Inside Ohio's Poorest Region (Appalachia Ohio)

We traveled to one of the most overlooked regions in the country—Appalachian Ohio. Once a hub for industries like ceramics, steel, and iron, this area has faced significant challenges in recent years. We visited to meet the people that live here and hear their stories.

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0:00 Ohio River Valley
0:26 East Liverpool (Ceramics Capital of World)
1:10 "Zombies Everywhere”
2:30 Opiod Epidemic
3:10 Robin
4:00 Wellsville
4:43 They Prayed For Our YT Channel!
5:12 Appalachia Ohio
8:00 Steubenville (City of Churches)
8:50 Ghost Town?
9:40 Asking Locals about Dr*gs
11:01 She Moved From California
11:42 Comeback City?
13:06 Isaiah 9:2

Subs: 50.5k subs

#appalachia #ohio #rustbelt #steubenville #interview

[Hazmatc]

I’m from East Liverpool and live in wellsville! That little church you visited on Main Street helped me more than I have words to describe. They are a beacon of hope and they feed a lot of folks of all walks of life! Thank you god

[arthurbrumagem]

The state oh Ohio is a great example of what happens when jobs are shipped overseas. I grew up there and saw how great jobs were lost

[sherribennington]

Steubenville here.
Life long native. 59 y.o.
From the 1940's through 1980's
Steubenville had it all!
But so did Toronto, E. Liverpool ect. The mills went down and things went to hell overnight!

[thesickle]

7:41 "did you grow your own food out in the woods?" "Oh hell yeah... among other things" 😂🍃

[bradmurray]

One of my favorite things about Ohio is you have the Appalachian region, the northeast part with Cleveland and the lake, central Ohio with Columbus, southwestern part with Cincinnati, and northwestern part with Toledo. Each region feels distinct and different from each other.

[JustinSeara]

2:20 this hits really hard. I hope he’s since spoken to his daughters 😢

[Bulvan]

My mom's family is from Weirton, WV across the river from Steubenville. The same thing happened there when steel went down.

[corkmodelfarms]

I am from Ireland and I can connect to the people of east Liverpool. My hometown used to be a huge ceramics producer, then the pottery closed and my great grandfather lost his job. Thankfully we didn’t fall into decline like east Liverpool we now are a huge pharmaceutical producer but my heart goes out to them.

[Phaero_]

Crazy to see my hometown in a yt video. Thank you for bringing this to light. Everyone in Ohio, everyone everywhere, I am praying for you all❤

[eicrusade]

You really know how to reach people. It's a gift. Always worth it to watch your videos.

[markhowell]

If you want to see the Appalachian section of Ohio, go 100 miles downriver to Portsmouth, Gallipolis, Pomeroy, and Ironton in SE Ohio.

[displayfireworks]

Friendly suggestion, when visiting these towns other than bars and quick stop stores. Consider asking where all the barber shops are and pay them a visit and see who will talk to you there. I think you will get a different perspective from that group in the wait area.

[mpetho]

As somebody who works in the county, and lives just further down Rt 7, it's always exciting to see our area get featured, and not instantly be bashed. The Ohio Valley was once the backbone of America; producing everything from metals to chemicals, and generating electricity from the coal that was mined here. Now it's a welfare state, and filled with the memories of what it once was. Some towns here adapted to the reality that the mills and mines are not coming back to how it was in the 50s, and they are holding their own. Others are still living in the shadows of yesterday and refuse to accept reality. And then there's the towns who are having that internal battle of change is good vs. change is bad. We may be Ohio and WV, but we're the forgotten parts. But at the same time, no matter where you go, somebody has a connection back to here. Appalachia is full of unique people and places, and the OV is very unique (good and bad).Looking forward to the rest of this series, and hope you come back sometime!

[DearTaylerTragedy]

I’m from East Liverpool. Born and raised. I moved away. Thank you for sharing this. My friend recently lost his life in Wellsville 😢.

[konalove]

I’d like to thank you guys so much for making my disheartened soul feel hope again in mankind. We’re all just people and the good ones truly want to help each other. The opiate problem is terrifying. I’ve lost so many to it and almost myself. Clean 13 years from that devil. Suboxone got me clean after more relapses than I can count. I wish we could eradicate this issue but it’s just getting worse. I’m so glad the algorithm brought this to me ❤

[jacobphyman]

Thanks for covering Steubenville! I've been living here for almost four years and am well connected with a lot of people revitalizing the downtown. I was just at the grand opening of a local grocer on 4th Street this afternoon. If you'd ever like to come back to do a story on those revitalizing the town, I'd be happy to show you around and put you in contact with those people.

[MiddleChild-dgmo]

Thank you for bringing us the stories of these towns and the beautiful human beings who call them home. ❤

[Peeler]

Im so excited to see my town on YouTube along with my college of Franciscan University, im a local and my family has been around and in Steubenville for generations. I can confirm that Franciscan is the new steel mill, its how most here made a living or at the power plant, which both of my Grandparents did. I study there and as a local I can assure you most are from out of state. I have many friends who graduated this year who choose to live here and they are making our town so much better. Franciscan is making Steubenville a popular and revitalized town, my Grandparents who grew up and still live in Steubenville can vouch that it was great when they grew up and then it entered a dark time for a long period, now there is a big revitalization happening all thanks to the college. More and more are choosing to move here permanently for the college or work near Steubenville, but the community and revival is happening. Thank you so much for covering Appalachian Ohio. If you need a tour guide for the area or interesting people to talk to I know plenty from here.

[classicstarr]

Come back to Steubenville during the Christmas season. The community really comes together for person-size nutcracker display at Fort Steuben, a historic fort which was also the site of the first Federal Land Office that sold plots in the US western frontier. Side note that Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, was from Steubenville. The history of the area is rich. The Christmas nutcrackers are all made by one resident whose family (the Nelsons) has almost single handedly started to bring Steubenville back from the grave. They have done some great things. They also put on a monthly block party in the summer they call First Fridays that brings out local businesses and residents. When I was a kid, there was little to no reason to ever go to Downtown Steubenville, but those two events lead to times where it is actually hard to find parking now, which I still find incredible. I have moved away and don’t currently live in the Ohio Valley, but despite their hardships, there are lots of people there with an incredible level of morale and dedication. The sense of community in the Ohio Valley is strong. I always hope and pray for better things to come. Always will love my home.

[mieshacanb]

I live in Ohio, actually Columbus, Ohio all my life, and I must say you did this video very beautifully.. even though I am moving thank you for doing this video.