Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a five-part series highlighting different villages in Athens County.
As a quiet, laidback neighborhood, Coolville has residents who accurately represent the moniker their village was given.
“It’s just a quaint community,” Fiscal Officer James Ford said. “Things go at a much slower pace here; it’s much more laidback. I’ve lived in this area all my life and I really like it here.”
Coolville had fewer than 500 residents, according to the 2010 census. It is a safe place to raise kids, and the Federal Hocking School District provides a good education, Ford said.
“(It’s) just a wholesome area, for lack of a better word,” Ford said. “Not any worse than any other small community in Appalachia.”
The biggest ongoing issue the village faces is installing a new sewer system. Local Coolville government officials are going through all of the legal work and getting the funding secured to get that done, Ford said.
“Hopefully once we get the sewer system in, there will be potential businesses that want to come to our village,” Mayor Tracy Taylor said.
Taylor added that Coolville does not have a tax on businesses, however.
Ford said Coolville’s location right next to U.S. Rt. 50 would allow the village to grow in the future.
“I definitely think it’s situated in an area that could definitely experience some growth,” Ford said. “It’s in a prime area to become a hub.”
Coolville is also a little less crime-ridden than the other villages in Athens County, Ford said.
“Well, you have that (crime) anywhere you go,” Taylor said.
Coolville has a police department and a chief, so only one person comes out and takes care of calls there, Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly said.
“But we don’t have a great volume of calls in that area,” Kelly said. “It’s probably because it’s not as populated.”
The village’s location, right along the Hocking River, allows for plenty of recreational opportunities, Ford said. He added that Coolville is located only two miles from the Ohio River, and there is easy access to it from the village.
“The people are what define Coolville,” Ford said. “People here just genuinely care for each other.”
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