use things they find lying around to create an identity or sense of place within their community. 

“She’s not as smart as the last one I had,” said Bruce Bigley. “You could trust the kids around her. Raven showed her teeth, once. Can’t try it after that.” 

Located in the Appalachian foothills, Bluegrass is a cultural tradition that carries over from West Virginia, where many in town trace their roots. 

Mike Vigue (left), Danny Mullin, Larry Shifflette, Kyle Counts, and Dwayne Ollom (foreground) play bluegrass tunes during the weekly session on Wednesdays at the People’s Club. A rotating cast of characters from Coolville and the surrounding area come through every week to play the songs they grew up with and tell stories stories from Bluegrass festivals and bar shows they performed at. Some of the people who come have been playing together for 40 years.