INTRODUCTION BY BRIAN KOSCHO
Communities are built on the foundation of collective history. The stories of those who came before us and the power of the places they lived connects us to the present day. Here in Appalachian Ohio, many people, places, and events help us understand how we came to be.
History is most potent when we experience it in the places where it happened and when we see the stories of the past in the landscape.
Athens County offers that experience in abundance. Historic Black communities, sacred Indigenous landmarks, cultural centers of significance, and sites important to labor history are scattered throughout our beautiful region. They are also why I fell in love with Athens County and made my home here. They are central to my work and artistic practice. My project, Invisible Ground, tells the stories of these places through a series of Immersive Historic Markers and podcasts. Find out more at FINDINVISIBLEGROUND.COM.
JUST SOME OF BRIAN’S RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXPLORING ATHENS’ HISTORY…
The Berry Hotel*
18 North Court Street – Athens
Edward and Martha Jane Madrey Berry, a young Black couple, started a restaurant in 1880 that grew into a three-story hotel on Court Street by 1893. It hosted four U.S. Presidents and was widely regarded for its food and hospitality. The Berrys sold the business in 1921. It continued as a hotel until 1961, then sold to Ohio University before being demolished in 1974. While the hotel may be gone, you can still see it through the Invisible Ground app from my marker across the street.
Mount Zion Baptist Church*
MOUNTZIONATHENS.ORG
32 West Carpenter Street – Athens
Beginning as a congregation in 1872 and settling in this building in 1905, a thriving community of free-born and formerly enslaved Black Americans built the Mount Zion Baptist Church as a place of spiritual solace and social connection. It remained active as a church until the early 2000s. It is being preserved as the Mount Zion Black Cultural Center.
Stuart’s Opera House*
STUARTSOPERAHOUSE.ORG
52 Public Square – Nelsonville
Stuart’s Opera House opened in 1879 at the start of Nelsonville’s boom as a coal town and became a cultural centerpiece of the region. It closed in 1924 and re-opened in 1997, with its acclaimed historic theater hosting music, theater, arts education, and much more.
Tablertown People of Color Museum*
TABLERTOWNMUSEUM.ORG
9035 State Route 329 – Stewart (by appointment only)
David Butcher’s fantastic collection at his Tablertown People of Color Museum is a sight to behold and tells the important story of the historic Black community founded by his ancestors in eastern Athens County in 1830. The Kilvert Church is home to an Invisible Ground marker.
West State Street Cemetery
1 Miller Street – Athens
Set in the middle of Athens, this cemetery showcases the incredible history of our region. Dating to 1806, it is home to important figures from the rich Black history of Athens, early pioneers, and countless veterans, including those from the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.
The Ridges*
100 Ridges Circle – Athens
Opening in 1874 as a groundbreaking facility for mental health, the Athens Asylum was designed by Levi Scofield and included beautiful open grounds. Today, it is home to the OHIO Museum Complex, the Voinovich School of Leadership & Public Service, and more.
Hartman Mound
Mound Street and Gary Drive – The Plains
The Hartman Mound is of the Adena culture and measures 40 feet tall and 140 feet in diameter. It is one of several earthworks located in and around The Plains, an important center for the Adena and known as Wolf’s Plains.
*indicates a location of an Invisible Ground Immersive Historic Marker
Invisible Ground is an Athens County-based multimedia project that engages people in the history of their communities. The Southeast Ohio History Center (SOHC) serves as Invisible Ground’s fiscal sponsor and collaborator on grants and charitable fundraising. SOHC works to collect, preserve, and share Southeast Ohio’s unique cultural and natural heritage. Grounded in a shared love for the rich history of Southeast Ohio, this partnership leverages artistic expression to make history come alive.
Invisible Ground and SOHC collaborate on a series of Immersive Historic Markers throughout southeast Ohio. Invisible Ground placed the first marker in April 2022 and now has twelve Immersive Historic Markers, with more coming in 2025 and beyond. Current locations include the Berry Hotel, Mount Zion Black Cultural Center and Baptist Church, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Athens County Courthouse, Athens Armory, and the Athens Asylum, all in Athens, Ohio, as well as Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville, the Bailey’s Trail System in Chauncey, the Albany Enterprise Academy in Albany, Tablertown, a historic Black settlement in eastern Athens County, and two markers in nearby Perry County in Rendville and Shawnee.
FINDINVISIBLEGROUND.COM
