Massie

In a Midwestern setting dotted with well-rounded deciduous trees, Massie Township offers a relaxed rural pace. Life here is centered around the neighborhood's gem, Caesar Creek State Park, which is a recreationist's dream. It boasts trails, a beach and, even more important for this community, a variety of hunting and fishing opportunities. When not at the park, locals enjoy returning to the spacious yet private lots living in Massie Township affords them. “Imagine someone sitting in their rocking chair looking at undeveloped land, seeing a hot air balloon land, or someone getting back after a long day at the Renaissance Fair sitting in front of their firepit with a cold beverage,” Myles Greely, a Realtor with Keller Williams Community Partners says. “Country songs are written about Massie Township. It's that narrative." Light gray paved streets connect to wide white cement driveways, enhancing the neighborhood’s uplifting appeal. Ranch-style homes prevail, often with country porches and high-contrast white trim. Smaller, older homes with vintage character gather closer together, and lawns are thoughtfully landscaped. In Harveysburg, homebuyers can expect to find century-old colonial homes; elsewhere, they’ll see more new-traditional multi-gabled homes with Craftsman flair. “Forty or 50 years ago, homes in Massie Township were modest. But, since then, we’ve added four or five subdivisions where homes can have an acre lot and wooded backyards with a pond,” Butch Peele, a Realtor with Peelle & Lundy Realtors, says. “We like to consider ourselves regular folks here, so you won’t find any HOAs telling anyone how to live.” Homes in Massie Township can range from the low $100,000s for farmhouse-style home built in the early 1900s up to the high $900,000s for a spacious new-traditional home on 2 acres of land. “There’s a very attractive market in Massie township,” Greely says. “There’s not a lot of cookie-cutter homes. Most of the properties are going to have at least a half an acre.” As for crime, Massie Township received a Crime Score of 1 out of 10 from the CAP Index, the lowest score a neighborhood can receive. Adventure awaits at Caesar Creek State Park. This park offers serene fishing & hunting opportunities, picnic tables and a playground, along with more than 40 miles of multipurpose trails. Mountain bikers, birders, and horseback riders escape here for exercise or relaxation. Visitors can even staycation at the campground or host family gatherings at the Hopewell Day Lodge. At Caesar Creek Marina, boaters can rent slips at the dock, which includes a beachfront oasis and youth pond. Residents who live by the 2.5-acre Hatton-Lukens Park can walk from their front doors to local league games on multiple sports fields, fun at the playground or picnics under the shelter. Just west on the main east-west corridor, Route 73, residents can shop and dine in Waynesville, where two-story homes have been repurposed into boutique retailers. Stop-ins include The Peddler House décor, specialty shop, and Butter Churn Café for hand-dipped Young’s Dairy ice cream. “Waynesville has really transformed into somewhat of a tourist destination,” Peelle says. “People come from all around to shop in its gift and antique shops.” A favorite watering hole is the locally owned Stone House Tavern, which serves anything from flatbread pizzas and cheeseburgers to fish tacos and grilled salmon. The Hammel House Inn is a hotel and a restaurant on Main Street in Waynesville. The restaurant offers a variety of sandwiches in an inviting, colonial setting inside or out on their front-facing patio outside. For dining at home, residents pick up essentials at Groceryland. Residents in Massie Township send their children to the Clinton-Massie Local School District, which earned a B grade from Niche. All grade levels are consolidated on one campus, including Clinton-Massie Elementary, Clinton-Massie Middle and Clinton-Massie High. The elementary and middle school earned B grades from Niche, while the high school earned a B-minus. “Clinton-Massie High has a tremendous football program going back 18 or 20 years now,” Peelle says. “They’ve won the state championship numerous times.” Folks who need to get to Downtown Cincinnati or Downtown Dayton for work are looking at 42-mile and 32-mile drives, respectively. The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is 55 miles away for those who need to catch a flight. Clinton Memorial Hospital is a 13-mile drive from Massie Township for any medical attention. Every October, Waynesville hosts a Sauerkraut Festival on Main Street. “You can see upwards of 30,000 people there. It’s just elbow-to-elbow,” Peelle says. Festival-goers also travel from Columbus and Lebanon to the Massie Township’s annual Renaissance Festival for loads of turkey leg, beer and jousting fun.