When Jill Hunkler moved back to her home state of Ohio in 2010, she decided to settle down near Barnesville and live off the land. A single mother, she bought a home in the Ohio River Valley “because it was pristine, it was clean air, clean water. And just the country quiet life.”

Beech trees, tulip poplars, and sugar maple surround the village, as do reservoirs, grassy hills, and meadows. Bass swim through creeks, hikers scale the sandstone rocks, and history lovers visit the train depot, built shortly after James Barnes founded the village in the early 1800s. Barnesville’s motto is “Where History Meets Progress,” a summary of its juxtapositions.

After buying her patch of land, Hunkler lived in an Airstream trailer at first, and then started building a small home out of recycled materials, with the help of family and friends. With her was her daughter, three dogs who served as her “protectors,” and the occasional visit from nieces and nephews eager to get a taste of the country life. They had no internet, and cell service was spotty.


She filled out the land with a “three sisters” garden of beans, squash, and corn, and another section with tomatoes and a strawberry patch that reminded her of her great-grandmother’s garden. She was glad to be home.

And then the oil companies came.