220 Area Code 🌍☎️

Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, located approximately 65 miles southeast of Columbus along the Hocking River in Appalachian Ohio, with a population of 23,849 as of the 2020 census. The city is best known as the home of Ohio University, a major public research institution chartered in 1804 as the first public institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory, with over 21,000 students enrolled on its Athens campus. Athens was first permanently settled by Europeans in 1797, incorporated as a village in 1811, and achieved city status in 1912 after its population exceeded 5,000 residents. Ohio University received the first federal land grant to any American university through an endowment from Congress to the Ohio Company of Associates in 1787, predating the Morrill Act by over 70 years. Historically, the area's economy was built on salt, iron, and coal production, with the Hocking Canal opening in 1843 to enable shipping, and the railroad arriving in 1857, while today Ohio University serves as the county's largest employer. Pataskala is a city in Licking County, Ohio, approximately 19 miles east of Columbus, with a population of 17,886 as of the 2020 census. Originally laid out in 1851 when the railroad extended to the area, the city was initially called Conine Town after early settler Richard Conine, who arrived in 1821, before being renamed Pataskala in 1852 from a Delaware language origin. The city experienced significant growth after 1996 when the village of Pataskala merged with Lima Township, expanding both its population and geographic area to 28.72 square miles. Pataskala features 127 acres of parkland across seven parks along the South Fork of the Licking River, including the 78-acre Thomas J. Evans Foundation Park, plus two golf courses and the Pataskala Public Library with over 70,000 items and 250,000 annual circulation. The city is served by two school districts - Southwest Licking Local Schools and Licking Heights Local Schools - and hosts a branch of Central Ohio Technical College. Zanesville is the county seat of Muskingum County, Ohio, located 52 miles east of Columbus at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers, with a 2020 population of 24,765. Founded in 1797 by John McIntire on land provided by pioneer Ebenezer Zane (who blazed Zane's Trace from Wheeling to Maysville), the city served as Ohio's second state capital from 1810 to 1812 and grew significantly from the 1820s through the 1850s. Zanesville became a major pottery manufacturing center in the first half of the 20th century, with notable producers including Roseville Pottery, Weller Pottery, and the Mosaic Tile Company, supported by abundant local clay deposits. The city was historically important as an Underground Railroad station, witnessed over 5,000 Union soldiers during Morgan's Raid in 1863, and gained national attention during the October 2011 exotic animal escape when 48 animals were killed by police. Like many post-industrial cities, Zanesville has experienced economic decline since its 1950s peak and now faces challenges including chronic poverty and high unemployment.