Beaver, OH

Beaver is a village in Pike County, Ohio, near Beaver Creek in the rolling country of southern Ohio. The 2020 census counted 442 residents. The village’s name most likely comes from the nearby creek, and water remains the easiest way to place it on the county map. Beaver Eastern Pike serves the surrounding area, while the Garnet A. Wilson Public Library has a local branch in town. The village is also home to Dogwood Pass, a living-history museum built as a replica of an Old West town.

Dogwood Pass gives Beaver an unusual connection to the American West in a community whose own setting is Appalachian Ohio. Visitors move through a constructed main street, saloon, jail, and other period buildings, while the real village remains tied to Beaver Creek, schools, library service, and Pike County roads. Beaver’s small-town map is therefore made from ordinary civic institutions and one deliberately theatrical landmark. It is a Pike County village with a creek name, a regional school, and a western town inside the town.