Love Small Town America…Check Out McConnelsville, Ohio

Love Small Town America…Check Out McConnelsville, Ohio

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(Note: This is a July 2021 update to my original post from last year. McConnelsville continues to evolve and impress!)

I think its appropriate to write my first travel blog about a place I have grown to love over the years.  In the crazy time of Covid-19 restrictions and protests popping up all of the Country, its pleasant to come back to small town America.  McConnelsville Ohio is a small town of about 3,000 people along the Muskingum River in Morgan County, Ohio.  It is the county seat of Morgan County and is in the rolling hills about 35 miles from the West Virginia border.  It’s a quiet town with tree lined streets and an old bridge crossing the river to its sister city, Malta Ohio.  Here you can walk the streets through the many parks and relax.  The biggest draw to the area is the nearby AEP Reclamation lands where after the coal was stripped from the land, the area was returned to the public with lakes, campgrounds and trails. 

The newest addition to this beautiful little town are two giant steel hearts for “Locks of Love” The sculpture is titled “A Great Place to fall in Love” and I think you will agree.

The two hearts have ample room for couples to express their love with locks. The sculpture was inspired by the locks on the bridges of Paris and the giant heart on the Island of Curacao.

Another newer addition to the town is the Old Bridge Brewery which opened in June 2020.  It sits across from the bridge and is housed in an old automotive garage dating from 1919.  The village also hosts the world’s smallest Kroger Grocery Store and a many good local restaurants and  shops making it a wonderful place to just get away from the world. As of this date, Morgan County has the lowest number of Covid-19 cases in the State of Ohio (13).

Morris Building on the Square, Home to the oldest hardware store in Ohio, a fantastic collectible shop and a Healthy Shake shop. This building constructed in the 1850s also houses one of the Air B&Bs in the area.
Flower baskets along main street and small shops highlight the area.
There is a patriotic feel to this town. American flags and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles are everywhere on hot summer weekends in July. If you visit on a holiday…expect a parade or a festival to enjoy.
The Inn at 8th and Main is a fantastic new Bed and Breakfast located in a historic stone house. Great breakfast and you can even bring friends!
Along Main Street, the facade of an old building has become the window to an artist’s park.
The Muskingum river runs through the town and one of the many historic locks lies just a short walk from Main Street.
Here you can walk along the lock and through a dog park to the dam.
Bridges and parks makes this town walkable and inviting.
Dam on the fast flowing Muskingum river. Some of the largest catfish on earth can be found in this waters.
If you walk down the river, just past the fairgrounds, you will find David Griesmyer’s giant school of fish.
Tree-lined streets line the village. Here homes are a fraction of the cost found elsewhere in the State and Country. Even though you are only 75 miles from Columbus, you feel like you have went back in time.
As you walk the streets you have to be mindful of the wildlife. If you do venture out of town though be aware of the deer and wild turkeys which are thick.
A view of the old bridge from one of the many parks along the river.
Walking across the old bridge is a definite highlight of visiting the area.
You can see the new bridge from the old bridge along you walk and see a few “locks of love’ along the way as well.
Across the bridge from McConnelsville is Malta Ohio. A smaller but as equally charming village lined with parks along the river.
This is the new round-about in front of the new bridge in Malta. The two roundabouts replaced two of the seven red lights in the county. Yes only five redlights (if I counted correctly) in the entire county and no four lane roads. There is a McDonalds and a Domino’s pizza….other than that, no national chains. Only local small businesses.
One of several 19th Century mansions in the village and one of my favorites.
Jail from the 1800s…they didn’t need much room.
The Civil War left its mark on this town and it has ties back to Gettysburg.
Art studio in the old Foodtown building in Malta.
Back across the river you will find the new brewery. They are open most evenings and offer a nice selection of beers brewed on site.
Visitor center on the main square.
View across the central square in McConnelsville.
Front of the 1890 Opera House where you can watch movies on the weekends for $4!
McConnelsville is a special place in our own backyard. A real piece of America and one of Hood’s favorite and frequent stops.

So this walking tour of McConnelsville covered about 2.5 miles and took just over an hour. There are plenty of hiking and camping opportunities in the area. There is only one small hotel in the Village and one new bed and breakfast. There are a few Air B&Bs. You can expect to pay about $125/night or less to stay. There are several good restaurants in town. My local favorite is the Chatterbox. Steve serves up good food and great beers. Expect to pay $5 for a pint and $10 for a meal. However, its hard to go wrong with any of the local restaurants. Maxwell’s pizza has just opened an outdoor balcony overlooking the river. No matter what…go check out the Brewery and buy some souvenirs from Old Town Collectibles.

There is little or no crime in this part of America and you will find some of the nicest people you will ever meet. This is a special place…..come and enjoy it before everyone else finds it!

50 thoughts on “Love Small Town America…Check Out McConnelsville, Ohio”

  1. GREAT STORY AND PICS! You provide some really nice coverage of this quaint, rural village! It looks so inviting! Can’t wait to check it out with you guys someday! Looking forward to many more of your travel blogs since you guys have traveled EVERYWHERE!

    1. Thanks Mike, I am still working out the bugs on the website but I think its coming along …slowly of course. Hope to see you and the Kat on our next trip through this fall.

      1. My Mom’s family lives there. She’s the only one that escaped.😉
        We’ve lived in Central Illinois my whole life. We always visited Grandma ‘Peek’ a few times a year.
        I’m embarrassed to say, I never appreciated our visits. All I saw was that there was only one theater(with movies that we had seen months ago), & no fast food.
        As a teenager, I was bored. We don’t get to visit a lot now, but I think I need to have one of my cousins walk me around to see the pics in your article.
        I really enjoyed your descriptions of the places around the square. It’s been awhile. Grandma & Grandpa are gone, we cross the bridge to my Aunt’s & don’t come in to town. Is the Doughboy statue still there? I hope people appreciate living in a town where ‘they’ aren’t pulling down the historical statues, etc.

        1. Thank you for you post! The statue is still there and the town is about the same but with more restaurants.

  3. While your article about McConnelsville gives the town the sense of whimsy that it lacks, you’ll need to do some editing before your blog can gain credibility. Research the grammatical use of it’s/its. You’ll also need to brush up on the use of commas, particularly the Oxford.

    1. Jen, thank you for your comment and I hope you will continue to read my posts. Please understand that I consider my first language math and my second money. So I will make lots of “gammerical errors”. It’s not intentional, but we all have to make choices as what is important to us. What I will always try to do is point you toward great spots (my opinion) and let you know how to get there cheaply. I hope you understand, “Perfect is nothing but the enemy of Good”.

    4. Please spell out whimsical Jen, some of us may not understand what the “slang” word for it means! Do you see how I took away from the original post here, just to air my ridiculing comment? I am so sorry, let’s get back to this fantastic post for this most beautiful, historic town!

      1. Actually, Rebecca, whimsy is not slang for whimsical at all. Whimsy is a noun, and used properly in my comment, while whimsical is an adjective. I am not surprised that needed to be clarified. For a post to be fantastic, the author must be credible. Find my original comment as educational, while this one is critical.

  4. Excellent job. Lots of changes, will have to go back home one of these days.

    1. Thank you for you for commenting. You should go back and visit. It is a unique place and you really need to travel to appreciate it. It was never actually my home…but it was my wife’s. We have been blessed with the ability to go anywhere and McConnelsville always makes my top ten of best places. Unfortunately when you live or grow up somewhere, it makes it hard to really appreciate it. (FYI, Carlsbad New Mexico is always my favorite spot…. but that will be a later post. The southern coast of Spain and the Canary Islands are also way up there.)

  5. Used to live and work there in the early 80’s, and loved it. We live in Scottsdale, AZ now, but would love to go back for a visit. Thanks for providing a great update!

    1. Hi Charlie, I worked at Gould from 81-83. Our youngest lives in Phoenix and works at GD in Scottsdale…small world. The new brewery is owned by a former Gould employee as well. (Did you use to beat me in Racketball or was that another Charlie Funk?)

      1. It’s the same Charlie Funk! If you remember, I moved to Chandler, to work in the Gould plant there, and now we’ve chosen to retire here! Let me now if you’re ever out this way, would be great to catch up.

        1. Thanks Charlie, I may take you up on that on one of our trips…congrats on retirement.

      2. Were you an engineer at Gould? My dad was Ron Eilertsen, and I also summer interned there

        1. Yes, I was there in 1981 to 1983, right out of college. Decided I would rather be an unemployed engineer in Dallas Texas, than an employed one in Southeastern Ohio…so I took off with my girlfriend. (Hard to believe almost 40 years later I am still coming back.) I remember Ron…he was a good guy.

        2. Hi Elise – I was not an engineer, but I do remember your father. I was chairman of the Gould 10K run, and he was a tremendous help, and if I remember correctly, he was a big runner. He was a great guy to talk with and spend time with.

    2. My father worked at the Gould plant and transferred to Chandler as well in the late 80s. This was a great post to bring back so many memories!

  7. I grew up in McConnelsville. It was a nice place to raise my children as well. I have since left Ohio and moved south to Texas. I will forever hold McConnesville and Morgan County close to my heart as it will ALWAYS be home!

  9. I love, love, your description of our beautiful town. We own an Airbnb. Is it possible to have the link to print this off to share with our guests?

  11. My family was from the McConnelsville/Malta area going back quite a way, at least the 1850s. We moved when I was a kid, but I still have good memories of the area.

  12. Morgan County is my hometown & I miss it very much! Thanks for the great article!

  13. A dear friend comes from McConnelsville but I have never been there. It looks lovely. I’ll bet there’s no Walmart around! Looks too vibrant. I’ve seen many American towns following the invasion of Walmart and they don’t look pretty. I noticed the grammar and spelling at first and then I got lost in the spell of exploring. I live in Canada, but would love to visit the town.

    1. Mona…you are correct, there is no Walmart in the County. There is a Family Dollar and a Dollar Store, but other than those and the shops on Main Street, not much else. I hope you consider visiting some time. Of course, I do have to admit that I love Canada as well….clean, great people, beautiful cities.

    2. I live in Morgan County, near McConnelsville now, but my family is originally from Canada-the LeCras Clan, if you happen to know any. I hope our small little town remains quaint and small, which makes it a beautiful place to live!

  14. Very nice for your first effort. A lot of family history there. It has changed over the decades, but somehow always stays the same. Looking forward to the upcoming posts.

  16. My husband and I moved to McConnelsville 3 years ago. I love living here, love the people and the town. He’s originally from Zanesville and I’m from Texas. I love living somewhere that I feel safe to walk the streets after dark, you know your neighbors and the shop owners and employees know you too. It’s a sleepy little town with tons of charm and genuine warm people.

  17. I lived and grew up in mcconnelsville (rokeby locks) my whole life. .my dad was the lock tender at lock number 8 and the park was my backyard. We lived in the lockhouse…I still go down regularly to visit my family as I now live in Zanesville…my. mom now’ lives straight across the street from our old house …she couldn’t leave the area lol….we always met alit of boaters from all over it was great….lots of good back roads to drive and see all the wildlife

  18. I didn’t grow up there but my entire family is from there and many still live there ( Spencer’s) I am headed there this weekend and have always loved visiting this home away from home !

  19. Oba, Well done Mom and i enjoyed the pictures and commentary. .What a small world..
    Keep up the good work.
    Love Mom and Dad. …….. .

  21. My sister Karen Kincaid sent me your post. I left Malta / McConnelsville Area for Urbana, Illinois 61 years ago after my husband came home from the Navy.We did go back plenty of times while my parents were living but the yrs got to be adding up on both of us. I will hit the 80 yr mark August 9th and my husband 83 yrs on Halloween this yr. We both enjoyed your post and it makes us home sick. We feel like we want to go there soon for our 61 st Wedding Anniversary and my Birthday. Thanks for your post.

    1. Thank you for your comment! I hope you make it back; I think it will seam very much the same as last time you were there. I met my wife there, she was Dana Scott’s (Pennsville Dairy Farmer) youngest daughter. I go back several times a year and have met several Kincaids.

  22. I enjoyed this post very much! Thanks for the beautiful pictures. Travel blogs without photos are like a dining table without any chairs! (not that useful)

  23. McConnelsville, Ohio is a very unique small town to be from! Wonderful memories of my parents owning Wilson’s Bakery making different kinds of baked goods for our community! School year memories & still involved with some of my classmates.
    Our sister-town Malta is also very quaint!
    Sandy Wilson Shirer-wright

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