San Toy is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in northeastern Monroe Township

Monroe Township, Perry County, Ohio

Monroe Township is one of the fourteen townships of Perry County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,565 people in the township, 926 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...

, Perry County

Perry County, Ohio

Perry County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Founded on March 1, 1818, it was the 55th county to be formed in Ohio. Portions of Fairfield, Washington and Muskingum Counties were taken to create Perry County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,058. Its county seat...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. A flourishing community in the early 20th century, it was a mining town created by the Sunday Creek Coal Company.

History

San Toy quickly outgrew its coal mining town size. At its peak, it had a baseball team, several saloons, a theater, a hospital, a post office, and many other various stores and schools. San Toy was practically a relic from the Wild West that grew out of the Appalachian foothills. It was a rough town where people frequently died in the saloons and streets. There were many deadly mining accidents as well. According to Addison Vanhorn, a local, "It was a tough place. If you took a walk up the railroad tracks with a lantern, somebody'd shoot it out." San Toy was a big moonshine town during the prohibition era.

On September 25, 1924, a group of disgruntled miners (probably motivated by some sort of labor and/or union issue) rolled a coal cart full of burning railroad ties into a mine. The subsequent fire destroyed the theater and hospital. The other mine in the town was closed down by Sunday Creek rather than update it.

Decline

According to the 1930 census, San Toy was the town in the United States whose population had decreased the most per capita since the previous census (976 in 1920 to just 128 in 1930). In 1931, 17 of the 19 registered voters voted to abandon the town. Today approximately 50 people live in the area that was once San Toy. Many foundations and roads of the once busy town remain. A local road is named in its honor.

External links

• San Toy, Ohio
• Exploring A Ghost Town from the Zanesville Times Recorder, April 8, 2002
• San Toy: Ghost Town or Diamond in the Rough? from Athens News, December 9, 2002