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Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District, photograph from the federal nomination
Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District, photograph from the federal nomination

Photographs from the nomination case file, National Park Service records.

Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. 9 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1903.

From the record

One of 28 National Register listings published here for Athens County · listed in 2007 · category: District.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 15 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. Jackson Dr. and Arbor Dr., The Plaines, 45780
  • When was it listed? 2007-06-22
  • Category. district
  • Also known as. Little Cities of Black Diamonds-Athens, Hocking, Perry Counties MPS
  • Township. Athens township
  • National Register reference number. 07000579 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1903 to 2002

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 99 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District, surveyed 2002
Topographic sheet covering Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District, surveyed 1903

Fires near this property

47 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District between 2003 and 2020, burning about 78 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 2 were 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 burning19
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Recreation and ceremony5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Equipment and vehicle use2
Arson/incendiarism2
Natural1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
23 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWayne National ForestBEAN HOLLOW
23 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWayne National ForestRAW FIRE
8 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWayne National ForestFALSE ALARM
2 June 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWayne National ForestNORTH PEACH
12 June 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWayne National ForestMILL CREEK FIRE
29 May 2006Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresWayne National ForestMEMORIAL FIRE
29 May 2006Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresWayne National ForestUTAH FIRE
8 April 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.7 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Athens County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,285 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,285 specimens collected within 10 miles of Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District between 1896 and 1975: 1,073 Animalia, 154 Plantae, 48 Fungi, 4 Unrecorded, 4 Protozoa, 1 Chromista, 1 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. D. Selby, A. H. Blickle, Auburn E. Brower 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Albugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) RousselAlbugo candida (Pers. ex J.F.Gmel.) Roussel1896F.L. Stevens
Specimen of Puccinia flosculosorum Röhl., 1813Puccinia flosculosorum Röhl., 18131896F. L. StevensAthens County
Specimen of Ambrosia bidentata Michx.Ambrosia bidentata Michx.1969William G. Gambill Jr.
A photograph of the species Tridens flavus, not of this specimenTridens flavus (L.) Hitchc.1896Selby, A.D.Caananville
A photograph of the species Aristida longespica, not of this specimenAristida longespica var. longespica1898Selby, A.D.Pleasanton
A photograph of the species Perlesta Banks, not of this specimenPerlesta Banks, 19061898N. Roberts
A photograph of the species Quercus minor, not of this specimenQuercus minor (Marshall) Sarg.1898Selby, A.D.Pleasanton
A photograph of the species Diospyros virginiana, not of this specimenDiospyros virginiana L.1899A. D. SelbyMarshfield
A photograph of the species Salix humilis, not of this specimenSalix humilis var. tristis (Aiton) Griggs1899Selby, A.D.Marshfield
A photograph of the species Tephrosia virginiana, not of this specimenTephrosia virginiana (L.) Pers.1899Selby, A.D.Marshfield
A photograph of the species Elaphe obsoleta, not of this specimenElaphe obsoleta obsoleta1902Morse, M. (Max)Nelsonville, Athens Co., Ohio
Melasmia Lév., 18461902Kellerman, W.A.Athens

All 1,285 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District: 1 past producer, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gravel Plant 2 Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant
Gravel Plant Number 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Athens County

Maps showing this location

9 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

From the nomination file

6,152 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria Areas of Significance (Mark "X" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property (Enter categories from instructions) XA Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. - B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. - C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period,or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction.

- D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield Significant Dates Criteria Considerations Significant Person - A owned by a religious institution or used for (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) - B removed from its original location. Cultural Affiliation - C a birthplace or a grave. - D a cemetery. - E a reconstructed building, object,or structure. - F a commemorative property. - G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years. Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9.

The whole case file for this property - 6,152 words, 44 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 07000579, 44 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Joseph Clester House1.4 miles1980
Athens County Infirmary1.7 miles2003
Sheltering Arms Hospital2.0 miles1982
Thomas Jefferson Herrold House and Store2.3 miles1980
Stedman-Shafer Grocery Warehouse Building2.3 miles2020
Mount Zion Baptist Church2.4 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 07000579 in Record Group 79.
Athens CountyAll 28 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • 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.