Springfield

 

City (1990 pop. 70,487), seat of Clark co., W central Ohio, on the Mad River; settled 1799, inc. as a city 1850. A manufacturing center in a rich farm area, it is especially known for its production of farm machinery and trucks. Other goods include are machinery, tools, and a variety of metal (iron and steel) products. The city grew with the building of the National Road (1838), the arrival of the railroads (mid-1800s), and the establishment of farm-machinery plants (late 1800s). Wittenberg Univ. is there. Nearby is George Rogers Clark Park.

Springfield, Ohio
Seal
Nickname: The Rose City
Location within the state of Ohio
Coordinates: 39°55′37″N 83°48′15″W / 39.92694, -83.80417
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Clark
Founded	1801
Incorporated	1827 (village)
-	1850 (city)
Government
- Mayor	Warren R. Copeland
Area
- City	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2006)[1] [2]
- City
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
- Metro
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	45501-45506
Area code(s)	937
FIPS code	39-741182
GNIS feature ID	10653703
Website: http://www.ci.springfield.oh.us/

Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County⁶. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River and Buck Creek, approximately 45 miles (72 km) west of Columbus and 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Dayton.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 65,358, but in 2006, the population was down to 62,844. According to the US Census 2006 estimate, the Springfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 141,872 residents, while the Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH Combined Statistical Area has 1,073,513 residents.^[3]

Springfield is home to Wittenberg University, a private liberal-arts college of approximately 2000 students. In 2004, Springfield was chosen an "All-American City."

In 1983, Newsweek featured Springfield in its 50th anniversary issue, entitled, "The American Dream." It chronicled the impact of the past 50 years on five local families.

History

Springfield was founded by James Demint, a former teamster from Kentucky, in 1801. When Clark County was created from parts of Champaign, Madison and Greene Counties, Springfield was designated as county seat in 1818. Springfield beat out the village of New Boston two votes in the state legislature. The first jail in town was guarded by a black bear.

Springfield traces its early growth to the National Road, which ended in Springfield for approximately 10 years as politicians wrangled over the path it would continue. Dayton and Eaton, Ohio, wanted the road to veer south after Springfield but President Andrew Jackson made the final decision to have the road continue straight west to Richmond, Indiana.

During the mid and late 1800s Springfield was dominated by industrialists including O. S. Kelly, Asa S. Bushnell, James Leffel, P. P. Mast and Benjamin Warder.Asa S. Bushnell built the Springfield, Ohio Bushnell Building^[4] where the patent attorney to the Wright Brothers, Harry Aubrey Toulmin, Sr., wrote the 1904 patent to cover the invention of the airplane. To promote the products of his agricultural equipment company, P. P. Mast started Farm and Fireside magazine. Mast’s publishing company, Mast, Crowell, and Kirkpatrick grew to become Crowell-Collier Publishing Company best known for Collier's Weekly. In 1894, The Kelly Springfield Tire Company was founded.

At the turn of the century Springfield became know as the "Home City." Several lodges including the Masonic Lodge, Knights of Pythias and Odd Fellows built homes for orphans and aged members of their order.

In 1902 A.B. Graham, then the superintendent of schools for Springfield Township in Clark County, established a "Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Club." Approximately 85 children from 10 to 15 years of age attended the first meeting on January 15, 1902 in Springfield, Ohio in the basement of the Clark County Courthouse. This was the start of what would be called the "4-H Club" within a few years, quickly growing to a nationwide organization. The first "projects" included food preservation, gardening and elementary agriculture. Today, the Courthouse still bears a large 4H symbol under the flag pole at the front of the building to commemorate its part in founding the organization. The Clark County Fair is the second largest fair in the state (only the Ohio State Fair is larger) in large part to 4H still remaining very popular in the area.

In March 1904 a race riot occurred in Springfield after the murder of a white policeman. A mob marched to the jail, dragged the prisoner from his cell, and proceeded to hang him. After that the mob moved to a part of Springfield known as the Levee where the mob set businesses and homes on fire. The same kind of riot happened again in February 1906.

From 1916 to 1926, 10 automobile companies operated in Springfield. Amongst them: The Bramwell, Brenning, Foos, Frayer-Miller, Kelly Steam, Russell-Springfield and Westcott. The Westcott, know as the car built to last, was a six-cylinder four door sedan manufactured by Burton J. Westcott of the Westcott Motor Car Company. Burton and Orpha Westcott however, are better known for having contracted the world renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to design their home in 1908 at 1340 East High Street. The Westcott House, a sprawling two story stucco and concrete house has all the features of Wright's prairie style including horizontal lines, low-pitched roof, and broad eaves. It is the only Frank Lloyd Wright prairie style house in the state of Ohio. The property was purchased in 2000 by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy (Chicago, IL), and as part of a prearranged plan, the house was then sold to a newly formed local Westcott House Foundation. The Westcott House Foundation managed the extensive 5 year, $5.3 million restoration, the house was fully restored to its original glory in October 2005, when it officially opened to the public for guided tours.

The city is served by one daily newspaper, the Springfield News-Sun.

Geography

Springfield is located at 39°55′37″N, 83°48′15″W (39.927067, -83.804131)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 58.3 km² (22.5 mi²). 58.2 km² (22.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.18%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1820			—
1830			-42.2%
1840			90.9%
1850			147.7%
1860			37.1%
1870			80.7%
1880			63.8%
1890			53.9%
1900			19.9%
1910			22.7%
1920			29.7%
1930			13.0%
1940			2.8%
1950			11.1%
1960			5.4%
1970			-1.0%
1980			-11.4%
1990			-2.9%
2000			-7.3%
Est. 2006			-3.8%

As of the census² of 2000, there were 65,358 people, 26,254 households, and 16,224 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,123.0/km² (2,908.6/mi²). There were 29,309 housing units at an average density of 503.6/km² (1,304.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.04% White, 18.22% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.18% of the population.

There are 26,254 households out of which 29.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% are married couples living together, 16.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.2% are non-families. 32.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.38 and the average family size is 2.99.

In the city the population is spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $32,193, and the median income for a family is $39,890. Males have a median income of $32,027 versus $23,155 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,660. 16.9% of the population and 13.5% of familes are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.9% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Notable natives

The following are notable people born and/or raised in Springfield:

• Berenice Abbott - photographer
• Randy Ayers - assistant coach of the Washington Wizards, former assistant coach of the Orlando Magic and former head coach of Ohio State and the Philadelphia 76ers, and his brother,
• Tim Ayers - mayor and city commissioner of Springfield from 1984-1990.
• Donnie Bowser - country music singer from radio's golden age and rockabilly musician in the early formation of rock music.
• Dave Burba - major league baseball player
• William R. Burnett - novelist and screenwriter
• Ronald E. Burton - humanitarian, NFL star and member of the College Football Hall of Fame
• Garvin Bushell – musician (saxophone, clarinet, etc.)
• Justin Chambers - former model and actor (in the cast of Grey's Anatomy)
• Jason Collier - professional basketball player
• Mike DeWine - former US Senator for Ohio
• Wayne Embry - professional basketball player
• Richard Englefield - symphony composer
• Timothy Espich- Director of Veterans' Affairs for the state of Ohio
• Lillian Gish - actress from the silent film era and after
• Wilbur Gunn - founder of the British car company Lagonda
• Robert C. Henry - first African American mayor
• Dustin Hermanson - major league baseball player
• Ty Howington - major league baseball player
• Elwood V. Jensen – biologist
• Jimmy Journell - major league baseball player
• Brooks Lawrence - major league baseball player
• John Legend (aka John Stephens) - singer, musician, r&b and neo-soul pianist
• Lois Lenski - author and illustrator of children's fiction, including Strawberry Girl
• Luke Lucas - major league baseball player
• Johnny Lytle - jazz musician
• John Newbrough - writer of the Oahspe
• Tony Powell - guitarist/vocalist for the band Animal Grace
• Alaina Reed Hall – actress
• Dick Shatto - professional Canadian football player
• Dann Stupp – author
• Sir Charles Thompson - jazz musician
• Tommy Tucker (aka Robert Higginbotham) - jazz musician
• Christopher J. Waild - screenwriter
• Earle Warren - jazz saxophonist with Count Basie
• Walter L. Weaver - U.S. Representative from Ohio
• Rick White - major league baseball player
• Worthington Whittredge - Hudson River School painter
• Elgrace Wilborn - basketball player for Harlem Globetrotters
• Jonathan Winters - actor and comedian
• Harvey Haddix - major league baseball player

Sister cities

Springfield has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

• - Kragujevac, Serbia
• - Casey, Australia
• - Piteşti, Romania
• - Wittenberg, Germany

See also

• Clark County Public Library, which has its main and two other branches in Springfield.
• Springfield City Schools, the school district that serves the city of Springfield
• Clark County Heritage Center, which houses the Clark County Historical Society museum, library, and archives.

References

External links

• City of Springfield
• Springfield City History
• Springfield Ohio Online Community Portal
• Springfield News-Sun News and Information for Springfield and Clark County, Ohio

Coordinates: 39.927067° N 83.804131° W

Municipalities and communities of Clark County, Ohio
County seat: Springfield
Cities	New Carlisle | Springfield
Villages	Catawba | Clifton | Donnelsville | Enon | North Hampton | South Charleston | South Vienna | Tremont City
Townships	Bethel | German | Green | Harmony | Mad River | Madison | Moorefield | Pike | Pleasant | Springfield
Census-designated places	Crystal Lakes | Green Meadows | Holiday Valley | Lawrenceville | Northridge | Park Layne
Other localities	Medway | Plattsburgh

	State of Ohio Columbus (capital)
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Largest cities	Akron | Canton | Cincinnati | Cleveland | Columbus | Cuyahoga Falls | Dayton | Elyria | Hamilton | Kettering | Lakewood | Lorain | Mansfield | Mentor | Middletown | Parma | Springfield | Toledo | Youngstown
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