Cheshire is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

Gallia County Gallia County (pronunciation: ''GAL-yuh'') is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 29,220. Its county seat is Gallipolis. Named after the French people who originally settled there, its nam ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, United States, along the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

. The population was 132 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Point Pleasant, WV–OH Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Cheshire, Ohio, was named for the county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

in England.

Town buyout by American Electric Power

By 2000, the village was plagued by toxic

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

ous gas clouds and

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but ac ...

from the nearby

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

-fired

Gavin Power Plant General James M. Gavin Power Plant is a 2,600-megawatt supercritical coal-fired power station in the village of Cheshire, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Lightstone Generation LLC, a 50–50 joint venture of The Blackstone Group L.P. an ...

. Residents hired lawyers requesting a buyout. The plant's owner,

American Electric Power American Electric Power (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is a major investor-owned electric utility in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation's largest g ...

(AEP), investigated the claims and found that no long-term injuries/illnesses resulted from the cloud but decided it could use the land to expand plant property for future technologies. In 2002, AEP reached a settlement with residents that was effectively a $20 million buyout. Most of the 221 residents agreed to leave the town and absolve the company from future property or health claims, while some remain through either deals with the company or refusal to sell their property. The company announced plans to demolish the existing structures and construct a dock facility for coal

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

s, but has not yet begun work on constructing them. In 2004, the remaining villagers of Cheshire and residents of the surrounding area took steps to expand the village limits by annexing properties within about a mile north and west of the previous village limits.

Geography

Cheshire is located at . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 132 people, 67 households, and 36 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 76 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2.3% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 67 households, of which 17.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 4.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.3% were non-families. 41.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.67. The median age in the village was 52 years. 15.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.6% were from 25 to 44; 37.1% were from 45 to 64; and 24.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 53.0% male and 47.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 221 people, 93 households, and 59 families living in the village. The

was 1,201.2 people per square mile (474.0/km²). There were 110 housing units at an average density of 597.9 per square mile (236.0/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.19%

, 1.36%

and 0.45% Native American. There were 93 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were

living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.05. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $30,179, and the median income for a family was $31,786. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $21,667 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $13,926. About 11.4% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.8% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the village of Cheshire is provided by the Gallia County Local School District.

Notable people

* Emma Rowena (Caldwell) Gatewood, known as "Grandma Gatewood", first woman to solo

thru-hike Thru-hiking, or through-hiking, is the act of hiking an established end-to-end trail or hiking trail, long-distance trail with continuous footsteps. In the United States, the term is most commonly associated with the Appalachian Trail (AT), the ...

the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

Frank Cremeans Frank Arnold Cremeans (April 5, 1943 – January 2, 2003) was an American small-businessman who represented Ohio in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican. He served one term in Congress, from 1995 to 1997. Cremeans wa ...

, U.S. Representative from Ohio * Harvey V. Higley, businessman *

Wendell Holmes (actor) Wendell Holmes (August 17, 1914 – April 27, 1962) was an American actor whose career included work in radio, television, Broadway, and film. Early years Holmes was born Oliver Wendell Holmes in Cheshire, Ohio to Ferdie and Ada Holmes. Cen ...

, American actor

References

External links

Cheshire, Ohio at Forgotten Ohio

The Cheshire Transaction: One Small Ohio Town. One Power Plant. One Unusual Buyout Proposal. A documentary film
{{Authority control Villages in Gallia County, Ohio Villages in Ohio Ohio populated places on the Ohio River American Electric Power