Mason is a city in southwestern Warren County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, Mason's population was 22,016. It was the fastest-growing and most populous city in the county. Until February 1997, it was part of Deerfield Township.
History
On June 1, 1803, Revolutionary War veteran William Mason paid $1,700 at auction to purchase 640 acres of land in what is now downtown Mason. In 1815, he platted 16 lots on this land and named the village "Palmira." In 1832, 2 years after the death of William Mason and according to his will, over 40 more lots were platted on the north, south, and west of Palmira. When the plat was officially recorded, the name of the village was listed as "Palmyra."
In 1835, a petition was sent to the federal post office to correct the name of the town. It had been listed as Kirkwood, possibly an error because the postmaster at the time was William Kirkwood. When village officials were informed that there was another Palmyra in Ohio, the name was officially changed to "Mason." Mason remained a small farming community for another 125 years. In 1970, a year before the town was incorporated to become a city, there were fewer than 5,700 residents. [3]
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1950 |
1,196 |
|
—
|
| 1960 |
4,727 |
|
295.2% |
| 1970 |
5,677 |
|
20.1% |
| 1980 |
8,692 |
|
53.1% |
| 1990 |
11,452 |
|
31.8% |
| 2000 |
22,019 |
|
92.3% |
| Est. 2006 |
30,405 |
|
38.1% |
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 22,016 people, 7,789 households, and 5,981 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,250.0 people per square mile (482.7/km²). There were 8,111 housing units at an average density of 460.5/sq mi (177.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.79% White, 1.61% African American, 0.19% Native American, 2.18% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population.
There are 7,789 households 45.2% of which have children under the age of 18, 67.5% have married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.2% were non-families. 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 persons and the average family size was 3.27 persons.
In the city the population was spread out with 32.1% under the age of 18, 5.1% between 18 to 24, 35.3% between 25 to 44, 19.1% between 45 to 64, and 8.4% over the age of 65. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $65,968, and the median income for a family was $75,697 (these figures had risen to $83,082 and $100,317 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[4]). Males had a median income of $52,795 and females had a median income of $32,457. The per capita income for the city was $29,109. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.8% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.
Historical population figures
The city is in the Mason City, Kings Local, and Lebanon City School Districts. The entire city is in the Mason telephone exchange. Mail is provided through the Mason, Kings Mills, Lebanon, and Maineville post offices.
Kings Island amusement park, The Beach Waterpark, Great Wolf Lodge Hotel/Indoor Waterpark, Procter & Gamble's Mason Business Center, the headquarters of Luxottica Retail, Cintas corporate headquarters, Seapine Software corporate headquarters, and the Lindner Family Tennis Center, home of the historic Cincinnati Masters tennis tournament, are all located in Mason.
According to CNN Money the City of Mason is one of the top 100 places to live in the United States[5].
It is served by two interstates, I-71 and I-75.
Geography
Mason is located at 39°21′29″N 84°18′43″W / 39.35806°N 84.31194°W / 39.35806; -84.31194 (39.358009, -84.311822)[6].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.6 square miles (45.7 km²), of which, 17.6 square miles (45.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.23%) is water.
Climate
| Weather data for Mason, Ohio |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Record high °F (°C) |
72
(22) |
76
(24) |
84
(29) |
89
(32) |
93
(34) |
97
(36) |
104
(40) |
101
(38) |
98
(37) |
88
(31) |
81
(27) |
75
(24) |
| Average high °F (°C) |
38
(3) |
43
(6) |
53
(12) |
65
(18) |
75
(24) |
83
(28) |
87
(31) |
86
(30) |
79
(26) |
68
(20) |
54
(12) |
43
(6) |
| Average low °F (°C) |
19
(-7) |
21
(-6) |
30
(-1) |
39
(4) |
49
(9) |
58
(14) |
63
(17) |
61
(16) |
53
(12) |
41
(5) |
32
(0) |
24
(-4) |
| Record low °F (°C) |
-25
(-32) |
-13
(-25) |
-10
(-23) |
18
(-8) |
27
(-3) |
36
(2) |
40
(4) |
41
(5) |
26
(-3) |
12
(-11) |
-3
(-19) |
-22
(-30) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) |
3.18
(80.8) |
2.72
(69.1) |
3.73
(94.7) |
4.10
(104.1) |
4.96
(126) |
4.54
(115.3) |
4.04
(102.6) |
4.18
(106.2) |
3.14
(79.8) |
3.09
(78.5) |
3.65
(92.7) |
3.35
(85.1) |
| Source: The Weather Channel.[7] November 2008 |
Media
Mason is part of the Cincinnati media market. Although no broadcast stations are licensed to Mason itself, the city is home to the transmitter site of Clear Channel Communications' WLW (700 Cincinnati), which uses one of only seven remaining Blaw-Knox diamond-shaped towers. WLW was once (1934 - 1939) the most powerful broadcast station in the country at 500 kilowatts.
The broadcast tower for WLW
It's hometown newspaper is the Pulse-Journal Newspaper.
Education
Mason City Schools have been ranked among the top in Ohio's school systems. Due to this, the city has been popular among new residents. While the Mason City Schools ranks well, many area residents find the Mason City School Board frivolous due to high spending on items like black marble for the floor of Mason High School. Current members include Kevin Wise, Marienne Culbertson, Connie Yingling, Debbie Delp, and Jennifer Miller. Miller is the only member who supports restraint in spending. Property taxes are high in Mason and are the School District's major source of funding.
The Mason City School district has received many Ohio Blue Ribbons for Excellence. The class of 2006 was exceptional in that it graduated four students who will attend the ivy leagues, and 14 students who were national merit scholars or commended merit scholars. The class of 2007 has 20 members who were national merit scholars or commended merit scholars. The William Mason High School Wind Symphony was invited in 2004 to perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, recognized as the most prestigious high school concert band performance in the world. Mason High School is also home to the United States' first competitive junior broomball league, according to broomball.com. School programs are also successful at the state level, with the girls basketball team being the state champions in 2000, the girls track team were state champions in 2004, the Mock Trial Team being the state runner-ups in 2006, boys cross country OHSAA Champions in 2008 and the debate team placing first in 2005. Mason currently has 6 public schools: Mason Early Childhood Center (PK - 1), Mason Heights, Western Row(grades 2-3), Mason Intermediate(grades 4-6), Mason Middle School( grades 7-8), and Mason High School. Mason also has a community center that connected to the High School. The last building to open was the MECC which opened in 2006. Mason City Schools has one of the fastest school networks in Ohio operating over 1,700 times faster than the standard home Internet connection while supporting over 4,600 classroom computers. There are approximately 4.2 students per computer in the district. The district also supports individual teacher pages for posting of work assignments and other class information (such as Edline and Masoncomets.org). Parents have secure web access to student grades, transportation information, lunch account balances, and more. The next building project is scheduled to beginning on March 3, 2008 with an addition to the high school, that was built in 2001. The addition will include an additional 3 story pod that will add 3 additional computer labs, over 30 new classrooms, a new lunchroom, and new athletic and choral offices. Mason has had a perfect rating of 30 out of 30 indicators on the Ohio Report Card for the past eight years.
Notable Natives
- Dan Patrick, Sportscaster and former employee of ESPN[citation needed]
- George Clooney, TV & movie star, director, and activist in the Darfur conflict, lived in Mason from 1968 to 1975.[citation needed]
- Connor Van Blaricom, A professional climber, climbs such things as the WLW Tower, and mountains such as K2.[citation needed]
- Carson Williams, known for his famous light show at his house in Mason, Ohio. His famous light show was to the tune of Wizards in Winter by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
- Zack Wills, a junior at Mason who is a two time OHSAA state cross country champion, and two time state champion in the 3200 meter run in Track and Field
References
Further reading
- Elva R. Adams. Warren County Revisited. [Lebanon, Ohio]: Warren County Historical Society, 1989.
- The Centennial Atlas of Warren County, Ohio. Lebanon, Ohio: The Centennial Atlas Association, 1903.
- John W. Hauck. Narrow Gauge in Ohio. Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing, 1986. ISBN 0-87108-629-8
- Josiah Morrow. The History of Warren County, Ohio. Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1883. (Reprinted several times)
- Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. 6th ed. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme, 2001. ISBN 0-89933-281-1
- William E. Smith. History of Southwestern Ohio: The Miami Valleys. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1964. 3 vols.
- Rose Marie Springman. Around Mason, Ohio: A Story. [Mason, Ohio?]: The Author, 1982.
- State of Ohio Mock Trial Organization. [1]
- Warren County Engineer's Office. Official Highway Map 2003. Lebanon, Ohio: The Office, 2003.
External links
