SHARONVILLE, Ohio — Five towns in Ohio have been declared among the best hometowns for 2023-2024 by Ohio Magazine, a Dublin, Ohio based magazine owned by Great Lakes Publishing.
Each year, Ohio Magazine receives nominations for the best hometowns and then editors of the magazines conduct site visits across the state ahead of the announcements.
According to the magazine's website, editors evaluated nominees in six categories:
- Community spirit
- Education
- Entertainment
- Health and safety
- Business environment
- Culture and heritage
In addition to Sharonville, the magazine also named Celina, Cuyahoga Falls, Grove City and Lancaster as best hometowns. The features will be published in the magazine's November/December 2023 and July/August 2024 issues.
The magazine will officially present the honor of Best Hometown to Sharonville Mayor Kevin Hardman on Dec. 9.
“We invested in updated infrastructure and amenities in our Downtown Loop to create a space where families and community can come together," said Hardman in a press release. “We are excited to show off this space and why we are one of Ohio’s Best Hometowns."
In Sharonville's case, the magazine said its "strong business base" combined with the city's work on "updating its historic core" built just the sense of community for which editors were searching.
In its feature piece about Sharonville, the magazine highlights businesses and gems throughout the city. The Root Beer Stand, for example, certainly stood out as both historic and a local staple that is frequently buzzing with business in the summer months.
"Cars fill the small parking lot and customers wait patiently in line at the window or for to-go orders," reads the piece. "Of course, no visit is complete without ordering an ice-cold mug of root beer, crafted using water from a 280-foot-deep well that is said to give the stand's drink its flavor."
The Loop district and its small museum also get a nod in the feature as part of "the town's rich railroad heritage."
Still, the author acknowledges that Sharonville is a modern suburban city that also boasts manufacturing jobs at The Gorilla Glue Co., Ford Motor Co.'s Sharonville Transmission Plant and a General Mills facility that makes Chex brands and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
The feature wouldn't be complete without giving Sharon Woods a hat tip, and Ohio Magazine did not ignore the 730-acre park either.
"Offering short trails and picturesque waterfalls, it is also the home of the Heritage Village Museum, a living-history attraction with a collection of structures that have been moved here to give a picture of what life in this part of Ohio looked like during the 1800s," the feature reads.
Other local gems were not overlooked: Princeton High School, Third Eye Brewing Co., the Sharonville Convention Center, Cliff Hardware, Depot Square, Firecracker Bakery, Adesso Coffee and The Book Bus Depot are all included in the feature article.
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