Perrysburg

Perrysburg, Ohio

Perrysburg is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the Maumee River. The population was 16,945 at the 2000 census. If combined with the adjacent Perrysburg Township, it would have a total population of 33,945 making it the most populous city in Wood County. It is a suburb of Toledo.

History

The history of Perrysburg begins with the construction of Fort Meigs. When the war clouds of 1812 began to creep upon Northwest Ohio, fort construction began in February 1813 by soldiers under General William Henry Harrison. Harrison was General Anthony Wayne's former aide-de-camp and would later be elected as the country's ninth president. The construct was named Fort Meigs in honor of Ohio's fourth governor, Return Jonathan Meigs. Fort Meigs was constructed on a bluff above the Maumee River, and created from a design by army engineer Captain Eleazer D. Wood, for whom the county would be named. Two critical battles with the British would be fought at the fort during the War of 1812.

Early settlers in the area fled to Huron during the War of 1812 and returned settling in the floodplain below Fort Meigs. Perrysburg was surveyed and platted on April 26, 1816 and soon became a center for shipbuilding and commerce.

A cholera epidemic of 1854 decimated the population and the town literally closed down for two months in that summer. More than 100 people perished.

Perrysburg is the only city in the United States, besides Washington D.C., that was originally planned by the Federal Government.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,945 people, 6,592 households, and 4,561 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,899.2 people per square mile (733.5/km²). There were 6,964 housing units at an average density of 780.5/sq mi (301.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.34% White, 1.03% African American, 0.10% Native American, 1.77% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.05% of the population.

There were 6,592 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.0% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $62,237 and the median income for a family was $75,651. Males had a median income of $56,496 versus $31,401 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,652. About 1.5% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 8.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Perrysburg is home to four elementary schools, one junior high school, one high school and one extracurricular academy. The primary schools are Fort Meigs, Frank, Toth and Woodland Elementary Schools. Perrysburg Junior High School is housed in the old Perrysburg High School building. Perrysburg Digital Academy offers online courses for students unable to complete a high school degree in person. Perrysburg Schools are supported by 0.5% income tax revenue within the school district.

In the year 2000, 47% of residents of the City of Perrysburg had bachelor's degrees or a higher level of education as compared to 27.6% of Wood County residents, 25% of residents in the Toledo MSA, 21% of Ohioans and 24% in the U.S.

Perrysburg is also minutes away from five major colleges/universities: Bowling Green State University (20,000+ students), Lourdes College (1,600+ students), Owens Community College (22,000+), and The University of Toledo (23,000+ students).

Library

The Way Public Library serves Perrysburg area. In 2006, the library loaned 521,046 items and provided 539 programs to its 30,161 cardholders. Total holdings in 2006 were nearly 93,000 volumes with over 220 periodical subscriptions.

Notable residents

Burke Badenhop, professional baseball pitcher
Dave Fulton, co-founder of Fox Software in Perrysburg
Jerry Glanville, football coach
Sam Jaeger, actor
Ronald Kasperzak, founder of Calphalon Cookware
Jim Leyland, professional baseball manager
Philip Thomas, former Secretary of the Treasury
Anna Tunnicliffe, 2008 US Olympic Sailing Team Gold Medalist
Tyson Geib and Jessica Geib, founders of Lollipop Pottery

Cultural

Perrysburg is home to the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo. Established in the 1950s, the organization is the third mosque in America. The current structure, built over the period 1980-1983, is the first mosque in North America to use classic Islamic architecture.