We’re happy to add maps, guides and brochures created by your community or organization.
MAPS
Buckeye Lake Fishing Map
Download the Buckeye Lake Fishing Map PDF
Buckeye Lake State Park Map
Download the Buckeye Lake State Park Map PDF
Clouse Lake Wildlife Area Map
Download the Clouse Lake Wildlife Area Map PDF
Compass Course Map
Provided by the Perry County Soil & Water Conservation team.
Download the Compass Course Map PDF
Glenford Fort Trail Map*
Download the Glenford Fort Trail Map PDF
*Please note that a permit is required for this trail, available through the Perry County Soil & Water Conservation District office.
Gravel Grinders Perry County Route Maps
Our friends at the Ohio Gravel Grinders have put together a special page with 20 Perry County cycling routes you can enjoy!
See the Perry County Ohio Gravel Grinders Routes
Monday Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Map
Download the Monday Creek Off-Highway Vehicle Map PDF
Rush Creek Lake Fishing Map
Download the Rush Creek Lake Fishing Map PDF
Stone Church Horse Trails Map*
Download the Stone Church Horse Trails Map PDF
*Please note that this trail is closed to horseback riding from December – April – check the Forest Service website for trail availability.
Hiking on this trail is permitted year-round.
Tecumseh Lake Loop Trail Map
Download the Tecumseh Lake Loop Trail Map PDF
Wayne National Forest Mountain Biking & Long Range Hiking Maps
Download the Wayne National Forest Mountain Biking & Long Range Hiking Maps
GUIDES & SERVICES
Ohio Department of Natural Resources Forest Guide
Download the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Forest Guide PDF
Perry County Mobility Management
Need a ride from the airport or to and from places around the County?
Find all the options offered through Perry County Mobility Management
Perry County Airports
Download the Perry County Airports PDF
Perry County Roads Reference
Download the Perry County Roads Reference PDF
Shawnee 20 Under 20 Brochure of Outdoor Experiences
Download the Shawnee 20 Under 20 Brochure PDF
Wayne National Forest Special Areas
Download the Wayne National Forest Special Areas PDF
Book Our Perry County Naturalist
Do you love nature? Our Park District Naturalist is Jessie Bennett. She has a degree in Environmental and Field Biology and has been working as a Naturalist for the past five years. Jessie conducts fun, free adventures in nature so you can learn more about our Perry County flora and fauna. Check our Events Calendar for upcoming events. If you’d like organize a program for your classroom, troop, church, or other group of any age, complete this quick form with your request and Jessie will be in touch!
The Little Cities of Black Diamonds
The Little Cities of Black Diamonds Council has created and is still actively archiving, sharing and preserving stories of our southeastern Ohio coal communities and people. Please visit their amazing website: The Little Cities of Black Diamonds. History buffs and locals are welcome to contribute volunteer time!
Perry County District Libraries
Looking for more information about our rich coal and pottery history? Maybe you’d like to explore your family tree? We’re fortunate that our libraries are very active in our communities, providing activities for all ages from reading events to crafts and yoga! They are also a place where you can access the Internet while you’re visiting us. See the complete list of branch locations and their features on our Perry County Libraries page.
BOOKS | VIDEOS | CDs
BOOKS
A History of Perry County | Clement L. Martzolff
Purchase A History of Perry County at Amazon
Originally published in 1902, this book provides a snapshot of Perry County land, water and life in the county’s first century or so. It is a photocopy reprint of the original pages so marks and annotations were left intentionally by the publisher who republished it in 2019. A fascinating understanding of commerce and nature to politics of the day.
Road Atlas of Perry County, Ohio: Corning, Crooksville, Glenford, Hemlock, Junction City, New Lexington, New Straitsville, Rendville, Shawnee, Somerset, Thornville, and all other communities | APG Cartog
Purchase the Perry County Road Atlas at Amazon
Published for the first time in 2022, this printed atlas is perfect for stashing in your car as you wind your way through Perry County’s beautiful Township, County and State Roads. Think of this reference as your back-up GPS when the signal drops in the Forest – and a place you can scribble some notes for future adventures!
Perry County Ohio Fishing & Floating Guide Book: Complete fishing and floating information for Perry County, Ohio | Jim MacCracken
Purchase the Perry County Ohio Fishing & Floating Guide at Amazon
Over 280 pages of information with maps and aerial photographs printed at 8-1/2 x 11 size. Fishing information is included for all Perry County public ponds and lakes, listing types of fish for each pond or lake, average sizes, and exact locations with GPS coordinates and directions. Fishing information for most of the streams and rivers including access points and public areas with road contact and crossing points are also included. This book features all of the 15 full-size U.S.G.S Topographical Maps – worth over $150.00 if you purchased them separately.
The Liar’s Bench: a play based on the book ‘What is There to do in Perry County Ohio?’ | Betsy A. Martin, Robert ‘Bob’ Frame
Purchase The Liar’s Bench at Amazon
The Liar’s Bench was written in honor of the Perry County Ohio Bicentennial Celebration. It is based on the book, “What is There to do in Perry County Ohio?” by local author, Robert ‘Bob’ Frame. The play takes place in 1941 in front Of Frame’s Market in McLuney, Ohio where several local men gather daily to solve the world’s problems. A young Bob (age 13) has been asked to do a book report on Martzolff’s History of Perry County written in 1902. He consults the men in front of his dad’s (Puckey Frame) store. Historical flashbacks occur as the men on the liar’s bench add their own versions of history. Eventually, Bob learns that he must make his own mark in society.ns of history. Eventually, Bob learns that he must make his own mark in society.
Agents of Change: The Pioneering Role of the Miners of The Little Cities of Black Diamonds in The Nation’s Labor Movement
Purchase Agents Of Change at Ohio’s Winding Road
Over two decades ago, a group of southeast Ohio residents began collaborating to record and preserve the history of this region’s small communities. Over the years, their stewardship has led to the preservation of buildings, the development of annual events, the assembling of a coal miner’s registry and the maintenance of a tremendous archive of local documents and artifacts. Today, The Little Cities of the Black Diamonds Council is the go-to authority for matters of local history, bringing strangers and neighbors alike to celebrate the region’s unique and important heritage.
Richard L. Davis and the Color Line in Ohio Coal | Frans H. Doppen
Purchase Richard L. Davis and the Color Line at Amazon
Born in Roanoke County, Virginia, on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation, Richard L. Davis was an early mine labor organizer in Rendville, Ohio. One year after the 1884 Great Hocking Valley Coal Strike, which lasted nine months, Davis wrote the first of many letters to the National Labor Tribune and the United Mine Workers Journal. One of two African Americans at the founding convention of United Mine Workers of America in 1890, he served as a member of the National Executive Board in 1886-97. Davis called upon white and black miners to unite against wage slavery. This biography provides a detailed portrait of one of America’s more influential labor organizers.
Buckeye Lake | Images of America | Arcadia Series | Chance Brockway
Purchase Buckeye Lake – Images of America at Ohio’s Winding Road
Images and history of Buckeye Lake from the 1800s forward.
Thornville & Thorn Township | Images of America | Arcadia Series | The Historical Society of Perry County
Purchase Thornville & Thorn Township – Images of America at Ohio’s Winding Road
Images and history of Thornville and Thorn Township from the 1800s forward.
Little Cities of Black Diamonds | Images of America | Jeffrey T. Darbee and Nancy A. Recchie
Purchase Little Cities of Black Diamonds – Images of America at Amazon
Images and history of The Little Cities of Black Diamonds in the Hocking Valley including Shawnee and New Straitsville.
Appalachian Mushrooms: A Field Guide | Walter Sturgeon | Ohio University Press
Purchase the Appalachian Mushrooms Field Guide at Ohio’s Winding Road
Mushroom foraging is BIG in Perry County. We’re fortunate that one of the region’s foremost mushroom hunters—Walter E. Sturgeon—produced this long-overdue field guide to finding and identifying the mushrooms and fleshy fungi found in the Appalachian mountains from Canada to Georgia. Edibility and toxicity, habitat, ecology, and detailed diagnostic features of the disparate forms they take throughout their life cycles are all included, enabling the reader to identify species without the use of a microscope or chemicals. Sturgeon celebrates more than 400 species in all their diversity, beauty, and scientific interest, going beyond the expected specimens to include uncommon ones and those that are indigenous to the Appalachian region. This guide is destined to be an indispensable authority on the subject for everyone from beginning hobbyists to trained experts, throughout Appalachia and beyond.
Follow the Blue Blazes | by Connie Pond & Robert J. Pond
Purchase Follow the Blue Blazes at Ohio’s Winding Road
The Buckeye Trail wends its way around the state of Ohio, following the course marked out by the characteristic blue blazes on trees and signposts along the way. In Follow the Blue Blazes, authors Connie and Robert J. Pond provide a captivating guide with each chapter featuring an overview of a 100-mile section of the trail and three self-guided featured hikes. Each route is outlined on an easy-to-read map with GPS coordinates and waypoints to guide the hiker, as well as explicit directions from parking lot to trailhead.
Wandering Ohio: A Buckeye Trail Thru-Hike | Chuck and Beth Hewett | Buckeye Trail Association | Published 2017
Purchase Wandering Ohio at Buckeye Trail Association
Another great guide to hiking The Buckeye Trail. We encourage you to connect with The Buckeye Trail Association – their state headquarters office is right on Main Street in Shawnee. Shawnee was named a Buckeye Trail Town in 2018 (so they may not be mentioned in this book which came out in 2017).
DVDs, ONLINE VIDEOS & CDs
A Forest Returns: History of The Wayne National Forest | 29 minutes | Released 2005
Purchase A Forest Returns at Ohio’s Winding Road
Reporter Ora Anderson relates how the Civilian Conservation Corps created Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. This film is a favorite for the team at Ohio’s Winding Road, reminding how, through perseverance and working together, we can create great change. Highly recommended!
Millfield Mine Disaster | A film by Burr Beard | 19 minutes | Released 2017 | Scripps College of Communications at Ohio University
Purchase Millfield Mine Disaster at Ohio’s Winding Road
On November 5, 1930 the worst coal mine disaster in Ohio history occurred when 82 men died in an underground explosion in the Sunday Creek MIne # 6 near Millfled, Ohio. This documentary uses rare archival footage shot on the day of the disaster showing rescue efforts, bodies being loaded into hearses, and homes, business and people standing about waiting for word.
“The Millfield Mine disaster is the greatest tragedy which has befallen the Hocking coal field, one of the oldest on the continent. It is appalling in its magnitude, so appalling that it has shocked the entire nation. It has stricken a district that has never known such stark tragedy, such loss of human life in a single catastrophe.” – The Athens Messenger, Nov.6, 1930
This 19 minute film features rarely seen 16mm silent film shot on the day of the disaster in 1930, and interviews with a family member who lost men to the disaster and the last surviving miner of the disaster and women remembering the community on the day of the disaster.
Rendville: Across the Color Line | 18 minutes | Release 2018
Purchase Rendville: Across the Color Line at Ohio’s Winding Road
The documentary looks at the racially integrated mining town in southern Perry County whose founder welcomed African American and white immigrants from some seven European countries based on their abilities to endure the work of late 19th Century coal mining.
Rendville’s most illustrious miner, Richard L. Davis is chronicled though a new book by Dr. Frans Doppen, Richard L. Davis: The Color Line in Ohio Coal. The book provides the primary narrative source for the film, and Doppens is one of the primary participants interviewed on camera. Members of the Rendville Historical Preservation Society who grew up in Rendville in the 1950’s and 60’s were interviewed, including Jerry Jackson, Janis Ivory and Harry Ivory. John Winnenberg, who grew up in Corning, is also interviewed, and provides historical context about the mining community in its heyday, and the demise of the coal industry in Southeast Ohio, including Rendville, now the smallest incorporated town in Ohio with 38 residents.
Shawnee, Ohio – CD+Booklet | Brian Harnetty
Purchase Shawnee, Ohio at Ohio’s Winding Road
Brian Harnetty’s “Shawnee, Ohio” (released in 2019) is a musical portrait of residents of Shawnee and the larger Little Cities of Black Diamond region. Harnetty uses archival recordings, oral histories, local murder ballads, and his own ensemble to tell the stories about the town, its labor and mining history, and its hopes for the future. Harnetty, a native of Columbus, made this recording in honor of his grandfather Mordecai Williams, who grew up in Shawnee at the beginning of the twentieth century. The CD contains nearly an hour of music, and the accompanying 20-page booklet contains photos, transcriptions of the residents, and a brief essay.
GOODIES
Historical Aerial Photos of Perry County | Courtesy of the Perry County Soil & Water Conservation District
Historical is the key word. These are old photos so some of them are not in the best shape and some may be missing but have fun taking a look back all the way to 1938!