A Gem in the Coalfield

McCONNELSVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Mineral Resources Management has announced funding for several communities that have been jilted by the coal industry.

Opera House Incorporated’s Executive Director Adam Shriver shared how the Village of McConnelsville has been awarded a $3 Million dollar grant from the Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization program for renovations to the building, which also houses the village’s Council Chamber and municipal offices.

“We are going to do some interior work on the stage area,” Shriver said. “We’re also going to address handicap accessibility, ingress/egress in the building and address the lobby area. We’re really hopeful that we’ll be able to add an elevator and expand into the third floor, which is a ballroom and right now, not very accessible.”

The Village of McConnelsville is vigorously investing in tourism with their renovations to the Opera House and the Village Square. The goal is to provide visitors with a favorable first impression through easier accessibility to higher caliber entertainment and better amenities, in a setting that sells the small town charm.  

“Ultimately our idea is that this will add to the economic vitality of the downtown here in McConnelsville,” Shriver said. [The village]”They’re also working on a project to do some work through the Appalachian Community Grant program and so these two are going to tie together very nicely. We’re going to have a very nice downtown when it’s all said and done.”

McConnelsville is not alone, the AMLER grants will award nearly $17 Million Dollars in total to various projects across the state that aim to improve the local economies of communities that were once centered around coal revenues.