Minford is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

located on the border of Harrison and Madison townships in northeastern Scioto 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, about northeast of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 641.

History

The community was originally formed as Harrisonville in 1859, but its name was changed to Minford in 1917 due to the construction of the C&O Railroad, as there was another town along the railroad already named Harrisonville. The present name is in honor of the local Minford family.

Geography

Physical geography

Minford is situated in rolling hills of the

Appalachian Plateau The Appalachian Plateau is a series of rugged dissected plateaus located on the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Mountains are a range that run from Nova Scotia in Canada to Alabama in the United States. The Appalachi ...

and the Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. These Appalachian foothills of southeastern Ohio, especially in nearby Shawnee State Park and Forest, have been nicknamed the "Little Smokies".

Rivers

The Little Scioto River runs adjacent (east) of Minford and continues southward through the Minford area toward Sciotoville where it flows into 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 ...

Climate

The area consists of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forests and is within the

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

of Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests. Being located in extreme southern Ohio, approximately from the Ohio River and Ohio-

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

border, the climate of Minford lies in the transitional/borderline region of two climate zones, the

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

and the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

. However, the climate is closer to the

. Minford's weather is characterized by warm humid summers, cold wet winters, with brisk temperate spring and fall seasons. Rainfall amounts peak in late spring through summer (May to August).

Coordinates and distance to cities

Minford is located at , which is approximately northeast of

, northwest of

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

, and about south of Columbus.

Location and referencing

The center of Minford is located at the junction of State Route 335 and State Route 139. However, the Minford Local School District covers most of Madison and Harrison townships, including places of different ZIP codes.

Zip codes

Minford's post office has the ZIP code of 45653. Other ZIP codes in Harrison and Madison Townships include 45648 ( Lucasville), 45662 (Portsmouth), and 45694 ( Wheelersburg).

Demographics

Transportation

State Route 139

Minford's postal and office business district lies on South SR 139. New Boston is just south, and Jackson is just a little over north. SR 335 intersects with the route.

State Route 335

Minford's business and school district lies on South SR 335. Sciotoville is south, and SR 32 is just a little over north. SR 139 intersects with the route, as do Lucasville-Minford Road and Bennett Road.

Lucasville-Minford Road

Lucasville-Minford Road is Minford's major truck and countryside route. It carries truckers and commuters from US 23 in Lucasville to SR 335 in Mule Town towards Minford to

US 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major United States Numbered Highway System, U.S. Highway in the central United States, Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even ...

in Sciotoville. It becomes SR 728 in Valley Township near the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility to the road's terminus at US 23.

High Street

High Street is a subsidiary route that carries truckers and commuters from SR 335 to Lucasville-Minford Road in Mule Town. The route is just over long. SR 139 intersects with the route.

Postal, telephone, cable and internet services

Post office

Minford is the home of Scioto County's fifth post office. However, the original building is no longer standing; a new post office was recently constructed at that location in 2000. The post office sits on the corner of SR 139 and West Street, with High Street on the east side.

Telephone, cable and internet services

Minford has its ow
telephone company
for residences in Minford and Stockdale, that offer
Dial-Up internet access
to all of Scioto County an

to Minford and Stockdale subscribers only. Currently, the phone company is offering cable television services and fiber optic internet. The phone company sits on the corner of SR 139 and High Street.

Notable persons

Minford natives include

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

golfer Bob Sowards

Schools

Numerous schoolhouses were in the area through its history, including the old Sunshine School as well as the Harrisonville School in 1878. Today, the Minford area is served by the Minford Local School District. The first "Minford" school opened in 1923, located on West Street. This building was later used as the Minford Middle School until its demolition in 2005 after the construction of the new buildings for Minford Local School District. The new schools were built between the years of 1998-2004. Minford High School was completed in 2001 and the elementary/middle school was completed in 2004.

Local fire department and EMS

The Minford

Volunteer Fire Department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respo ...

and Minford EMS Squad are located on State Route 335. The fire department was founded in 1944.

Portsmouth bypass freeway

A Portsmouth bypass, State Route 823, was built around Portsmouth. The bypass is a four-lane limited-access divided highway that passes adjacent to Minford. The

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

bypasses the cities of

and New Boston by connecting U.S. Route 23 north of Lucasville to U.S. Route 52 east of New Boston and west of Wheelersburg. There are two interchanges in Minford: one near the Greater Portsmouth Regional Airport on State Route 335, and one on Lucasville-Minford Road near Rases Mountain Drive.Official Portsmouth Bypass website, ODOT

References

{{Scioto County, Ohio Census-designated places in Scioto County, Ohio