Amesville, Ohio

Another unique feature of Amesville history was the election of Alonzo Weed as mayor in 1903. Research by Tyler Buchanon, of the Athens Messenger,[9] tells the story of a wandering hobo that became mayor of the village. Alonzo Weed was likely born somewhere on the west coast around 1850. Amesville residents found Weed a strange, but friendly figure. It's hard to say for sure what first prompted his name to get placed on the ballot. In many versions, he was nominated by a few friends on Election Day as a joke.

One way or another, Weed's name was indeed placed on the mayoral ballot of April 1903. The election the election ended in a tie. Weed and Gibson both received exactly 21 votes. Weed was sworn in as the new mayor of Amesville after a tie-breaker. He proved to be unqualified for the job. He was an alcoholic in a dry town, a drifter with little appreciation or experience with municipal government.

Eventually, Alonzo left town, but not after becoming the center of news stories all across the country.

On June 28, 1998, a storm front stalled over Federal Creek and dropped over 10 inches of rain. Quickly, Federal Creek rose beyond its banks and crossed State Street and Main Street. It reached a depth of 15 feet at the restaurant on the corner of those two roads. When the water receded it had devastated most of the businesses and houses on the south side of the village. The majority of these buildings were demolished (through FEMA grants) and the resulting open land became Gifford Park.

In 2007 Amesville became the first village in Ohio to pioneer a new, aerobic wastewater treatment system. As taken from the Athens News,

"On Tuesday, the Athens County village of Amesville unveiled an approach to sewage treatment that state and federal officials say could be a harbinger of things to come for small, rural communities. The village has received the first state permit ever for what is called a "clustered" waste-water treatment facility.

Rather than having a single, centralized treatment plant, the system will feature three separate discharge points placed at strategic locations around the village. The points have been sited to take maximum advantage of gravity for moving waste water, and thus reduce the need for pumping.

The waste water will be treated in large, partially underground bins containing micro-organisms embedded in fabric sheets.

TAM Construction of Lancaster began work on the project the week of July 23. On Tuesday, the village held a ceremony to introduce the project at Amesville Elementary School - site of one of the three treatment fields.

Mayor Frank Hare said the village has been grappling with the waste-water issue since at least 1959, when a village ordinance was passed addressing the question, following the contamination of some wells by sewage."[10]

Current mayor, Gary Goosman (first elected in 2012) has carried on the Amesville tradition of innovation and collaboration. As reported in the Athens Messenger in December of 2021,

"A nearly $1 million project promises to bring reliable, high speed internet to Amesville, which currently experiences among the slowest internet speeds in the county.

“We have a fairly low cost of living in our area and beautiful countryside, so I think instead of young people moving away, I could see more people deciding to live here and start businesses,” said Amesville Mayor Gary Goosman. “I think young people will do a lot of innovative things because they have access to high-quality broadband.”

The Appalachian Regional Commission awarded a $750,000 grant to the Athens County Commissioners for the project, with the county providing $216,320 in local funds according to a press release from U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown’s office. Athens County Commissioner Chris Chmiel said local funds will be provided through the county’s American Recovery Plan Act dollars."[11]

As of the census[15] of 2010, there were 154 people, 63 households, and 38 families residing in the village of Amesville, Ohio. The population density was 700.0 inhabitants per square mile (270.3/km²). There were 70 housing units at an average density of 318.2 per square mile (122.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 88.3% White, 3.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 4.5% Asian, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.

There were 63 households, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.0% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, 39.7% were households composed of non-geanologically related persons, 31.7% of all households were made up of sole individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.03.

The median age in the village was 36.5 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% of residents were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.3% were from between the ages of 25 and 44; 31.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. Gender distribution of the village was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 184 people, 70 households, and 52 families residing in the village. The population density was 829.8 inhabitants per square mile (320.4/km²). There were 82 housing units at an average density of 369.8 per square mile (142.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.65% White, 1.09% African American, 1.63% Native American, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.17% of the population.

There were 70 households, out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 22.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 33.2% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $35,000, and the median income for a family was $44,000. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $24,063 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,554. About 8.3% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under the age of eighteen and none of those 65 or over.