Welsh Scenic Byway
Experience a bit of the culture of Wales right here in southeastern Ohio!
Gallia and Jackson counties in southeastern Ohio, an area of poor soil and eroded hill land, was the home to a significant population of Welsh immigrants during the first half of the 19th century. These people were primarily farmers from western Wales, a region which also featured rugged terrain and infertile soil. The similar topography enabled the Welsh to make a rather smooth adjustment to the less than ideal agricultural conditions of their new home.
Here in the 21st century, the Welsh culture still flourishes along the Welsh Scenic Byway in the form of settlements, farms and no fewer than eight traditional Welsh churches and cemeteries. Additional features along the byway route include several iron furnaces that employed Welsh immigrants, along with industrial relics such as brick plants, mills and foundry works.
In order to foster understanding and appreciation for the Welsh heritage and contemporary Welsh culture in the area, the Madog Center for Welsh Studies was founded in 1996 at the University of Rio Grande in Rio Grande. The center is the only of its kind in the United States.
The byway encompasses 80 miles of a loop drive from Rio Grande along US 35 to the northwest, and along SR 325 and SR 233 back to Rio Grande.