Rio Grande, OH

Rio Grande is a Gallia County village near Raccoon Creek in southeastern Ohio, and its name is pronounced Rye-O Grand. The village was established in 1874, with the name chosen after the Mexican-American War. The surrounding hills and creek bottoms form the rural setting, but Rio Grande's center of gravity is educational: the University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College occupy a large campus at the village's heart. The college began with land and an endowment from Nehemiah and Permelia Ridgeway Atwood and opened as Rio Grande College in 1876.

Across from campus, the original Bob Evans farm and homestead connect the village to one of Ohio's best-known food businesses. The farm includes trails, a shelter house, and the setting for the annual Bob Evans Farm Festival, while a seasonal farmers market brings local goods to College Avenue. University fields, restaurants, farm roads, Raccoon Creek, and the state routes toward Gallipolis make up the everyday map. Rio Grande is a small Ohio village with two unusually large footprints: a college campus and a farm story that grew into a national brand.