Gallia County, Ohio

Gallia County is a county in Ohio, United States, on the Ohio River across from West
Virginia, roughly 44 miles northwest of Charleston. It had a population of 29,220 at the 2020
census, an estimated 29,072 by 2025, and covers 471 square miles (1,220 km2) centred near
38°50′N 82°19′W.

Gallipolis is the county seat and largest village; its postal code is 45631. The county holds
6 incorporated villages and 5 unincorporated communities across 15 townships, and it runs on
Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is 39053.

Towns & Villages in Gallia County

Gallia County has 11 named places on record: 6 incorporated villages (Ohio has no
“towns” — every incorporated place under 5,000 residents is legally a village)
and 5 unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census
designated place; Unincorp. covers hamlets and crossroads with a post office history but no
formal boundary.

Centerville is also known locally as Thurman, and both names appear on maps and mail alike.
Bidwell’s 2020 count of 863 makes it the county’s biggest unincorporated community,
bigger than three of the six incorporated villages, because it has never filed to incorporate.
Kanauga sits mostly in Gallipolis Township but its northern edge crosses into Addison Township.

ZIP Codes

• 45631 — Gallipolis (the county’s most populous ZIP)
• 45674 — Rio Grande, home to the University of Rio Grande
• 45623 — Crown City
• 45614 — Bidwell
• 45620 — Cheshire
• 45686 — Vinton
• 45658 — Patriot
• 45643 — Kerr

Kanauga, Centerville and Northup have no ZIP of their own; mail there is delivered under a
neighbouring town’s code, and Northup’s own post office, opened in 1858, closed
decades ago.

Geography

Gallia County lies in Ohio’s unglaciated Appalachian Plateau, a hill country of steep
ridges and narrow valleys that was never flattened by the ice sheets that leveled the state’s
north. Of its 471 square miles, 467 are land and 4.7 are water, about 1 percent, all of it the
Ohio River and its tributary creeks rather than any natural lake. The Ohio River forms the
county’s entire southern and eastern border, and Raccoon Creek, which crosses the county
from north to south through Green and Huntington townships, is the largest inland waterway. Part
of Wayne National Forest reaches into the county’s northern townships.

Vinton County and Jackson County lie to the north, Lawrence County to the southwest, and the
Ohio River separates the county from Mason County and Cabell County in West Virginia to the
south and east; Meigs County borders to the northeast. Vinton County, Jackson County, Lawrence County, Cabell County and Meigs County all have their own pages on
this site; Mason County, West Virginia does not.

Demographics

Gallia County had a population of 29,220 at the 2020 census, and the latest estimate puts the
county near 29,072 residents, essentially flat. Gallipolis and the Bidwell area are the two
largest population centers, with Gallipolis alone holding over a tenth of the county total.
Median household income runs $56,830, well below Ohio’s statewide figure of $67,769 (2023
ACS). Population density works out to roughly 63 people per square mile of land, low even by
rural Appalachian Ohio standards, reflecting the county’s hill terrain and its distance from
any interstate.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance is the county’s largest employment sector, with about
2,526 workers, followed by manufacturing at 1,591 and educational services at 1,520. Holzer
Health System, headquartered in Gallipolis, is the county’s dominant health care employer
and runs the regional hospital. American Electric Power’s General James M. Gavin coal-fired
power plant, on the Ohio River south of Cheshire, and the Ohio Valley Electric Corporation’s
Kyger Creek plant nearby are major industrial employers and the reason Cheshire itself shrank
sharply after a 2002 buyout settlement over plant emissions. Rio Grande is home to the University
of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College, and to the original Bob Evans Farm, where Bob
Evans opened his first sausage business in 1948 before founding the Bob Evans Restaurants chain.
The farm still draws visitors each October for its annual Farm Festival.

History

Ohio’s General Assembly formed Gallia County on 25 March 1803, one of the state’s
first counties after admission to the Union. The name comes from Gallia, the Latin word for Gaul,
the ancient region that became France, honoring the French colonists who founded Gallipolis in
1790 as “The French 500,” a group of Revolution-era emigrants recruited by a land
company that sold them titles to ground it did not actually own. Welsh settlers arrived later, in
1818, adding a second immigrant strand to the county’s early population.

On 15 December 1967, the Silver Bridge linking Gallipolis to Point Pleasant, West Virginia,
collapsed into the Ohio River during evening rush hour, killing 46 people. The disaster remains
one of the deadliest bridge failures in US history and led directly to the National Bridge
Inspection Standards that federal law still requires today.

Getting There

No interstate crosses Gallia County. US Route 35, locally named the Bob Evans Highway, enters
from West Virginia over the Silver Memorial Bridge and runs northwest through Gallipolis toward
Jackson and Columbus. State Route 7 follows the Ohio River through the county past Crown City and
Gallipolis, and State Route 141, State Route 160 and State Route 218 connect the inland
townships.

• Charleston, West Virginia — about 44 miles northeast
• Huntington, West Virginia — about 60 miles south
• Columbus, Ohio — about 100 miles northwest
• Athens, Ohio — about 70 miles north

Tri-State Airport, three miles south of Huntington, West Virginia, is the nearest commercial
airport with scheduled airline service. No Amtrak line reaches Gallia County; the nearest station
is in Huntington on the Cardinal route.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Gallia County located?
It sits in southeastern Ohio on the Ohio River, across from West Virginia, about 44 miles
northwest of Charleston.

What is the population of Gallia County?
29,220 at the 2020 census, with a 2025 estimate near 29,072.

How big is Gallia County?
471 square miles (1,220 km2), of which 467 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Gallia County?
Gallipolis, founded in 1790 by French settlers, is the county seat and largest village.

How many towns and villages are in Gallia County?
Six incorporated villages — Gallipolis, Rio Grande, Crown City, Cheshire, Vinton and
Centerville — plus the unincorporated communities of Bidwell, Kanauga, Patriot, Kerr and
Northup.

What ZIP codes does Gallia County use?
45631 for Gallipolis, 45674 for Rio Grande, 45623 for Crown City, 45614 for Bidwell, 45620 for
Cheshire, 45686 for Vinton, 45658 for Patriot and 45643 for Kerr.

What is Gallia County known for?
Being the birthplace of Bob Evans Restaurants at the Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, and the 1967
Silver Bridge collapse at Gallipolis, one of the deadliest bridge failures in US history.

More counties in this state: Towns and
villages in Ohio.