Cheshire is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Gallia County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States, along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The population was 123 at the 2020 census. It is part of the rural

Point Pleasant micropolitan area The Point Pleasant Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties – one in West Virginia and one in Ohio – anchored by the city of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. As ...

History

Cheshire, Ohio, was named for the county of

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

in England.

Town buyout by American Electric Power

By 2000, the village was plagued by toxic

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

ous gas clouds and

acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), 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 b ...

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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

-fired Gavin Power Plant. Residents hired lawyers requesting a buyout. The plant's owner,

American Electric Power American Electric Power Company, Inc. (AEP), (railcar reporting mark: AEPX) is an American domestic electric utility company in the United States. It is one of the largest electric utility companies in the country, with more than five mi ...

(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 A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

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

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

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

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 population density was . There were 110 housing units at an average density of . 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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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

* Frank Cremeans, U.S. Representative from Ohio * Emma Rowena (Caldwell) Gatewood, known as "Grandma Gatewood", first woman to solo thru-hike 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 Tra ...

* Harvey V. Higley, businessman * Wendell Holmes (actor), 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 Ohio populated places on the Ohio River American Electric Power Villages in Ohio