Best Hometowns 2025: Ashland

Old Abe gazes out over the brick-lined sidewalks as backpack-clad students pass by the 20-foot-tall eagle that has stood on campus since 1965. Twenty-eight smaller eagle statues are scattered across Ashland University, each 4 feet tall and named for campus donors, former university presidents and other notables. We periodically pass by one as our student tour guide shows us around during the first week of classes. 

Thanks to the presence of the university, the city of Ashland becomes home to around 1,700 undergraduate students as summer turns to fall. With campus just a half mile from the center of town, students become part of the city. They head downtown to shop and dine, and they volunteer with local organizations. Ashland residents, in turn, are often seen sporting the purple and gold colors of the university and taking part in campus events. 

“Ashland University has a little more than 65,000 alumni and about 2,500 live here in Ashland,” says Jon Parrish Peede, who became president of Ashland University in 2024. “That makes a real difference. So, when I say that the community is really involved in campus and campus activities, it’s because they’re alums, so many of them.”

The university dates to 1878, opening five-and-a-half decades after the city originally founded in 1815 as Uniontown changed its name to Ashland. (The switch was made in 1822 when the need for a post office arose and there was already a Uniontown, Ohio.) Home to around 25,000 residents today, Ashland spans 11.25 square miles just off Interstate 71. (Yes, the Grandpa’s Cheesebarn exit.) When Ashland County was established in 1846, a vote to determine the county seat saw Ashland edge out Hayesville by 600 votes. 

Old Abe gazes out across the Ashland University campus, where the statue has stood since 1965. (photo by Rachael Jirousek)

“That meant that Ashland was able to develop and be that real center of the county, where we started to build courthouses and our city offices,” says Sara Fisher, executive director of the Ashland County Historical Society. “We saw later in the 19th century, the expansion, thanks to the industrial revolution, with innovators and entrepreneurs.”

Those businessmen included F.E. Myers, whose F.E. Myers and Bro. Co. made pumps. Another notable company, Hess & Clark, made medical salves. Like many cities, Ashland was a factory town and still holds remnants of its long-departed companies. 

Mayor Matt Miller, who was elected to his second term in 2021, is working to connect past and present with the upcoming Pump House District project, which will stand on the site of the former F.E. Myers & Bro. Co. property. 

“The Pump House District, I believe, will become one of the hippest and most vibrant living areas in our community,” says Miller, an Ashland University graduate who grew up in the area. “It will have around 125 modern, market-rate — with an industrial theme because that’s where it was built — apartments, … and they’re all a block from downtown Main Street.”

These apartments, set to be completed by fall 2026, will make way for hundreds more people to live within walking distance of downtown. There’s also a plan to build a new Hilton hotel within the Pump House District. Located in the former F.E. Meyers & Bro. Co. office building, the site will be renovated and an addition will be built on to accommodate extra guest rooms. 

Ashland’s downtown (left) includes shops like Fig & Oak, which opened in 2018 and is packed with fun gifts. (photos by Rachael Jirousek)

These projects promise to bring even more vitality to a downtown already infused with energy. A large turret draws attention to the building on the corner of Main and Church streets, a former bookstore that has retained a comforting atmosphere. 

Beyond the wooden front door, twinkling lights hang from the ceiling, exposed bricks line the walls, and the curated selection has shoppers immediately selecting gifts for their loved ones. Fig & Oak opened in 2018 and moved to this corner a year later, offering a lineup of goods that are either made by small businesses or support a cause. Fig & Oak shoppers can feel good about their purchases because they get to place a token in one of three charity boxes next to the counter at the checkout. Causes range from cancer research to cat sanctuaries to Parkinson’s Disease research, a cause close to owner Julie Mitchell’s heart. 

“My dad has Parkinson’s, which was kind of the driving force behind us wanting to give back with every purchase here,” Mitchell says of her business. “… I think we all have a drive in us to do something, and even if it’s small, it adds up to make a big difference.”

Heading east from Fig & Oak, visitors find Uniontown Brewing Co. along Main Street. Housed in a pre-Civil War building, the spot pays homage to the city’s history. The illuminated marquee of the Ashland Theatre sits just around the corner on Center Street. Opened in 1942 as Schine’s Ashland Theatre, the venue showed movies until it closed in 2009. When it reopened in 2023, it began hosting live music and theater events along with showing movies. 

The Ashland Theatre (left) shows both movies and live music. Brookside Park (right) offers a place for outdoor recreation. (photos by Rachael Jirousek)

While small business provides a beating heart for downtown, larger employers include Charles River Laboratories, which is the largest at around 900 workers and is located just off Interstate 71 along U.S. 250. Ashland University employs 725 people, and University Hospitals Samaritan Medical Center with its 700 workers is also among the community’s largest employers. 

The city government and Ashland City School District are big employers as well. The school district serves 2,870 students from kindergarten through 12th grade across three elementary schools, one middle school and Ashland High School. It also has 120 preschool students. 

German company Novatex, a world leader in producing baby-bottle nipples, has a factory in the city’s industrial park, which is also home to a production facility for Barbasol and Pure Silk shaving creams. Construction was completed for an 80,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center at the industrial park this summer.  

Because of all of this, Ashland has become attractive to new residents, and city leaders have been working to address the demand for housing. If all goes to plan, an additional 1,300 housing units will be built over the course of the next three years.

“Our biggest challenge is getting homes built and apartments built and condos built fast enough to meet the needs and desires of those who have discovered what a wonderful place the city of Ashland really is,” Miller says. 

Grandpa’s Cheesebarn can be found just off Interstate 71 in Ashland and is a popular stop for travelers. (photo by Rachael Jirousek)

You may have seen the sign along Interstate 71 proclaiming “Discover Ashland — World Headquarters of Nice People.” It sounds corny, but those who make even a short visit see that the sign is more than just a slogan. (A local realtor and developer placed it over 30 years ago.)

At Brookside Park, the summer air is filled with the clank of aluminum baseball bats as locals chat with one another while waiting in line for a cone from Yoder’s Red Barn Ice Cream. 

Freer Field, located next to Ashland University’s campus, is another site for outdoor recreation and community gatherings throughout the year. Each June, people fill the green at Freer Field to watch hot air balloons take to the sky during the annual Ashland BalloonFest. 

In late 2024, Freer Field was also the site of an event that won Ashland recognition from Guinness World Records. The Candy Cane Trail — an illuminated Christmas display along the park’s paved walking path — began in 2023. When opening night arrived for the second year, the event was set to claim the title of the world’s largest display of illuminated metal sculptures, thanks to the 776 glowing metal trees that are part of the attraction.

Community events like the annual Ashland BalloonFest have been local traditions. (photo courtesy of Explore Ashland)

On Dec. 1, 2024, more than 1,000 bundled-up locals gathered at Freer Field to witness the record-breaking attempt as snowflakes blew on the breeze. The crowd erupted in cheers as an official with Guinness World Records confirmed the city’s record-breaking feat. Now, Miller says community members are looking for the next record the city can achieve. 

“With all of the exciting changes and improvements that are happening in our city right now, setting the world record for the largest display of illuminated metal structures in the world was truly the cherry on top,” Miller says. “Not only is it a great source of pride among those who call Ashland home, [but] it also has attracted the attention of a national audience.”

More Best Hometowns 2025-26: Ashland | Barnesville | Green | Mount Vernon | Yellow Springs

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