Rocky River

Rocky River, Ohio
—  City  —
Harbor and river entrance at Rocky River, Ohio
Seal
Location of Rocky River in Ohio
Location of Rocky River in Cuyahoga County
Coordinates: 41°28′31″N 81°50′45″W / 41.47528°N 81.84583°W / 41.47528; -81.84583Coordinates: 41°28′31″N 81°50′45″W / 41.47528°N 81.84583°W / 41.47528; -81.84583
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Cuyahoga
Settled	1810 [1]
Village incorporation	1903 [1]
City incorporation	1960 [1]
Government
• Type	Mayor-council[2]
• Mayor	Pamela E. Bobst [1]
Area
• Total	5.6 sq mi (14.6 km2)
• Land	4.8 sq mi (12.3 km2)
• Water	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km2)  15.45%
Elevation	689 ft (210 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	20,213
• Density	4,360.8/sq mi (1,685.4/km2)
	census
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip code	44116
Area code(s)	440
FIPS code	39-68056[3]
GNIS feature ID	1049132
Website	http://www.rrcity.com

Rocky River is an affluent western suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, United States located in Cuyahoga County approximately nine miles west of Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The city is named for the river that forms its eastern border. The population was 20,213 at the time of the 2010 census.

Geography

Rocky River is at 41°28′31″N 81°50′45″W / 41.47528°N 81.84583°W / 41.47528; -81.84583 (41.475297, -81.845759).^[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.6 square miles (15 km²), of which, 4.8 square miles (12 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²) of it (15.45%) is water.

Most of Rocky River's eastern border follows the river bearing its name, which runs through the Rocky River Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks system, adjacent to the city's eastern neighbor, Lakewood. A small strip of Cleveland itself also borders Rocky River; however, the two cities are not directly connected by roads. Lake Erie lines the entire northern border of the city while the city of Fairview Park marks the southern border. On Rocky River's western border are the cities of Bay Village to the northwest and Westlake to the southwest.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 20,735 people, 9,709 households, and 5,437 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,360.8 people per square mile (1,685.4/km²). There were 10,166 housing units at an average density of 2,138.0 per square mile (826.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.83% White, 0.41% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 9,709 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.9% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 24.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $71,636, and the median income for a family was $94,361. Males had a median income of $62,727 versus $32,145 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,663. About 1.5% of families and 2.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

The Rocky River City School District serves the entire city of Rocky River and a small portion of the city Fairview Park. In the 2010-2011 school year, the Rocky River City Schools served 2,529 students and earned the highest designation. The district tied for the second highest rating in the state of Ohio and outperformed all other Northeast Ohio districts.

Private schools

• St. Thomas Lutheran School — co-ed Pre-K to 8th grade school affiliated with the Lutheran church with roughly 80 students
• Ruffing Montessori — co-ed Pre-K to 8th grade Montessori school with about 300 students
• St. Christopher School — co-ed K to 8th grade school affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church serving around 520 students
• Lutheran High School West — co-ed high school affiliated with the Lutheran church serving about 450 students
• Magnificat High School — female-only high school affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church

with around 870 students

Churches

• Buna Vestire Romanian Orthodox Church
• First Church of Christ, Scientist
• Lighthouse Alliance Church
• Our Savior’s Rocky River Lutheran Church
• Rockport United Methodist Church
• Rocky River Presbyterian Church
• Rocky River United Methodist Church
• St. Christopher Roman Catholic Church
• St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church
• St. Peregrine’s Catholic Chapel of the Traditional Roman Rite
• St. Thomas Lutheran Church
• Venue Church
• Westshore Unitarian Universalist Church

Notable residents

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

(B) denotes that the person was born there.

• Birthplace of Kevin Barnes, front man and songwriter for the indie rock band of Montreal.(B)^{[citation needed]}
• Nina Blackwood, the first of the original five MTV VJs, graduated from Rocky River High School in 1970.^{[citation needed]}
• Clint Brown, pitcher for the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox, was a resident when he died in 1955.^{[citation needed]}
• Carter Camper, ice hockey player who made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.^{[citation needed]}
• Birthplace of Chris Hovan, professional American football player for the St. Louis Rams(B)^{[citation needed]}
• Sammy Kaye, Big Band Era bandleader and songwriter, graduated from Rocky River High School in 1927.^{[citation needed]}
• Birthplace of George Steinbrenner, businessman and one-time owner of the New York Yankees.(B)^{[citation needed]}
• Birthplace of Pat McCormick, comic actor and writer.(B)^{[citation needed]}
• Martin Savidge, award-winning American television news correspondent for NBC News, was a resident when he graduated from Rocky River High School in 1976.^{[citation needed]}
• Herb Score, pitcher, and long-time radio broadcaster (1968–97) for the Cleveland Indians, his home and where he died in 2008.^{[citation needed]}
• Sam Sheppard, physician, infamous ostheophathic doctor defended by F. Lee Bailey in the alleged murder of his wife Marilyn in 1954 at their lakefront home in Bay Village, Ohio. Found guilty in the first trial. Found innocent in the second trial represented by Bailey. Later died in Columbus, Ohio at 46 years of age. The television series The Fugitive (TV series) and latter the movie of the same title starring Harrison Ford was patterned after Dr. Sheppard.
• Brian K. Vaughan, comics and television writer.^[5]

Library

Rocky River Public Library is home to the Cowan Pottery Museum. It features over 1200 pieces of a distinctive form of American art pottery created by R. Guy Cowan and his associates at the Cowan Pottery Studio from 1913-1931. It was one of the nation's leading potteries during the 1920s, and the Cleveland area's only major pottery.^[6] The library also contains the Schlather antique collection from the estate of Leonard Schlather, a prominent Cleveland brewer who also resided in Rocky River in the early 1900's.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rocky River, Ohio

• City government and services
• Chamber of Commerce
• Public library
• School district and State Board of Education Report Cards

	Bay Village	Lake Erie
	Westlake		Lakewood
		Rocky River
	North Olmsted	Fairview Park	Cleveland

v t e Municipalities and communities of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States County seat: Cleveland Cities Bay Village Beachwood Bedford Bedford Heights Berea Brecksville Broadview Heights Brook Park Brooklyn Cleveland Cleveland Heights East Cleveland Euclid Fairview Park Garfield Heights Highland Heights Independence Lakewood Lyndhurst Maple Heights Mayfield Heights Middleburg Heights North Olmsted North Royalton Olmsted Falls Parma Parma Heights Pepper Pike Richmond Heights Rocky River Seven Hills Shaker Heights Solon South Euclid Strongsville University Heights Warrensville Heights Westlake Villages Bentleyville Bratenahl Brooklyn Heights Chagrin Falls Cuyahoga Heights Gates Mills Glenwillow Highland Hills Hunting Valley‡ Linndale Mayfield Moreland Hills Newburgh Heights North Randall Oakwood Orange Valley View Walton Hills Woodmere Townships Chagrin Falls Olmsted Paper townships Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties