Urbana

Urbana, Ohio
—  City  —
Located at the center of Urbana is a large roundabout.
Location of Urbana, Ohio
Coordinates: 40°6′39″N 83°45′5″W / 40.11083°N 83.75139°W / 40.11083; -83.75139
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Champaign
Government
- Mayor	Ruth Zerkle
Area
- Total	6.8 sq mi (17.7 km2)
- Land	6.8 sq mi (17.7 km2)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation [1]	1,050 ft (320 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	11,613
- Density	1,702.3/sq mi (657.3/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	43078
Area code(s)	937
FIPS code	39-79072[2]
GNIS feature ID	1065415[1]
Website	http://urbanaohio.com/

Urbana is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Ohio, United States,^[3] 47 miles (76 km) west of Columbus. Urbana was laid out in 1805, and for a time in 1812 was the headquarters of the Northwestern army. Urbana was named after a town in Virginia. It is the burial-place of the Indian fighter Simon Kenton. In 1900, 6,808 people lived in Urbana; in 1910, 7,739; and in 1940, 8,335. The population was 11,613 at the 2000 census. It is the home of Urbana University.

Geography

Urbana is located at 40°6′39″N 83°45′5″W / 40.11083°N 83.75139°W / 40.11083; -83.75139 (40.110937, -83.751463)^[4].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.7 km²), all of it land. Urbana is the centerpiece of a proposed project by a Manhattan-based, British-owned wind energy firm that will experiment in siting hundreds of industrial 492-foot turbines next to heavily populated residential areas. This project is viewed with great interest by medical experts researching the health effect on populations living next to industrial wind turbines and by legal experts examining the liability of wind companies for health and safety issues surrounding industrial turbines versus the liability of farmers who own the land the turbines are sited on, vis-a-vis just who will be sued for what after the turbines are installed.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 11,613 people, 4,859 households, and 2,998 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,702.3 people per square mile (657.4/km²). There were 5,210 housing units at an average density of 763.7/sq mi (295.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.03% White, 5.95% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population.

There were 4,859 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,702, and the median income for a family was $42,857. Males had a median income of $33,092 versus $26,817 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,831. About 7.2% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The City of Urbana is mostly served by the Urbana City School District. Some parts of Urbana are served by Graham Local Schools and West Liberty-Salem Local Schools. Graham Local Schools is one of the largest school districts in area in the state of Ohio. West Liberty-Salem Local Schools is a very small school district but is well known for its excellence in education. It is one of the best schools in the state of Ohio.

State Militia Fires on Urbana Lynch Mob

On June 4, 1897 residents of Urbana formed a lynch mob and fought their way into the town jail to remove Charles Mitchell, a black man. Charles Mitchell was subsequently killed by the mob, his body left to hang in town. At least one Urbana citizen was killed by the state militia, who had been sent to guard the prisoner from the mob.^[5]

Notable residents

• Andrew Daniel - Winner of Big Brother 5 (U.S.), born on April 28, 1982
• Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr. - Former U.S. Congressman and Deputy Director of Commerce under United States President Ronald Reagan
• Clancy Brown - Actor and producer
• Moses Bledso Corwin - attorney and member of United States House of Representatives
• Robert L. Eichelberger - United States Army general who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II
• Robert R. Hitt - United States Assistant Secretary of State, was born in Urbana on January 16, 1834
• Jim Jordan - Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives was born in Urbana on February 17, 1964
• Simon Kenton - frontiersman is buried in Urbana
• Tony Locke - Arena Football League wide receiver
• Joseph Vance - 13th Governor of Ohio
• John Quincy Adams Ward - sculptor of the George Washington on the steps of Federal Hall in Wall Street
• Brand Whitlock - appointed Minister to Belgium by United States President Woodrow Wilson

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (August 2009)

Grimes Field, the Urbana airport

• A mid-air crash between TWA Flight 553 and a Beechcraft Baron over Urbana on March 9, 1967 resulted in 26 fatalities.
• Urbana was a stop along the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad that connected Pittsburgh to Chicago and St. Louis.
• A B-17 Bomber from World War II is being restored by volunteers at the local airport.
• The fictitious town of Urbania used as the setting for the 1994 film Little Giants, is actually based on the similar sounding Urbana in Ohio.^[6]

See also

• Curry Normal and Industrial Institute

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
5. ^ "A Lynching At Urbana". New York Times. June 6, 1897. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C01E7DE123CE433A25755C0A9609C94669ED7CF&scp=6&sq=urbana&st=p. 
6. ^ "Little Giants Trivia". Football Movies. December 19, 2008. http://footballmovies.net/little-giants.html. 

External links

• City of Urbana

• Urbana, Ohio is at coordinates 40°06′39″N 83°45′05″W / 40.110937°N 83.751463°W / 40.110937; -83.751463 (Urbana, Ohio)Coordinates: 40°06′39″N 83°45′05″W / 40.110937°N 83.751463°W / 40.110937; -83.751463 (Urbana, Ohio)

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