Photo Courtesy of the Perry County Historical and Cultural Arts Society
History of the Coal Mining Town
A village nestled in Sunday Creek Valley of Southeastern Appalachian Ohio, off of State Route 13 in Perry County, sits abandoned, with few residents still living within the town lines. Around the early 1800s, early settlers in the Southeastern Ohio region started noticing coal outcrops along streams, and industries needed coal to power the iron furnaces and bigger cities in Ohio. As coal mines needed workers close by to work the mines, small communities and towns were established to attract house miners closer to the mines, where they would have houses, schools, churches, opera houses, brothels, and restaurants. Some towns created around these coal mines in Southeastern Ohio were Corning, Shawnee, New Straitsville, Glouster, Haydenville, Congo, etc. Many of these towns would be considered the ‘Little Cities of Black Diamonds.’ They became boom towns for residents within the coal mining industry.
(Above Left) Photo Courtesy of Ohio State University (Above Right) Main Street, located in Rendville.
The gravestone of Richard L. Davis lies on the ground in the Rendville Cemetery.
One town called Rendville became different from the other coal mining towns in Southeast Ohio because of the racially mixed community of African American and European immigrant miners. Rendville was one of the first integrated coal mining towns in Ohio. Rendville was established in 1879 by Colonel William P. Rend, an Irish-born industrialist from Chicago who hired African Americans to work alongside European immigrants within Rendville, which was unusual in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “I [found during] my research that Rendville, at the time, was called a sociological experiment because it would not place at that time where blacks and whites were living, working, and worshiping peacefully together,” said Cynthia Preston, Assistant Professor at Ohio State University. However, many miners from white neighboring towns were against this practice because they thought hiring black workers to work in the mines would bring down wages. Still, Rend advocated for his miner's rights and later founded and incorporated Rendville in 1882.
As the town grew in population as an interracial community, violence within the city progressed to a hanged lynching by a mob to avenge the murder of a resident on February 3, 1884, and rising tensions from other neighboring towns who started mobs who were against black men working in the mines. According to Urban Appalachian Community Coalition, in 1888, mobs of white mine workers from Corning and other nearby towns descended onto Rendville to drive out the black coal miners and their families from the Sunday Creek Valley. The mob hid weapons in wagons, but there was no bloodshed or intense violence that occurred because Governor Charles Foster called the National Guard to disperse the mob, and this would be called the “Corning War.”
Within Rendville, it was home to prominent figures in American history who have been unacknowledged. Richard L. Davis was one of the many African American miners from the Kanawha and New River region hired by the Ohio Central Coal Company and Colonel William P. Rend to work in the coal mine in Rendville when Rendville was established in 1882. He was also a leader in the Knights of Labor and one of the labor organizers who helped found the United Mine Workers of America in 1890. Along with Davis, Dr. Isaiah Tuppins was the first mayor of Rendville and the first African American to be elected as mayor and receive a medical degree in Ohio in 1888. In 1969, Sophia Mitchell became the first African American woman to be appointed mayor of Ohio. In 1953, Roberta Preston was the first African-American woman to become a postmaster in the United States and Ohio. Rendville was a bustling interracial community that thrived during the era of coal mining in Southeast Ohio until the closure of the coal mines in the 1930s - 1940s.
As the ‘Little Cities of Black Diamonds’ relied on coal mining for their infrastructure and economy, their populations decreased as residents moved out after the mines closed. The town’s economy also suffered and ceased to exist with no residents. According to the Department of Commerce and Labor Bureau of the Census, Rendville had a population of 859 in the 1890s, 790 in the 1900s, 623 in the 1910s, 515 in the 1920s, 387 in the 1940s, 301 in the 1950s, and in 2024, there is currently 10-20 residents left in Rendville. Many residents have commented on how everyone got along with the town with no prejudice against the other to this day. The town is no longer incorporated as a town in Ohio and is considered a village claimed by the Monroe Township in Perry County.
(Above Left) A Sycamore tree, or the Rendville hanging tree, sits along Valley Street. (Right) News Article from the New York Times Archive
Photo Courtesy of the Perry County Historical and Cultural Arts Society
The ruins of the former Rendville Public School sit abandoned in the woods of Rendville.
The Residents of Rendville
Janis Ivory, a former resident of Rendville and secretary of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society, sits outside her grandfather’s house on Main Street.
JANIS IVORY
Janis Ivory is a former resident who lived in Rendville from the age of 10 to 17 and has returned to preserve her and the town’s history for future generations. Janis was born in Columbus, Ohio, on January 29, 1942. Her mother moved Janis and her other siblings back to Rendville after her marriage ended in 1950. She has family ties to the community, as her mother and maternal grandfather were born in Rendville. When Janis moved to Rendville, “it was a culture shock for me,” said Janis Ivory, “I was in the city. I lived in a black neighborhood. There was very little association with white people, and when I came to Rendville, the first day we were here, we had a bench right outside the house. I was sitting [on the bench], and this white man came up and sat [beside] me. I was so frightened. He [introduced himself as the mayor of Rendville, and if I needed anything, don’t be afraid to ask], we’ll be around, and [we’re] friends. As soon as he left, I jumped and ran into the house [and I told my mother I didn’t do anything. My mother said it was okay, which I had a hard time understanding because it went against what I had been taught].”
"We’ve been here since 1888, and I think we will always be here”
- Janis Ivory, a former resident of Rendville
As Janis continued living in Rendville, she had to go to school in Corning after the local school in Rendville closed in 1960. Still, as she got older, she realized there was nowhere in Rendville that provided job opportunities, and, like many residents before her, she needed to leave to get a job. “It was my generation that really started to leave because they needed to leave to get jobs, and then we reached back, get our parents, and [bring] them to us, and it was a lot easier than trying to take care of your parents a long distance,” said Janis Ivory. Janis left Rendville but returned to be part of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society and bring awareness of Rendville’s history, “There was a lot that we didn’t know; you don’t recognize your history while you're living it. You don’t recognize your history if you’re not taught what it is, and if people don’t recognize your heritage as being historical, then you’re not taught,” said Janis Ivory.
Abandoned homes of former residents and Rendville Artworks, the former First Baptist Church of Rendville, sit along Main Street.
WILFORD PRESTON, JR.
Wilford Preston, Jr. is a former resident born and raised in Rendville in 1950. His mother was Roberta Preston, the first African American woman to be appointed postmaster in the United States and Ohio, “My mom was special. The fact that she was postmaster, that seemed to be the gathering pont for folks to come and talk. She got most of the stuff that was happening in town that came to her,” said Wilford Preston, Jr. His family had farmland outside of the village where they would grow vegetables and raise animals. Wilford grew up in Rendville and did not experience racial discrimination within the town, “Although it was small, we had a lot of characters there. Most people were friendly. We did have some that wasn’t as friendly, but everybody got along well. Growing up, relatively there was a good experience. Rendville was a good place to grow up. I wouldn’t trade it with any place that I was. [I] learned a lot about life in Rendville,” said Wilford Preston, Jr. He attended Rendville public school that sat on a hill above the town that served students to 8th grade, and his class was comprised of 10 students, including himself, seven boys and three girls.
Wilford Preston, Jr., a former resident of Rendville, sits on a bench dedicated to his mother, Roberta Preston, on Main Street.
After the school closed in 1960, Wilford moved schools and went to Corning. As he got older, he was asked to be a seat on the city council around the ages of 18-20 to provide a younger voice on a council of the older generation. After Wilford met his wife, Cynthia, he started thinking about his future job opportunities since Rendville didn’t have many. After being on the city council and looking for other jobs in Columbus, in 1975, he left Rendville for job opportunities in Columbus. Still, he returned to visit his family buried on the hill at the Rendville Cemetery. “Rendville was special. The parents, the grandparents, that was a village. They looked out for us. They watched out for us,” said Wilford Preston, Jr.
(Above Left) The former house of Roberta Preston sits at the intersection of Main Street and Valley Street. (Above Right) A decorative plate with The First Baptist Church of Rendville sits on a table at the Thompson Library at Ohio State University. The plate was given in dedication to former residents of Rendville who returned during the last Emancipation Day ceremony in 2019
Jean Harris, a current resident of Rendville, moves a chair outside her house on Main Street in Rendville.
JEAN HARRIS
Jean Harris is a current and one of the oldest remaining residents in Rendville. She was born on the outskirts of Rendville in 1947 but was raised in Rendville for most of her life. Her family moved from Tablertown to Rendville before Jean was born. Jean grew up around Rendville, as her other siblings were also born around Rendville and would go to school at the Rendville public school house before transferring to Corning High School. After graduating high school, she found a job working on road services and drove to West Virginia from Rendville for work. As her father got older, she stayed home to help care for him. Jean has remained in Rendville for close to 50 years and watched her son grow and move away, “Being someone who has been here in the time frame that I’ve been living here and been alive, more or less, I’ve watched the town die, that’s a whole different experience,” said Jean Harris.
Jean is one of the last residents who lives on Main Street, and she is part of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society, which is trying to help bring awareness to the town and its history. “What I witnessed throughout my life was the ever-increasing number of families leaving because they had to go where they could find jobs, and that's why people came to Rendville in the first place, seeking to make a living,” said Jean Harris, “What you’re looking at is its decay and it's just what happened when people go away, when the people have to go away, when the economic structure is gone, that’s what you’re left with, and it’s a sad route, but that’s just common knowledge.”
Bruce Bailey, a current resident of Rendville, mows the grass along Main Street in Rendville.
BRUCE BAILEY
Bruce Bailey is a current resident of Rendville who has tried to help with the town’s upkeep. Bruce was born in Rendville and was raised there for 59 years. He was raised on upper Main Street with his two brothers. His dad would drive to Columbus every day for work, and as a teenager, he had the job of going to every resident and reading their water meters. “They had a candy store, the post office with a pop machine out front. When I was 14, we had a summer job to sweep the streets and made about $3 an hour,” said Bruce Bailey. To this day, Bruce still lives in Rendville, but his childhood home recently burned down. With the town's infrastructure and economy gone, Bruce and his brother Bryn have tried to help with the town’s upkeep by mowing the lawn, filling potholes, and becoming mayor to help the remaining residents. Still, it became a lot with no help from the township or county. “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I’m sure there’s better places to live, but growing up here and sticking around this place, I don’t know why I would go anywhere else,” said Bruce Bailey.
Jeffrey Kennedy walks his dog along Old State Route 13 in Rendville. The road used to pass through Rendville before the state rerouted it to cut through the town, which is the current State Route 13.
The Legacy of Rendville and What's Next
With only 10-20 residents left, no town infrastructure or economy, and no help or assistance from outside sources like Monroe Township or Perry County, Rendville sits abandoned and decaying as residents leave the shells of their former lives along the streets of the now village. However, the Rendvile Historic Preservation Society is trying to bring awareness to the town and its history with the help of the Little Cities of Black Diamonds organization and other groups by using events to show the history and spread the word about Rendville. The Rendville Historic Preservation Society is a non-profit organization that was started in 1990 and later founded in 2015 to leave a legacy for future generations through the preservation of the village of Rendville’s history, heritage, and physical structures being the town hall or the mayor’s office and a former’s residents house called The White House. “With these two buildings [it] would be a starting point because most of the built environment is gone, so a place to visit to hear the stories told,” said John Winnenberg, a board member of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society. “Talking about Rendville, the residents that are here or former and what is to come next [with] trying to preserve what’s left. I think the big challenge is that people like Janis and myself, and folks who have some first-hand history here, pass on who can keep that story alive. So we’ve got to find other ways than [orally telling stories] to carry that on and finding younger people who catch the bug about this story and want to keep it alive.”
(Above Left) Volunteers of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society sweep up the white house’s debris during the Main Street clean-up day in Rendville. (Above Right) Jean Harris, a current resident and board member of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society, wipes down a window in the historic town hall on Main Street in Rendville. (Below) Members of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society and volunteers work to clean up the historic town hall and white house on Main Street in Rendville.
The society has been hosting events to bring more awareness to the town’s history with The Rendville Cemetery Project to make it accessible for former residents to visit passed loved ones and family members, the Headstone Rededication Ceremony for passed veteran soldiers from the Civil War, and World War I and II, and Recognition day for all the volunteers and supporters who have been helping sponsor or assist the society with the projects of that year. The Rendville Historic Preservation Society is working on creating the town hall and the white house into a museum for people who want to stop by and learn about Rendville’s history and heritage while traveling down State Route 13. Along with the historical society, Invisible Ground is a multimedia project that shows place-based storytelling to help engage people in the history of their community and neighboring communities in the Southeast Ohio region. Brian Koscho created it. Recently, Brian has added Rendville to the series with 11 other immersive historic markers placed around locations in Athens County and is now adding Rendville and Shawnee from Perry County. Along with adding immersive markers for people to view, an information board has been added in Rendville next to the other historical markers, “In a place like Rendville, it’s really amazing to be able to do this thing that can help people see what this place looked like 120 years ago,” said Brian Koscho, the director of Invisible Ground.
Janis Ivory, a former resident of Rendville and secretary of the Rendville Historic Preservation Society, talks with Wilford Preston, Jr., a former resident of Rendville (left), and Frederick Smith, a Civil War reenactor of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, during the Headstone Rededication Ceremony at the Rendville Cemetery.
Courtney Preston Howard touches a gravestone of one of her ancestors during the Headstone Rededication Ceremony at Rendville Cemetery.
Frederick Smith, a Civil War reenactor, recites Paul Lawrence Dunbar’s poem, “The Colored Soldiers,” during the Headstone Rededication Ceremony at the Rendville Cemetery.
The headstone of Thomas Cousins is seen during the Headstone Rededication Ceremony at the Rendville Cemetery.
