Laurelville, OH

Laurelville is a Hocking County village in the Hocking Hills region, with 512 residents in the 2020 census. It lies along Salt Creek in the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau, surrounded by forested hills, sandstone cliffs, and the roads that carry visitors toward the region’s caves, gorges, and parklands. Antique stores, diners, seasonal produce stands, and small-town services give the village a practical center before the roads climb into the hills. Logan and the Logan-Hocking area supply larger schools, shopping, and county connections.

William Albin and Jacob Riegel established Laurelville in 1871 as a center for commerce and transportation. The village later became part of the Logan Elm Local School District, and local students now travel outside the village for school. Nearby earthworks, including Karshner Mound, add a much older layer to the landscape, while Salt Creek keeps the village oriented to the valley floor. Laurelville is an Ohio village where a nineteenth-century crossroads, Hocking Hills travel, forested sandstone country, and a creek-bottom main street meet.