Zanesville, Ohio, United States

🇺🇸 Zanesville is a city in and the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. Located at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately 52 miles (84 km) east of Columbus. Historically the state capital of Ohio from 1810 to 1812, Zanesville anchors the Zanesville micropolitan area and is part of the greater Columbus-Marion-Zanesville combined statistical area.

History Zanesville was named after Ebenezer Zane (1747–1811), who had blazed Zane's Trace, a pioneer trail from Wheeling, Virginia, to Maysville, Kentucky through present-day Ohio. In 1797, he remitted land as payment to his son-in-law, John McIntire (1759–1815), at the point where Zane's Trace met the Muskingum River. With the assistance of Zane, McIntire platted the town, opened an inn and ferry by 1799. In 1801, Zanesville was officially renamed, formerly Westbourne, the chosen name for the settlement by Zane.

From 1810 to 1812, the city was the second state capital of Ohio. The National Road courses through Zanesville as U.S. Route 40. The city grew quickly in the 1820s through 1850s. The city and the city of Putnam (eastern side of Muskingum River) from the 1840s until the American Civil War broke out was part of the Underground Railroad. In excess of 5,000 Union soldiers, along with hundreds of townsfolk, were stationed in the Zanesville area to protect the city in 1863 during Morgan's Raid. Novelist Zane Grey, a descendant of the Zane family, was born in the city.

After the Civil War, the city grew in size and gained prominence in the State for manufacturing and textiles. The city was also notoriously known for its bootlegging activities in the Prohibition era. From the 1820s until the 1970s, downtown Zanesville was the premiere economic centre of the city with various factories, offices, small to large stores, many hotels, over a dozen stages and movie theaters, nearly twenty churches, and nearby neighborhoods (inhabited mainly by persons of Irish or German ethnicity).

In 1872, Zanesville annexed the adjacent community of Putnam. It is now the Putnam Historic District of Zanesville.

The city was historically known as a centre for pottery manufacturing; in the first half of the 20th century, more than a dozen potteries operated in the city and the surrounding areas. Bolstered by ample local clay deposits and rivers, the area produced both art pottery and functional, utilitarian pottery. Notable pottery manufacturers that operated in the area included the S.A. Weller Pottery Company, J. B. Owens Pottery Company, Roseville Pottery Company, American Encaustic Tiling Company, and the Mosaic Tile Company. The city peaked economically in the 1950s, and like many cities experienced a post-industrial decline. The city today has a relatively high level of chronic poverty and unemployment and a relatively low level of labor force participation and educational attainment.

Since the 1970s, the downtown has been on the decline with mainly banks, law offices, churches and small shops, but the city continues to work on its image and business potential.

Geography Zanesville is located along the Muskingum River at its confluence with the Licking River. It is located 23 mi (37 km) west of Cambridge and 52 mi (84 km) east of Columbus.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.14 square miles (31.44 km²), of which 11.77 square miles (30.48 km²) is land and 0.37 square miles (0.96 km²) is water.

The area has important deposits of clay which were exploited by a number of pottery companies in the first half of the twentieth century, including Roseville pottery, Weller pottery, the J. B. Owens Pottery Company, the Zanesville Stoneware Company, the Mosaic Tile Company, the American Encaustic Tiling Company, and the T.B. Townsend Brick Yard under the ownership of T.B. Townsend.

Arts and culture A three-way bridge called the "Y-Bridge" spans the confluence of the Licking and the Muskingum rivers. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is one of few bridges of its type in the United States. Its unique shape led pilot Amelia Earhart to describe Zanesville as "the most recognizable city in the country". It has been rebuilt numerous times since the 1850s.

The Muskingum River Canal was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Erected in 1874, the Muskingum County Courthouse is located in Zanesville on US Route 40, the National Road and Main Street. The bell in the courthouse was manufactured by the same company that made the Liberty Bell.

Lock #10 in downtown Zanesville features a "double lock". The Muskingum River Parkway and its 160-year-old navigation system were designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

A colony of artists are located throughout downtown Zanesville; two galleries opened on Main Street in 2007.

Outdoor art includes murals depicting local heritage and honoring war veterans. One mural is a panorama of downtown with an emphasis on the Y-Bridge. The John McIntire Library has an outdoor rubbing wall that tells the history of Zanesville and Muskingum County, using ceramic tiles with historical inserts.

The Freight Shops on Market Street are restaurants and retail stores located within abandoned railroad structures.

Secrest Auditorium is a performance venue.

Zanesville is served by the Muskingum County Library System. The library includes the Muskingum County Historical Society's records.

Government The city government is a Mayor/Council (10 members) elected form of government. Zanesville Police Department was formed in 1865 with 6 officers. Today the department has over 55 officers and 40 more support staff. The City Fire Department became fully paid staff in 1879. This department today has over 45 members working 24 on & 48 hours off, staffing 3 stations.

Education • The first school house (a log cabin) was built and opened in Zanesville in 1803. Zanesville High School is the high school for the Zanesville City Schools. ◦ Most students living within Zanesville city limits attend Zanesville City Schools, however students with Zanesville addresses but living outside of the city limits may attend Tri-Valley High School, John Glenn High School, West Muskingum High School, Maysville High School, and Philo High School. • There are two private high schools—Bishop Rosecrans High School (Roman Catholic) and Zanesville Christian School.

Colleges • Ohio University-Zanesville (OUZ) is a branch campus of Ohio University. The branch was in the high school building from 1946 until the current campus opened in 1969. • Zane State College, formerly known as Muskingum Area Technical College, is adjacent to OUZ founded in 1969. • Muskingum University is located in nearby New Concord.

Transport The city is served by Zanesville Municipal Airport, built during World War II, and opened near the end. It has two 5,000 ft (1,500 m) runways. The airport had commercial flights from the late 1940s until the early 1970s.

The city is also served by several railroad lines.

Interstate 70 and U.S. Route 40 (which closely follows the path of the older National Road), pass through Zanesville and run roughly parallel to each other. From the south-west, US 22 approaches from Cincinnati. North-south state highways 60 and 93 pass through Zanesville. Other state routes include 666, 555, 719, and 146.

Hospital In 2016, the Good Samaritan campus and the Bethesda campus merged to form Genesis Hospital. The Good Samaritan campus was closed and demolished.