By Margaret Ann Ahlers – The “Ozarks of Ohio” may be as little known to many residents as the state’s picturesque “Little Switzerland.” Yet, such a region is one of those places worth including in the motorist’s plans for “after-the-war” tours.
The territory so-called is the southern tip of the state and comprises all of Lawrence County, Ohio, and a part of both Scioto and Gallia counties. It Is bordered on the south by the Ohio River, which sometimes curves so close to the densely wooded hills and towering cliffs that the highway is fairly squeezed between them. Long ranges of hills sweep northward from the river and, in some places, rise to heights of more than 1,000 feet above the valleys.
Stuart Knob, near the village of Sherritt’s at the edge of Dean Forest, has an elevation of 1,012 feet, and Phillips Knob and Point Wagner are slightly higher. In addition to the Dean State Forest of 1,500 acres, the Vesuvius recreational area is centered by a beautiful lake stocked twice a year with young fish from the state conservation depot 200 miles north at Indian Lake. And by the way, although this vast area is for the general public to enjoy, you can’t fish in Vesuvius Lake without a permit.
Among the charms of Ohio’s Ozarks are the tiny cabins that dot the slopes of the hills and the narrow dirt roads that wind leisurely around between the clearings and villages. Some people who live in the region, particularly those of the older generation who appear to be natives, are of genuine mountaineer type and speak with a dialect of southern flavor. One wonders how they managed to survive through winters which shut them in among the hills far away from neighbors or village.
In exploring the Vesuvius area, we came upon Cherryville, which is not far from Long Hollow, a beautiful spot of wilderness uncrossed by mapped highways. One reliable map of the state does not even show Cherryville and the official highway map locates the village by a tiny ring without any road by which to reach it; It’s the kind of pretty village you find all by yourself in a region of the wild and rugged character.
There are several villages in Ohio’s Ozarks, and some of them bear curious names. There is Aid, for instance, near which we saw some magnificent silver poplars: Getaway, Rock Camp, Okey, Polkadotte, Platform, Kitts Hill, Suiter, Greasy Ridge, Pedro, Barties, Steece, and Arabia.
We lingered for a while in Arabia and bought some cakes in the little general store where a fat stove kept company with the old traditional cracker barrel. Long benches invited rural customers to rest before they trudged back to their homes in the hills.
The Ozarks of Ohio are not advertised or commercialized; there are no expensive resorts to attract tourists, although the recreational area is open to the public under state supervision. The beauty to be found there is as everlasting as the hills themselves; – streams, valleys, cabins, winding trans, and narrow dirt roads have been there a long, long time, and they will still be there after this war is fought and the victory won.
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