Eclipse Company Town

Eclipse Company Store	Shotgun House	Sign

The Eclipse Company Town is located 2 miles north of Athens and Ohio University off U.S. Route 33 and Johnson Road near The Plains, Ohio, and right on the Hockhocking-Adena Bikeway.

The Eclipse Company Town was built by the Hocking Valley Coal Company between 1900 and 1902. It was operated by the Johnson Brothers, for whom Johnson Road was named. The Company Town sits atop Eclipse Mine #4 of the Hocking Valley Coal Company.
Miners and their families lived in the town. The store served as the paystation and general store for the miners. Payment was made through a credit system, maintained on ledgers kept at the store. Credit was earned for tons of coal loaded in the mine, and that credit was traded in for goods at the store.

The paymaster for the mine kept his office at the store. Married miners without children rented the two front rooms of the second floor of the store. Miners with families rented the houses. There were originally eight company houses in the town, with another five nearby, about where the Route 33 bridge crosses the Hocking River today. It was called Five Spot.
There were many more company houses on the other side of Johnson Road and in the surrounding area.
The tipple and entrance to the mine were on the other side of Route 33. The wash house to the mine is still standing. The site is just past Pine Aire Village trailer court across Route 33 from Johnson Road.

The mine operated from 1900 until the early 1930’s when it closed, as did many mines in the area during the Depression. It reopened in 1940 as part of the World War II war effort and continued in operation until 1948. After it closed, the company store was used as a barn for storing hay and grain. Ownership of the surface land of the mine, including the store and houses transferred to the former mine’s superintendent, E.A. Cottingham. He rented out the company houses and continued to own the land until he left it to his daughter, Virginia Gamertsfelder.
In 1997, Eclipse, Ltd. was formed by five friends who decided to take on restoration of the company town because of their interest in historic preservation, local history, and the Hockhocking-Adena Bike Path, which runs adjacent to the company town. They purchased the company town from Mrs. Gamertsfelder and her husband, Don. Members of Eclipse, Ltd. include Wil Chandler, Bob Eichenberg, Cecilia Rinaldi, Jonathan Sowash, and Kassandra Watt.

Shortly after the purchase, the land across Johnson Road was sold to a developer who built condos and an assisted living facility. That land had fourteen more company houses. Eclipse, Ltd. moved five of those houses to the company town and saved the roof slate from three more before the remaining structures were bulldozed. Renovations on the houses have taken place in two phases and will continue with time.
The company town now has twelve company houses, one shotgun house, and the company store on four acres. Eclipse, Ltd. has focused its restoration efforts on the company houses, but soon intends to begin restoring the shotgun building for use as a commercial restaurant, and the store for use as a museum and retail outlet, and community gathering place for banquets, workshops, weddings. The houses are rented to an array of commercial and residential tenants. Two of the houses are used as short-term rentals, for people visiting the area overnight, on weekends, or for longer stays. For more information call Eclipse Company Town Lodging at 740.591.2248.