Editing Ashville, Ohio (section)

==Arts and culture==

=== Churches ===
[[File:AshvilleOH27.JPG|right|175px|thumb|Village Chapel Church]]
Five Christian churches operate within the village limits. The churches that are currently operating are [[Churches of Christ in Christian Union|Ashville Church of Christ in Christian Union]], Heritage Church of Christ, [[Lutheran Church|First English Lutheran Church]], Village Chapel Church, and [[United Methodist Church|Zion United Methodist Church]]. First English Lutheran was the founding member of the Ashville Food Pantry which is located on Long Street at the village's center.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wise |first=Charles K. |date=October 28, 2020 |title=The Mayor's Column - Ashville Food Pantry |pages=1 |work=The Friendly Community Newsletter |url=https://ashvilleohio.gov/images/newsletter/2020/2020-1810.pdf |access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref>

=== Community Park ===
[[File:AshvilleOH25.JPG|right|175px|thumb|Ashville Community Park]]
Ashville has one public park which is called the Ashville Community Park. The 10-acre park was deeded to the community on April 4, 1921, with the stipulation that the village used it for athletic and park purposes, by a community club that had purchased the tract a year earlier for $3,000. The club also built an indoor shelter house before donating the land. Shortly after the acquisition, the village built a baseball field with concrete bleachers and a quarter-mile [[cinder track]] for community and school use. Ashville went on to install a playground, an outdoor shelter house, pickleball courts, basketball courts, restrooms and a [[gazebo]].<ref name=":0" /> The park is host location of the annual Fourth of July Celebration and Viking Festival.

==== Fourth of July Celebration ====
Ashville's [[Fourth of July]] Celebration has taken place since 1929, and annually brings thousands of people to the community.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ashville 4th of July Celebration {{!}} About |url=http://ashville4thofjuly.com/about/about.html |access-date=April 12, 2022 |website=ashville4thofjuly.com}}</ref> Hosted by the Ashville Community Men's Club, the five-day event includes concessions, [[Amusement ride|rides]], a [[Beauty contest|queen contest]], a daily [[fish fry]], musical entertainment, parades, and a community church service. The carnival is held at Ashville Community Park, at the village's center. Fireworks cap the celebration on Independence Day night and are fired from the Teays Valley High School property.<ref>{{Cite web |author=WSYX Staff |date=May 25, 2021 |title=2021 Fourth of July fireworks and celebrations |url=https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/2021-fourth-of-july-fireworks-and-celebrations |access-date=April 12, 2022 |website=WSYX |language=en}}</ref>

==== Viking Festival ====
The Spring festival, which started in the mid-2000s, is a two-day festival that pays homage to ancient Scandinavian culture. Hundreds of people gather at the Ashville Community Park where [[Historical reenactment|reenactor]]s take up the lifestyle of the [[Vikings]] and enjoy music, food, and handcrafted goods of the time period. A [[Viking ship replica]] is located at the center of the camp along with [[jousting]] and [[swordsmanship]] exhibitions. The festival was on a temporary hiatus in 2020 and 2021 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Steven |last=Collins |title=Viking Festival survives Ragnarok to return in 2022 |url=https://www.circlevilleherald.com/news/viking-festival-survives-ragnarok-to-return-in-2022/article_5e9fa434-89c0-11ec-993e-2f7feb32ce02.html |access-date=April 12, 2022 |website=Circleville Herald |language=en}}</ref> In 2022, the festival returned with the addition of a [[beer garden]].

=== Museums ===

==== Ashville Depot ====
{{Main|Ashville Depot}}
[[File:AshvilleOH18.JPG|right|175px|thumb|Ashville Depot]]
The Ashville Depot is a former, and the only remaining, train station for the Scioto Valley Railway. Built in 1876 and closed in 1976, this weatherboard building was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1980. It is located at the intersection of Madison and Cromley Streets.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Details {{!}} Ohio National Register Searchable Database Application |url=http://nr.ohpo.org/Details.aspx?refnum=80003209 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=nr.ohpo.org}}</ref> The building acts as a meeting place and railroad museum. It is currently owned and operated by the Ashville Community Men's Club.<ref>{{Cite web |title=D1300050001300 - County Auditor Website, Pickaway County, Ohio |url=https://auditor.pickawaycountyohio.gov/Parcel?Parcel=D1300050001300 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=auditor.pickawaycountyohio.gov}}</ref>

==== Ohio's Small Town Museum ====
[[File:AshvilleOH10.JPG|right|175px|thumb|Ohio's Small Town Museum]]
In 1978, the Ashville Area Heritage Society opened what became Ohio's Small Town Museum in a former [[silent film]] theater, known by locals as the Rocky Dreamland Theatre. The project was spearheaded by longtime village leader Charlie Morrison and researcher Bob Hines.<ref>https://www.ohiosmalltownmuseum.org/about-us</ref> The museum is home to local memorabilia including a 17-star [[United States flags|United States flag]], a [[buoy]] from the sunken [[battleship]], [[USS Maine (1889)|USS ''Maine'']], and the still-working traffic light that was invented by resident Teddy Boor in 1932.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ludlow |first=Randy |title=Museum shows off quaint, quirky |pages=B2 |work=[[The Columbus Dispatch]] |url=https://ohiosmalltownmuseum.org/Museum%20Shows%20Off%20Quaint%20and%20Quirky-180.pdf |access-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref> The museum claims that the traffic light is the world's oldest traffic light, a claim that the village itself supports.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World's Oldest Traffic Light, Ashville, Ohio |url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2927 |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=RoadsideAmerica.com |language=en}}</ref> This claim was again supported by [[Guinness World Records]] by naming it the Oldest Functioning Traffic Light.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oldest functional traffic light |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/100355-oldest-functional-traffic-light |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=Guinness World Records |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==== Old Town Jail Museum ====
The Old Town Jail Museum is located at the corner of Cherry and Long Streets. Built in 1886, the building served as police headquarters until 1988. In 2021, the village established a museum that pays tribute to the village's criminal justice history. Other parts of the building are used for Council chambers and the village's streets department.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=STEVEN COLLINS Circleville Herald Senior |title=Old Town Jail Museum opens in Ashville |url=https://www.circlevilleherald.com/news/old-town-jail-museum-opens-in-ashville/article_c487a198-0505-5e82-874d-63f1d5f625aa.html |access-date=April 13, 2022 |website=Circleville Herald |language=en}}</ref>