CHARLIE NICK

Guysville, Ohio, from McGur Rd. on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Guysville is a small unincorporated village nestled in the foothills of Appalachia. Once a hustling agricultural town, known for its agriculture and livestock trade, it now sits in the shadows of US 50. Located on the north side of the Hocking River, the river’s currents swirl about where the old mill used to be. What remains in its wake is a dwindling memory of its bridge and a wall made of stones. Existing just a mile down the road from Stewart, Ohio, Guysville has more so become a corridor from US 50 to its fellow neighbor. On the surface, Guysville might not look like much. There are no stores in town, just a couple of meeting places, and a church where you can count all of its congregation on one hand. However, this place is home to approximately 1,444 people.

Freemasons of the Guysville Savannah Lodge congregate at their monthly meeting held on the second Thursday of every month on Thursday, April 13, 2023. The Savannah lodge chapter has been around since 1872 and celebrated its 150th year last year. They pride themselves on their historical preservation and philanthropic work for their community. On the first Saturday of every month, they host their monthly pancake breakfasts – which is open to the community.

Three bucks hang in the garage belonging to Old Man Whitey on Sunday, March 5, 2023. Attracting the first hunters as far back as 12,000 BC, large mammals such as bears, wolves, bobcats, and deer heavily populated the area. Throughout the next millennium, many different groups of people – such as the Adena, Hopewell, and Shawnee tribes, and settlers – have found this land useful for its mineral rich soil, plentiful vegetation, and clean water.

Kai Hatfield, a Federal Hocking High School student of Guysville, Ohio, prepares clay to be created into art pendants on Thursday, April 20, 2023. Mrs. Hadley, the art teacher at Federal Hocking, wanted to harvest clay from the land to encourage her students that art can be found in nature. Looking back to the most recent Ice Age, much of this land was carved out and manipulated by glacial drift. Many of the rivers and creeks across Athens County were laden with different varieties of resources such as coal, gas/petroleum, salt, limestone, fire-clay, sandstone, iron-ore, and freshwater. Clay, known as an essential ingredient useful in cement and brick making, has proven useful for Ohio’s economy in this region. Throughout generations, many of the people who have also come through this region have found this resource useful for pottery, homemaking, and agriculture.

Shelley Delaney, left, former Head of Performance from Ohio University’s School of Theater, and her husband Dennis Delaney, pose for a portrait in the parlor of their home in Guysville, Ohio, on Monday, May 1, 2023. The Delaney’s have lived their lives in Guysville for the last 20 years when Shelley was offered a position to teach as a professor at OU’s School of Theater. “We are in Guysville because we saw the house,” said Shelley. The Delaney’s live in one of the oldest homes in Guysville and have restored it to its former glory. Known to have been around during the Civil War, the Delaney’s believe the house might have been built sometime around the 1820’s. “Being a part of the community, I think we’ve earned a right to say we are a part of the community by the virtue of being here 20 years,” said Shelley. “I am a proud resident of Guysville but I feel like I am more a part of Athens.”

Lights in the windows of the Guysville Community Church shine brightly at night in Guysville, Ohio. Known for its rich land and resourceful residents, Guysville continues to shapeshift as its passageways and generational family ties continue to change. Even though the future is uncertain, the resiliency of its people will continue to adapt and make do with what they are handed – like they always have done. “The pioneers have passed away, and the generation that succeeded them, the connecting link between them and the generation of to-day, are fast passing the " dark river,'' leaving little to tell of a people who dared all and endured all to give the stamp of civilization and Christianity upon our glorious land.” ( History of Hocking Valley, 1883)

The old Guysville Methodist church in Guysville, Ohio. The old Methodist church, which was deconsecrated in 1993, can be seen looming in all angles of the Guysville landscape. It now serves as the home for a new resident to the area.

A star is stained in the wall of an abandoned home in Guysville, Ohio. The Rome Township Fire Department was given this home to practice firefighter training for all volunteer firefighters in the area. Currently on a 15.9% decline from the previous year, the median household income stands at $45,042. Known for its affordable housing, young families and faculty members from Ohio University and other surrounding K-12 schools come to Guysville to settle.

South Canaan Baptist Church on Easter Sunday on April 9, 2023.

Charlie Ball feeds a heifer on Patty and Charlie’s Back 40 Ranch located off of Bethany Ridge in Guysville, Ohio, on Sunday, February 26, 2023. The Back 40 Ranch has been in the Ball family since the late 1960’s. Now home to 28 cattle, the Ball’s raise beef cattle for the local community. “We do our own policing in these parts,” said Charlie. “We have three ponds and a shovel.”

Ruby the dog barks on the property of Jonathan and Kari Pennington in Guysville, Ohio. The Pennington family’s land, dispersed among many of their family members, allows their pets to roam freely among their collected properties. As a new addition to the family, Ruby often runs away and cannot be trusted to roam freely.

Athena Lane Brumfield, 11, blows on a blade of grass while playing outside her home on Monday, April 17, 2023. Athena is marveled by the natural world and hopes to be a botanist when she grows up. “I think if she had to choose between dirt and her cell phone she would choose dirt,” said her mother, Sara.

Mrs. Ellen Hadley’s ceramics class at Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio, on Thursday, April 20, 2023. With no school currently in Guysville, the majority of middle schoolers and high schoolers in the area head over to Stewart for their studies. 

Therese Lackey, of Guysville, Ohio, admires a dulcimer after posing for a portrait in the music lending library at the Federal Valley Resource Center in Stewart, Ohio, on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Therese has been a resident of Athens County her entire life. After being a music educator at the elementary school in Amesville, she became heavily involved at the Federal Valley Resource Center. As the long-time president of the resource center, Therese began the musical instrument lending library. “I thought the need was a place for teens to get together and play in making music – that wasn't the biggest need,” said Therese. “The biggest thing was they needed access to instruments.” The lending library has been developing over the course of the last decade – providing a space to learn, for music events, and private lessons for students. “So many played guitar and didn't own a guitar,” said Therese. “I'm in the business of providing opportunities to my neighbors and anyone in the area.”

The Rome Township trustee meeting in Stewart, Ohio, on Monday, April 17, 2023. One of the forms of governance for Guysville comes from the Rome Township board of trustees. Currently, the board consists of three trustees, Aaron McVey, John Young Jr., and John Poston. Held in Stewart, Ohio, the trustee meetings are held on the 2nd and the 17th of every month and always are open to the public. Here they discuss maintenance of public parks, events occurring in the area, and budgets for the township.

Downtown Guysville along route 329. Many businesses have come and gone over the past few decades. Known as being one of the most important trading posts for livestock in Athens County in the 1860’s, the rail system proved very useful for the development of this commerce and a useful pitstop for travelers. In town, there were many useful businesses for locals and travelers alike. Such as the Chapman convenience store, the drug store, and the Bean hotel – all located just across the street. In town, there was also a blacksmith, a shoemaker, a flour mill, medical physicians, a tannery, a furniture store, and a store for merchandise. Currently, there is no commerce downtown. Now, this part of route 329 serves as a passage for those traveling to and from Stewart. 

Joe Brumfield, left, and Sara Brumfield, of Guysville, Ohio, wind down before bed on Monday, April 17, 2023. The Brumfield family has lived in Guysville for the past 11 years and currently reside in the old drug store. Joe works part time at the Cannabis Museum in Canaanville, while Sara works part time at the Athens Public Library. There are not many places to work in Guysville so many residents have to look outside of its lines for work. 

A freemason of the Savannah Mason Lodge leaves after their monthly meeting on Thursday, April 13, 2023. Being known as the oldest fraternity in the world, Masonry has been known to date back to the middle ages when stonemasons would build castles. It is speculated that they were influenced by knights in 1118 A.D. when they would protect pilgrims making trips to the Holy Land. The Freemasons created a formal organization in 1717 in England – where the first Grand Lodge was formed.