Cheshire

How Cheshire began

Cheshire, a small Ohio River village founded in 1811 and named for the English county of Cheshire, spent much of its later history in the shadow of the Gavin Power Plant, a large coal-fired station built just outside town. By 2000, residents were reporting sulfurous gas clouds and acid rain they traced to the plant; rather than face prolonged litigation, plant owner American Electric Power offered a buyout, ultimately worth about $20 million, that most of the village's roughly 221 residents accepted in 2002. The village never disincorporated, and a shrunken population has stayed on, pursuing annexation in the years since to keep some municipal footing.

Settled about 1794 (settlement on the Ohio bank near the village, per Hardesty), by Paul and Abram Darst, Adam Rousch and Edward McMullen (first cabins).

Where the name comes from

The village was named after the county of Cheshire in England.

Before the town

No source found records a Native village, mound, trail, or treaty event specific to Cheshire. The village lies within Gallia County's broader Shawnee homeland of the pre-1795 Ohio River valley.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1794 — A settlement is made on the Ohio bank near the present village on land bought from the Ohio Company's agent; Paul and Abram Darst, Adam Rousch and Edward McMullen build three cabins.
2. 1805 — The first church society, a Free-will Baptist congregation, is organized on December 15 at Paul Darst's house with Rev. Eli Stedman as pastor.
3. 1811 — Cheshire is founded and named for the English county of Cheshire.
4. 1811 — Cheshire Township is formed from Kyger Township on March 3; the first election of which a record survives is held September 4, 1814.
5. 1860 — A two-story brick academy is built at Cheshire for $6,000 and furnished with over $700 of astronomical and philosophical instruments; the Presbyterians later use it for services.
6. 1863 — Morgan's raiders cross Cheshire Township to the Ohio River, try to cross, are scared off by a tow-boat they take for a gunboat, and are caught by Union forces.
7. 1880 — The census counts 195 people in the village, which has a hotel, several stores, a flour mill and a barrel factory and no saloon.
8. 1960 — Cheshire's population peaks at 369 residents.
9. 1970 — The census counts 315 residents, down from the 1960 peak of 369.
10. 1974 — The first of two 1,300-megawatt units of the Gavin Power Plant goes into service beside the village; the second follows in 1975.
11. 2000 — Cheshire's population stands at 221 as residents begin reporting sulfurous gas clouds and acid rain they attribute to the neighboring Gavin Power Plant.
12. 2002 — American Electric Power, owner of the Gavin Power Plant, settles with most Cheshire residents in a buyout ultimately worth about $20 million; most of the village's population accepts and leaves.
13. 2004 — Village leaders explore expanding Cheshire's municipal boundaries through annexation as the remaining population regroups after the buyout.
14. 2020 — Cheshire's census population stands at 123, down from 132 in 2010 and far below its 1960 peak of 369.

Stories

The village AEP bought out

Cheshire had sat quietly on the Ohio River since 1811, but by the turn of the millennium its roughly 221 residents were living next to one of the largest coal-fired power plants on the river, the Gavin Power Plant. Around 2000, people in town began describing sulfurous gas clouds drifting over their houses and acid rain eating at paint and metal, and a group of residents hired lawyers to press the plant's owner, American Electric Power, for damages. Rather than fight a case that threatened years of litigation and bad publicity, AEP investigated the complaints and came back with an offer: a buyout for residents willing to sell and leave, adding up in total to roughly $20 million. Most of the village took the deal in 2002 and moved away, leaving Cheshire's houses and lots largely empty; the company reportedly considered using the cleared land for river-dock facilities. A remnant of the community stayed on, and by 2004 the residents who remained were exploring annexation to try to shore up what was left of the village's municipal status. Cheshire's population, 369 at its 1960 peak, was 123 by the 2020 census -- one of the starkest examples in the county of an entire town being priced out by its industrial neighbor rather than fading gradually.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · ohiogenealogyexpress.com · ohiogenealogyexpress.com

Mostly private wells The water here

• Middleport Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Community health centers (1)

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-06-02

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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