To understand the legacy of human land use in forest communities, we examined drivers of land use change in three counties of southeastern Ohio. The effects of mineral extraction, agriculture, and patterns of ownership were reconstructed from historical documents and census records over a span of 220 years. In the early nineteenth century, the economy was based on small-plot agriculture, lumbering, and salt extraction for local use and export on the Ohio River. In the mid-late nineteenth century, agriculture profited by integration of non-perishable products into national markets, facilitated by construction of a canal and railroad network. Underground coal mining served national markets between 1880 and 1920, but its effect on regional forests was relatively minor due to its small aboveground footprint and the low market value of the local product. Agricultural abandonment began ca. 1920 in response to regional and national declines in commodity prices, initiating a phase of natural forest regeneration. The most rapid abandonment occurred between 1950 and 1970 corresponding to a nationwide decline in the dairy industry. Since 1970, a shift to offsite employment has decoupled land ownership from commodity markets allowing long-term stability of forest cover. Thus, the biological structure and composition of modern forests are a result of variation in national commodity markets played out in the context of local site quality and accessibility. Due to distinctive social, economic, and environmental factors, the area has not followed the standard narrative of post-industrial Appalachian landscapes.