Ghosts of an Old Forest: Essays on Midwestern Rural Heritage

By Deborah Fleming

In the Ohio counties of the Alleghany Plateau, 19th-century barns hewn from old-growth wood rest near remnant forests, reminders of the state's deep agricultural roots and rich ecological past. Through fourteen linked, meditative essays, Deborah Fleming, author of the award-winning Resurrection of the Wild: Meditations on Ohio's Natural Landscape, persuasively and passionately argues for protecting these vestiges of the region's natural and rural history.

Fleming describes domesticated and wild nature on her farm; delves into Ohio's rich history of agriculture; tackles the issues of litter and pollution; decries the practice of hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking"); and reflects on changes in communities bordering rivers, which are often the most exploited by extraction industries.

The result is an evocative collection, which traces Ohio's natural and cultural history--and serves as an urgent call to preserve its splendor.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1606354930
• ISBN13: 9781606354933
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Kent State University Press
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.7"