Beallsville, Ohio

Beallsville was founded during the 1800s. It was a stop on the Bellaire Zanesville and Cincinnati Railroad. While access to railroads allowed numerous Ohio communities to grow and to prosper during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Beallsville's population stayed relatively small, and its economy remained stagnant. In 1880, only 391 people resided in the town, and roughly forty percent of these residents were school-age children.

For most of the twentieth century, Beallsville's population remained near 470 people. The community is most famous for having the largest number of people per capita killed in the Vietnam War. Of the town's 475 residents, six men perished during this conflict. Since Vietnam, Beallsville's population has declined, with only 423 residents in 2000. Like many Appalachian communities in eastern Ohio, younger residents have moved away, seeking better economic opportunities during the past several decades.