LITTLE CITIES OF
"BLACK DIAMONDS"--

Shawnee, Ohio is one of those "cities" but today most people do not know that.

The town is located deep in the hills of southeast Ohio's Appalachian area, in the Wayne National Forest of southern Perry Co., and its remains look like prosperity has been long gone.

Like its neighbors it bustled with significant and sudden population growth during the period between 1870 and 1920 when the railroad came to the area and brought thousands of people in a rush to extract coal, oil, clay and iron ore.  But, as coal production and consumption declined so did the town--and most of the neighboring towns for miles around.

The phrase "Black Diamonds" refers to the riches coal mining once represented.

Today, the village's downtown appears like the dusty remains of an old movie set. 

There is a trendy gift shop open in the downtown (above) and a furniture store which spans several of the old buildings but I never did find its entrance. 

We met a craftsman who was finishing some drywall in a storefront that appeared almost ready for new occupants.  But, he hadn't heard of anyone that was interested.

He described the renovation costs of this building as exceeding the value of the entire downtown--in his opinion.

We met the fellow from New Jersey whose ancestors were noteworthy denizens of the town's history and he was about to embark on a building renovation project of his own.  But, he hadn't started on his second floor apartment just yet in the property he had inherited. 

He was wandering the downtown area promoting a festival being planned for later in the summer.  We were his only apparent customers until another car pulled into the curb from the wrong direction and joined our conversation.

That car's disregard of customary traffic law wasn't of any consequence.  There wasn't any traffic...

...except as shown in the bottom photo.  We joked about the small tractor being the county's towing service.

We also joked about the building in the background and speculated about its ability to remain upright much longer.

Our mirthful demeanor was not at the expense of the local folks.  They joked with us.  And they dreamed.

They looked at the nearby Hocking Hills and its deserved reputation as a tourist mecca.  They look at their town's buildings and see opportunity.

There is even going to be a coal miner statue erected in a little park between two vacant downtown buildings in the coming festival.

Perhaps one of the two vacant downtown theaters will come alive once more.

I hope to go back one day and see their dreams coming true.