1787Military
In July 1787, the Congress of the Confederation gave to the Ohio Company of Associates "two townships of good land for the support of a literary institution" in the newly create...
1797Military
== History ==
The first permanent European settlers arrived in Athens in 1797, more than a decade after the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War.
1800Government
In 1800, the town site was first surveyed and plotted and incorporated as a village in 1811.
1801History
During The First Session of the Second Territorial General Assembly, held in Chillicothe from November 23, 1801, to January 23, 1802, the General Assembly passed an act establis...
1802Government
Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory on January 9, 1802.
1803History
Ohio had become a state in 1803.
1804Government
Ohio University was chartered in 1804, the first public institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory.
1805Culture
Previously part of Washington County, Ohio, Athens County was formed in 1805, named for the ancient center of learning, Athens, Greece.
1830Disaster
Athens Fire department founded in 1830 and became full-time in the 1930s has two stations, a staff of about 30.
1832Disaster
Over the last two centuries the town suffered from many destructive floods, including notable floods in 1832, 1873, 1907, 1937, 1949, 1964 and 1968.
1843Architecture
In 1843, the Hocking Canal opened, enabling shipping from the Ohio River up the Hocking River, which passes through Athens, to Nelsonville, Ohio, and points beyond.
1848Government
== Media ==
The Athens Messenger, Athens' oldest newspaper, founded in 1848.
1857Infrastructure
The first railroad reached Athens in 1857.
1874Architecture
The Athens Lunatic Asylum, later named the Athens State Hospital, opened in 1874.
1911Culture
The city has a Police Department since 1911 working 24/7 year round.
1935Education
By 1935, Athens was known as a coal and fruit-producing region and a state center of higher education and psychiatric care.
1969Military
In 1969 the United States Army Corps of Engineers completed a major work that rerouted and expanded the channel of the Hocking River, for a stretch of several miles around the t...
1975Government
=== Health care ===
At Ohio University the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine was established in 1975.
1981Infrastructure
== Infrastructure ==
=== Transportation ===
Railroad came to the city in the 1850s, with the last passenger train ending in 1981.
1984History
Athens, Ohio: The Stone House (1984)
Daniel, Robert L.
1993Education
In 1993, Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., was appointed to the position of dean of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine; she was the first African-American woman to serve as the ...
1997Education
Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press (1997)
== External links ==
Athens, Ohio travel guide from Wikivoyage
City website
2000History
=== 2000 census ===
As of the census of 2000, there were 21,342 people, 6,271 households, and 1,906 families residing in the city.
2003Government
Ohio University partners with University Medical Associates (UMA), which was founded in 2003, and is a wide-ranging medical service provider in multiple locations around the Ath...
2004Education
Starting in 2004, Ohio University Seniors Dominic Petrozzi and Timothy Kehoe created One Fest.
2005Government
Ohio Brew Week, founded in 2005 as a way to increase commerce in the town of Athens while students were away for summer, has grown into a nine-day festival including dozens of O...
2008Culture
in 2008, the name of the festival was changed to "The Number Fest" with an updated "edition" for each year it takes place.
2010History
=== 2010 census ===
As of the census of 2010, there were 23,832 people, 6,903 households, and 1,842 families residing in the city.
2011Culture
The festival name is changed each year to represent the number of years it has been held (for example, 2011 was 8Fest).
2016History
Number Fest – 14th Edition will be held on April 16, 2016.
2017History
In 2017 two dozen local bands were involved.
2019Education
In 2019, a new Athens High School was scheduled to begin design and construction in 2024 with a planned Fall 2026 opening.
2021Architecture
East Elementary and Morrison Gordon Elementary were replaced with new buildings on the same locations, and opened in Fall 2021, and The Plains Intermediate was significantly rem...
2023Government
A Democrat, Patterson would be elected to his third term as mayor in 2023.
2025History
As of January 2, 2025, Patterson also serves as President of the National League of Cities.