Gaysport, Ohio
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Blue Rock Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43720. It stands on Dry Riffle Run. The Survey maps it on the Philo quadrangle.
Then and now
1910 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 84 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 14 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1910 USGS Philo quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1949 USGS Clarksburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Clarksburg quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Clarksburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Philo quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1980 USGS Senecaville quadrangle1:100000
- 1980 USGS Senecaville Lake quadrangle1:100000
- 1988 USGS Clarksburg quadrangle1:250000
- 1994 USGS Philo quadrangle1:24000
In the county-history sources
8,413 words on this townshipHistory of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882 names this settlement in its chapter on Blue Rock Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
The first mail coach, between the same points, was driven by Zadok Burdick ; and to dispose of the subject of mails we will add, that there are three postoffices in Blue Rock township, at this time; one at Gaysport, named Blue Rock: one at Kiefer, in the northeast quarter of the township, and one at Rural Dale.
Passage source: History of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882.
The first was Dr. Baker, who came to this town-. ship in1805,and settled on the property now owned by Tobias Dilley. He was succeeded by Dr. Sears, and about 1830, Dr. Flanders came, and in 1836, Dr. Clapp came, and after himcame Dr. McNeal. This is a traditionary record, and just what part these sons of Galen played in the drama, besides administering physic, is not recorded. Dr. McCall came to Gaysport in 1844. Dr. Coverdale practiced at Ridgeway, in 1836, and Dr. Wilson, at Rural Dale, in 1837. There was a Dr. Hull in this region, also, but when, and just where, is not known.
Passage source: History of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882.
The first election was held at the house of Lawrence Allwine, just above Gaysport, January 6th, 1814. The first officers were: Justices of the Peace, Lawrence Allwine and Joseph Smith ; Trustees, Eli Sherman, James Larrison, and Daniel Boan; Treasurer, David Dutro, Sr. ; Overseers of the Poor, Jacob Ayers and Peter Dingman; Fence Viewers, Samuel Johnson and William Eviland; Supervisors, John Larrison and Daniel Bean; Constables, George Watson and James Larrison ; Lister, Jacob Ayers ; Clerk, Lawrence Allwine. The commissions of the Justices are dated January 13th, 1814, and are signed by R. J. Meigs, Governor.
Passage source: History of Muskingum County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers, published 1882.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Blue Rock Township - it names this place 7 more 7 times.
Fires near this place
18 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Gaysport between 2002 and 2019, burning about 33 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 April 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 7 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 2.5 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Ohio State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 6 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 3.5 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 22 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | 13510 |
| 10 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 246 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 246 specimens collected within 10 miles of Gaysport between 1893 and 1971: 229 Animalia, 12 Plantae, 5 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Adams, W.; Starrett, J., Adams, William, Adler, K. K. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Tabanus quinquevittatus Wiedemann, 1821 | 1916 | O. | |
![]() | Tabanus sulcifrons Osten Sacken, 1878 | 1916 | O. | |
![]() | Lycogala exiguum Morgan, 1893 | 1893 | Morgan A.P. | Preston |
| Anthophoridae | 1916 | not recorded | ||
![]() | Bombus vagans Smith, 1854 | 1916 | P.R. Lowry | |
![]() | Colletes nudus Robertson, 1898 | 1916 | unknown | |
![]() | Linognathus vituli (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1920 | P. R. Lowry | |
![]() | Solenopotes capillatus Enderlein, 1904 | 1920 | P. R. Lowry | |
![]() | Strigiphilus Mjoberg, 1910 | 1920 | P. R. Lowry | |
![]() | Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802) | 1935 | Hicks, L. E. (Lawrence E.) | Philo, Muskingum Co., Ohio |
![]() | Colinus virginianus mexicanus (Linnaeus, 1766) | 1935 | Hicks,L.E. | 5 mi S Zanesville |
![]() | Coluber constrictor constrictor Linnaeus, 1758 | 1935 | Maslowski, K. (Karl) & Dambach, C. A. (Charles A.) | Blue Rock Twp., Muskingum Co., Ohio |
All 246 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Gaysport: 1 producer. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Ferro-Alloys/ Philco, Ohio | Iron | Producer |
Storms near this place
11 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gaysport in 11 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 5 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gaysport | $20,000 | Trained spotter reported multiple trees down. A roof was also blown off and a garage destroyed. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gaysport | $5,000 | Local Broadcast media reported trees down. |
| April 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gaysport | $5,000 | A newspaper reported trees down in Gaysport. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gaysport | $500 | Law enforcement reported a tree down. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gaysport | $500 | The public reported one large limb down. |
| September 2018 | Heavy Rain | Gaysport | - | A trained spotter reported a storm total of 2.24 inches. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Gaysport | - | Buttermilk Road flooded from thunderstorm rains. Streams out of banks were flooding SR 376. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Gaysport | - | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Hail | Gaysport | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Gaysport | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Hail | Gaysport | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064708. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.



















