Invisible Ground Aquabear Legion

For this episode of Invisible Ground we spotlight the other big piece of this project, our series of Immersive Historic Markers at eight locations around Athens County. Hear all eight of the audio pieces from the Invisible Ground app, one for each of the markers. Each audio interpretation welcomes you to the location and allows you to hear the story from one person, someone who is directly connected to the story, place, and history. These can all be found in the Invisible Ground app for Apple and Android. You are encouraged to go use the app in person at these locations, to see these historic images in augmented reality right there on your smartphone or tablet device. This episode's sponsors are O'Nail Hartman Insurance and the 51st annual Athens International Film and Video Festival.

For this episode, we head to a very special place, the grounds of the Athens Asylum. It has held is place on a hill overlooking Athens and Ohio University for over 150 years, and its grounds and buildings, as well as the people who called it home, have many stories to tell.

We head up to the village of Chauncey in Athens County for this episode. We talk about the coal mine and tipple once found where the Chauncey-Dover Community Park (and soon an Invisible Ground Immersive Historic Marker) is today and its impact on the landscape past and present. There's a huge mine strike, Ivy League University presidents, retired Civil War generals heading to the bar, explosions, machine guns, murders in a cemetery, and even a fen full of skunk cabbages in this episode. Chauncey has some fantastic stories to tell, you just have to make sure you say the name of the town right.

Invisible Ground heads over to Ohio University's College Green in Athens, Ohio to learn all about one of the most prominent backdrops to all who have lived in this town: the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. We learn about why it's there, what it means, and the times that have changed around it, on it, and well... literally from its hands. And we hear about the life of Athens County's most important Civil War hero, Milton M. Holland.

Invisible Ground travels to the small town of Albany, Ohio to learn about its important connection to the Underground Railroad, and early Black education in the United States. We learn about the Albany Enterprise Academy, and its predecessor, the Albany Manual Labor Academy: the legacies they leave behind, the forgotten places on the landscape, and the incredible people who walked through their doors.

Invisible Ground heads to the literal center of Uptown Athens to dive into the history of the Athens County Courthouse in this episode. The current Courthouse dates to 1880 and contains so many stories, we learn more about this building, the ones that came before it, and the connections inside and outside of Athens County. Plus, hear a bit more about the oldest buildings on Court Street in a special walking tour at the end of the episode. Support for this episode was provided by The Athena Cinema in Athens, Ohio.