Springfield,_Ohio

Springfield, Ohio

Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver 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 2007, the population was down to 62,417. According to the US Census 2007 estimate, the Springfield, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 140,477 residents, while the Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH Combined Statistical Area has 1,067,741 residents.

In 2004, Springfield was chosen as 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 by two votes in the state legislature.

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 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 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 the 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. (4-H stands for "Head, Heart, Hands, and Health".) 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.

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 (39.927067, -83.804131).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.5 square miles (58.3 km²), of which, 22.5 square miles (58.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.18%) is water. The Clarence J. Brown Reservoir is located on the northeast outskirts of Springfield.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 65,358 people, 26,254 households, and 16,224 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,908.6 people per square mile (1,123.0/km²). There were 29,309 housing units at an average density of 1,304.2/sq mi (503.6/km²). 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 families 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.

Education

Springfield Public Schools enroll 8,604 students in public primary and secondary schools. The district operates 16 public schools including ten elementary schools, four middle schools, one high school, and one alternative school.

Springfield is home to two institutions of higher learning. Wittenberg University, a private liberal-arts college of approximately 2000 students. The city is also home to Clark Community College.

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.
Dave Burba - major league baseball player
William R. Burnett - novelist and screenwriter
Garvin Bushell – musician (saxophone, clarinet, etc.)
Justin Chambers - former model and actor (in the cast of Grey's Anatomy)
Call Cobbs, Jr. - jazz pianist
Jason Collier - professional basketball player
Andrew Daniel - winner of Big Brother 5
Mike DeWine - former US Senator for Ohio
Wayne Embry - professional basketball player
Lillian Gish - actress from the silent film era and after
Wilbur Gunn - founder of the British car company Lagonda
Harvey Haddix - major league baseball player
Robert C. Henry - first African American mayor of any city
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
Deborah Loewer - U.S. Navy flag officer
Luke Lucas - major league baseball player
Johnny Lytle - jazz musician
John Newbrough - writer of the Oahspe
Troy Perkins - professional soccer player
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
Jonathan Winters - actor and comedian