Rayland, Ohio

Rayland is a village in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 417 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Weirton - Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.HistoryRayland was originally called Portland. A post office called Portland Station was established in 1871, and the name was changed to Rayland in 1905. Rayland was once one of the biggest port towns on the Ohio River. It has served as a safe haven for civil war soldiers during the civil war and was a place to be doctored back to health. Rayland was the scene of several bloody battles fought in the civil war.The Hopewell Nation of indigenous people people to the Ohio Territory were among many of the natives who were here. The Hopewell cemetery in Rayland along with the Hopewell Church are named in honor of the tribe which disappeared from the area roughly 450 B.C.The "Old Stone House" built by and owned by John Bayless, an abolitionist from Maryland. He hired an Italian Artist to come in and paint a water fall coming down the wall in the home along the spiraling staircase. This dwelling was built in the early 1800s prior to the industrial revolution. This home was an unusual one, as the front of the house faced the creek running in the back instead of facing the road. The second unusual thing about this house is that the main entrance was on the second floor of the home. The reason for the home facing the creek was because John's wife wanted a view of the creek and the mountain side. Sadly this home was destroyed in the 1980s from fire when juvenile arsonists set the historical home into a blaze. This home also had a slave tunnel running from the home to the Ohio River just less than a half mile from the home to help hide slaves. The home rested in the field next to present day Dairy Queen in Rayland, Ohio.