Hope, Ohio

The Hope Furnace is a historic blast furnace in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located along State Route 278, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of the village of Zaleski, it is one of two extant iron furnaces in Vinton County. Between 1854 and 1874, the furnace was used to smelt iron ore, using coal or charcoal for fuel. It is a rectangular structure, built of sandstone and shaped like a truncated pyramid.Like many other iron furnaces in southeastern Ohio, Hope Furnace was surrounded by a community of at least three hundred residents at its height. The production of iron and the supply of the materials required for iron smelting required a large number of workers, and during a furnace's years of operation, it was the center of a temporary community. No buildings from the community remain to the present day: when the furnace closed, the workers dispersed, and the buildings collapsed or were demolished. Although the buildings are gone, many artifacts still remain in the soil surrounding the furnace; most significant are the many pieces of slag that litter the ground. Today, Hope Furnace is part of Lake Hope State Park. Because of its importance in local history, the furnace was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It was the second place in Vinton County to be added to the Register, being preceded only by the Ponn Humpback Covered Bridge.

Moonville is a ghost town in southeastern Brown Township, Vinton County, Ohio, United States. Little remains of this former mining community except a few foundations, a cemetery, and an abandoned railroad tunnel which is the subject of numerous ghost stories.

Lake Hope State Park is a public recreation area encompassing 2,983 acres (1,207 ha) within Zaleski State Forest, located five miles (8.0 km) northeast of Zaleski in Vinton County, Ohio. The state park is centered on Lake Hope, a 120-acre (49 ha) impoundment on Big Sandy Run.

Brown Township is one of the twelve townships of Vinton County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 255 people in the township.

Ingham (also known as Ingham Station or Ingham's Station) is a ghost town in southeastern Brown Township, Vinton County, Ohio, and western Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. The town is located east of the more well known ghost town of Moonville in Vinton County and west of Mineral and King’s Station in Athens County Ingham had its start when the railroad was extended to the mines at that point. William N. Jaynes was postmaster from March 25, 1903, until mail was discontinued on April 30, 1904, when it was sent to the Mineral post office. The town was abandoned when the mines shut down in the early 1900s. The tracks through Ingham remained in use until the late 1980s when the route was abandoned between Red Diamond in Vinton County and Belpre in Washington County. The railroad bed through Ingham is now the Moonville Rail-Trail.

Mineral is an unincorporated community in Athens County, Ohio, United States. Centered on State Route 356, it was established as a coal mining community. It is located on Mud Lick Run, which flows into nearby Hewitt Fork, a tributary of Raccoon Creek. The B&O Railroad once ran through the community, but was abandoned in the 1980s. In recent years, the portion of the old railroad grade going west from the community has become the Moonville Rail-Trail. The King Switch Tunnel on the grade is close to the community. The next larger community is New Marshfield, also unincorporated, to the east in the same township.

Knox is a former town in Vinton County, in the U.S. State of Ohio. The GNIS classifies it as a populated place.

Knox Township is one of the twelve townships of Vinton County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 541 people in the township.

The Waterloo Wildlife Research Station is a 2,937-acre (11.89 km2) Ohio state wildlife area located in western Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio. Purchase for the area was begun in 1944. The area was greatly expanded in 2005 when 945 acres were added. It was originally named the Waterloo Wildlife Experiment Station. Research was done there over a period of years, until recently. The area is surrounded on three sides by the Zaleski State Forest, and Ohio State Route 356, and Ohio State Route 56 forms the border for the fourth (east) side. The entrance to the wildlife area is off Route 356 immediately south of its junction with Route 56. The wildlife area is drained by Hewett Fork, a principal tributary to Raccoon Creek. A turkey management area of more than 5,000 acres is located partly in this wildlife area, and partly in the adjacent state forest. This facility has an extensive system of short hiking trails, largely based on old fire roads. However, these are no longer actively maintained.

Carbondale is an unincorporated community in northwestern Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45717. It is located a short distance north of State Route 56. The town is located on Carbondale Creek, which flows into Hewett Fork just below the town. Hewett Fork is a tributary of Raccoon Creek, which is a tributary of the Ohio River. The name refers to the once-abundant coal resources in the hills and valleys surrounding the community. The first coal mines in Carbondale opened in 1867, soon after the railroad was completed to that point. The area was extensively mined, with all mines closing years ago. The community is closely hemmed in by the Zaleski State Forest, including the Enderlin Forest just west of town, which includes one of the earliest large-scale white pine plantations in the state, and features the state's champion white pine tree.

Waterloo Township is one of the fourteen townships of Athens County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,352 people in the township.

New Marshfield is a census-designated place in central Waterloo Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. The population was 316 at the 2020 census. It has a post office with the ZIP code 45766. It is located along State Route 56 west of the county seat of Athens.