East Liverpool, OHIO | Rust Belt Remains 

At 75 years old, I've shared a lot of history with Ohio's Rust Belt. My Dad was a steel worker and my Mom, a factory worker. Almost all of my family now rests in the Church cemetery. Numerous railroads went through the town and hearing the whistles at night was a regular facet of going to sleep. Everything seen in this video felt familiar to me. I haven't been back to Ohio for 20 years and didn't live there since 1969. I never thought that I would, but I miss my town. However, my town is gone. I sometimes wonder if my family will end up covered with weeds in a town as dead as they are.

The brick buildings in the beginning were such beautiful structures.

This is my hometown. The building in the opening shot was a beautiful florist shop. My childhood home would have been the first house you see if the shot continued. I moved back here 3 weeks ago. There are a lot of beautiful neighborhoods not shown in the video. So sad to see familiar buildings that housed thriving businesses in this condition. A lot of us want to try to bring the town back to what it used to be. Good, bad, or ugly... This is home.

At least the town is clean and no garbage dumped everywhere. I give it credit for that much.

There is some beauty still in these old ruins, love all the brick and can imagine these were once vibrant businesses and homes

My friend harold lives in East Liverpool. We both once worked at the Pottery plant there 30 years ago. It closed and I move to Youngstown found work. Harold he still waiting for the Pottery plant to open up again and in the mean time sitting at the local pizza shop eating donuts.

What strikes me is how attractive many if the abandoned buildings and urban infrastructure is. The opening shot of the abandoned brewery is a case in point. Top quality arts and crafts

I'm 52, been driving all over Ohio for various reasons since I was a kid. It's been interesting, seeing how some of these places change, sad in most instances. There's a lot of history fading away.

Can you just imagine being one of the only residents still actually living in one of those homes all alone with no neighbors, no stores, no gas station, no nothing, but eerie silence.

Man it sucks I was born in East Liverpool we moved away 1982 when my father lost his job at crucible steel mill in Midland PA. We moved back in 1990 to Wellsville. It sucks these towns have been dying on the vine last 40-50 years.. anymore you have to carry a gun getting too dangerous these days!!!

Born and raised in East Liverpool. Still live there

Rest in Peace Brent Bosco. The first building was a flower shop his family owned. His house across the street looked just like the beautiful building!

It's amazing how they have recreated Liverpool England so perfectly

Great capture! Many of those Ohio Valley towns have seen better days. Wellsville, Steubenville, Bellaire, Bridgeport, Moundsville, Wheeling, etc. are so depressing now.

I love the brick architecture, reminiscent of the 1950 and 1960s. And many of the small houses.

Was raised on Bradshaw ave late 90s early 2000s… tough town with hard working tough people that helped mold me into the man I am today… ELO 330 stand up

This town is where famed Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz was from. I lived in the area for about 10 years and it was an enjoyable, I believe that steel wasnt the only industry that built up this region. It was also known for brickworks, china factories, and steel barrel hoops. The people were always friendly and loyal. Since the de-industrialization of America, this area and many like it have suffered tremendously as a result. Beautuful region in the tri-state area. My children live in Steubenville, OH.

I grew up here most of my childhood. Graduated ELO high school in 95. Went off to college the following year. I came back for my little brother's graduation in 98 and when my oldest brother passed away in 2001. Haven't been back since. I'm surprised by how little of this I recognize.

Used to live near there, knew that it was dying, but this is a real eye opener. I think that what happened was the loss of the steel industry. But no one likes to talk about that. It happened to a lot of other small towns in that area and in PA. Some recovered better than others.

First time to the channel and it's a shame with the industrial collapse happening and really hurt these rust belt cities. Thank you for the tour of the city of east Liverpool.

I Lived There for 3 Years. I was 14 when We Moved There from Michigan. Then Moved Back to Michigan when I was 17 1971. Went to East Liverpool High School. My Dad got Transferred there He was an Iron Worker. Place does Not Look the Same. Glad We got Out of There.

My mom and dad are from this area. I've visited many times since I was a kid. We always went to the Hot Dog Shoppe to eat. Miss that place!

Even in its decay, East Liverpool is beautiful. I grew up near here and have dreams of retiring in an Ohio town like this one. These homes are diamonds in the rough. It's a shame there isn't a monetary incentive to get young people (many of whom have given up on owning their own homes) and those fleeing cities because of crime and high cost of living to move to places like East Liverpool and bring them back to their glory days again.

I was born in East Liverpool, and lived there half my life, all i can think seeing this video is “damn I’m glad i moved”

I have a friend who grew up here and left for good in the early 70s. He saw the handwriting on the wall even back then.

I was a Hoover Sales Rep. My territory was in East Liverpool, and other towns nearby. Back in the 70's. . Sad to see it like this!

These ruins, dilapidated houses, factory.... all have a story, a human story to tell. That part of American History that depicts Family, Community relationships seem to disappeared. These may be ruins but they are a standing testimony of Americanism.

Come to Steubenville Ohio! It’s about 1/2 hour south on Route 7. It is where Dean Martin was born! Pretty rough area today

So depressing, this is what happens when the middle class is destroyed by corporate greed.

Thank you for sharing this with us. I was born in E. Liverpool but was raised across the Ohio River in Chester, WV. Born in '58 and moved to a town to the west of Cleveland in '79. I still have family in WV as well as E. Liverpool. There are nice areas of this town (as well as surrounding towns) but the examples of abandonment and despair is normal for just about anywhere you go. There will always be good and bad. I loved growing up in the area but I remember it in a different era, back when it was thriving. It's sad to see, but a fact of life. I live in a small town in South Carolina that is in need of improvement as well and it has nothing to do with steel mills or potteries. I've seen a lot in my (almost) 65 years from OH, to WV, to FL and now SC. You have a lot of Hoods N Hollers to cover my friend. By the way, I'm a new subscriber and I love your channel.😀

Reminds me of many British villages and small towns, except that the houses would still all be occupied, but all the local businesses were dead. Shops, pubs, and post offices.

I had friends that lived there, we would go visit often. As the years went by I noticed it getting worse and worse. Finally my friends had enough and had to move away. That was about 20 years ago. Seeing it like this and how far it has declined in just 20 years is heartbreaking.

As someone who enjoys exploring and metal detecting old properties, I can only imagine what history lies in the ground at many of those old locations

This is a huge shock! I pass this coming in to Steubenville on a regular for the past 2+ years. I always wondered how it was there. Sheesh!! It's got to be a struggle for those still living there. My heart just sank.

Wow, I use to live in northern Ohio and had heard of East Liverpool but have never been there. It's a shame it's that run down. Hopefully the people that have moved away now have a good life and for the people that remain hopefully they will soon prosper. Thank you for the video.

That building in the opening scene was awesome

My Dad was born there in 26. Grew up there during the Depression. It probably looked a hell of a lot better THEN!

So sad .... all these towns falling apart..... jobs move overseas and we send billions to help other countries out and ours is falling apart. So sad.

Filmed in early spring the house sparrows robins and blue jays were singing with delight at least they’re happy and blessed .

Some beautiful architecture on some of those buildings, it's a shame.

This is so sad. East Liverpool used to be a beautiful city with well cared for homes and businesses-what a shame.

Growing up in rural Columbiana county, ELPO was the place to shop in late 40's and early 50's. I walked the hillsides to door-to-door campaign for JFK. Now just pass thru it on rt7/11 on way to Lisbon.

Sad to watch these Ohio River towns fade away. I used to spend my summers with my grandparents in Southern Ohio (Manchester - Portsmouth). Nature is already reclaiming some of them, and some have small groups of dedicated proud residents keeping parts of these cities alive. Thanks, Hoods N Hollers for using some sort of gimbal to keep the video smooth, and not whipping the camera around like some channels do that just is unwatchable.

So depressing. I grew up there and it is so sad to see the decline.

Another beautifully done video. So sad to see this, but truly fascinating.

Thanks for the video! I've always liked to try to understand the past and a video like this helps. I wish I could have seen how this town were 50 yrs ago when they were bustling with activity. Looks like a beautiful area to live in too.

Vacant remains of what once was... Excellent recording work!

Brings back memories of family trips through parts of Ohio that looked like this on our way to Columbus from upstate New York. Thank you for sharing and preserving this part of Americana history.

I was born and grew up in Salem, 27 miles away. We'd go to East Liverpool (which we called East Liverpoor) often, especially for high school football games (I was in the marching band). I moved abroad and haven't been back since 2001, and it's shocking to see just how bad things have gotten in 20 years.

That first factory you drove by at :02 was COOL! You should go inside and explore it!

I lived in Toronto Ohio as a kid and I thought my town was bad. East Liverpool looks like Detroit.

I intend this idea to be positive and with compassion. There are so many homeless today. Could places like this be useful for the homeless that are motivated to revitalize this and make it home for them?

This is the town my dad was born and raised in. He left that town in 1957 when he joined the Marines. He did mention that pottery was a big industry there, once. Some family members worked making the ceramic insulators they put atop the arms of electric poles.

Because of the theme of the video you don’t get to see any of the good. Don’t get me wrong there is a lot of bad but there is a lot of good too.

Downtown Beirut sure is lovely in springtime

There used to still be toys and play equipment out on the East Elementary playground, and all of us kids would come and play on it, because you didn't want to drive to go to the park. For being an extremely run down school the playground was nice, but then someone decided to tear it all down despite it being used by us kids about 6 years back now if i can recall. It was a local garden for a year or two, but then that was abandoned as well. I was supposed to go to EE, before it got shut down.

I currently work at homer Laughlin China company

That first building was riverview florist, there was once a huge greenhouse in the empty lot to the left of it, I live a block away from it.

I for sure see lots of potential. So sad that this has to happen in America of all places. I hope this town does recover.

It is amazing to look at the difference between this and other abandoned cities. The people, despite clearly having little money, still take care of the place. There is natural decay but very little graffiti and very little litter. If your car broke down I bet they would try to help you. Sad how it goes when the jobs leave!

Just think of how many people were employed by all of those empty factories...😟

😮😮😱😱omg!! these creepy looking old houses,send me the shivers

I live 40 miles from East Liverpool, just outside of Pittsburgh. East Liverpool is 40 miles west of Pittsburgh on US 30. These small towns of Southeast Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania, clobbered by the loss of steel, potteries and other businesses, have suffered through a lot. It's just a little too far to be a Pittsburgh suburb..as is Steubenville, Chester, WV and Midland, PA (right across the Ohio River) and others, but anything they can do to tie themselves to the greater Pittsburgh area would be of economic benefit. These old small towns may not look like much, but there is a lot of history here.

C'est triste de voir une ville éteinte où il y a eu certainement de nombreuses personnes qui faisaient vivre cet endroit.

Hard to fathom today that a city ,an entire area was built on making pottery in the U.S. Their resource was mud. "Rich local clays."

So sad --- would be wonderful if these beautiful places could be renovated & families brought back here to live. With so many people wanting to have homes, why not rebuild here? We should fix what we already HAVE, not take away any more trees and green areas. Need to rebuild this place --- it has so much history. Please don't let it just break down and fade away !!!

It would be nice if more business were in east Liverpool and not Calcutta. I do appreciate the festival and things they do to keep the families engaged here.

I would so remodel that first factory into a home

My grandfather retured frim Crucible Steel in 1981. My other grandfather was a coal miner in Monaca. My mother and I were both born in Rochester PA and my brother in Wadsworth. We moved to Akron when I six months old and lived there until my sad moved us to Phoenix in 1970. I lived there until my parents passed, which was 50 years total. I left after that and my husband, son and I now live in Montana.

Enlightening video. Had no idea. Thank you. Sad.

Oh man! So many buildings were/are beautiful!

I really liked the gray house at the beginning of the video. These videos are great, but kind of depressing at the same time.

I live here in Ohio.. but never visited this area. Seems like a fun roadtrip sometime.

Dad would take me to East Liverpool back in the 60s when he went to the Boilermaker's Union Hall. Seeing how the town has died just breaks my heart!

My hudband just told me this atrocity happened due to steel mills closing and unions. Most steel now comes from overseas and is cheaper and not as good as American made steel.

East Liverpool, Ohio, one-time center of the opioid epidemic. Not everybody died of old age, nor did they all move away.

Been there probably 1000's of times on the way to visit family as a half way point to stretch our legs and such. Not far away in Shadyside is a huge old casket factory that I always wanted to explore. So many amazing looking buildings just crumbling away along the river.

Thanks for Sharing. I had to Watch it Again.

i'm from here lived here my whole life aside from one year bounced all around the area live in east end now it's such a vibrant small town it's a lot of culture here i love my area thank you for showing it in a bigger light 🙏🏼🤞🏼

My family and I used to drive through East Liverpool to get to my grammas in West Virginia. Sad how it's gotten even worse in 12 years than before.

Just so sad.....loss of such historical places.

It is sad to see and feel the despair and emptiness…beautiful country…no economy…hope it can make a come back one day…

This is so sad. My father's family lived there for generations, I wish I had seen it during their time.

Looks like some of upstate NY! Thanx for the video and best wishes!!

Paul Harvy once said E L was the armpit of the world

It is a cess pool now....Sad used to have some great night clubs downtown.

These old mill and factory towns never changed, never reinvented or retooled themselves for the post industrial economy and this is the tragic end result

My hometown. I left 25 years ago. You can see why.

thanks for taking your time taking a video

Only way this could be better is if we were viewing it in its prime. Amazing vid keep up the great work.

Love the boarded up Credit Bureau

East Liverpool was probably a grand town when Lou Holtz was growing up there in the '40s' and '50s!

Wow...my HS used play East Liverpool. Drive through Weirton Wv

I live in WV 40 min. drive to East Liverpool. Its like all the other towns in the Ohio Valley. The mills shut down and they all became ghost towns. A few of the elderly still hanging on but the young have left and the ones that haven't for the most part are on drugs. All these small towns have a Dollar Store, grocery store, bank, a couple fast food joints, a school, and a church or 2 and thats literally it. Nothing but memories from generations gone by. Dilibidated old businesses and houses falling inside themselves. It's beautiful country but there's no reason for anybody to come here and make use of it. It's sad! Most of the people in these areas travel to Pitts. to work. With the way things are these days it makes no sense to let these houses rot away. The owners obviously don't want them so give them away. There are families that would be more than happy to have them. They can fix them up as they can afford to. It only benefits the area. It makes everybody's property value go up. Makes businesses more money and could very well attract other businesses.

Satelite dishes quite prominent amid the ruins...always a sign of despair. But there are some beautiful artifacts of masonry at the beginning of the video-quite stunning, actually, and at around 9:15, and elsewhere. These will never be duplicated because we don't have a big enough pool of well-skilled craftsmen. We don't have this pool because the skills and trades needed for them are undersold by a culture that is overhyping college as a get-rich-quick scheme, rather than an istitution for higer learning. We don't value craft-persons the way we used to, but hopefully that will change. My assessment is too simplistic, and an entire thesis could be written on this (but already has..many times, many books, many articles..) Thanks.

The buildings at the opening :20 looks like it could be a movie set for Olde England. Other than that, it made me depressed just seeing video of that depressed town.

9:00 mark is the street department that is still in use today. Used to be an old trolley car barn.

Looks like a great place for me if I ever end up homeless again...lots of great hideouts and not many people around.

This is sad seeing all these buildings deteriorate. 😳🥺😢

I lived there, and in the surrounding area as a kid. The rust belt is heartbreaking.