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. Springfield is home to
Wittenberg University, one of the nation's top liberal art and science colleges.
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 Metropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 140,477 residents, while the
Dayton-Springfield-Greenville, OH Combined Statistical Area has 1,067,741 residents.
Springfield is approximately one hour west of Columbus, Ohio, the state capital, and 30 minutes east of Dayton. Interstate 70 has four exits that serve the city of Springfield.
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 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. Springfield also became known as "The Champion City"..a reference to the Champion brand of farm equipment manufactured by the Glessner Manufacturing Company..which was later absorbed into
International Harvester in 1902. International remains in Springfield as
Navistar International, a producer of medium to large trucks.
Clark County Courthouse in downtown Springfield.
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.
Fountain Square, Arcue Building in foreground.
On March 7, 1904, over a thousand Springfield residents formed a lynch mob, stormed the jail and removed prisoner Richard Dixon, a black man accused of murdering a police officer. Richard Dixon was shot to death and then hung from a pole on the corner of Fountain and Main Street, where the mob continued to shoot his lifeless body. The mob then proceeded to burn much of the black area of town. In February 1906, another mob formed and again burned the black section of town know as “the levee”.
Sixty years later, Springfield was the first city in the US to have a black mayor, Robert Henry.
From 1916 to 1926, 10
automobile companies operated in Springfield. Among 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.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Springfield was the site of much
Antisemitism.
Historic downtown as viewed from a rail yard.
International Harvester (now Navistar), manufacturer of farm machinery and later trucks, became the leading local industry after Springfield native William Whitely invented the self-raking reaper and mower, in 1856. It held that position, along with Crowell-Collier Publishing, throughout most of the next century.
The city is served by one daily newspaper, the
Springfield News-Sun, and by one weekly newspaper,
The Springfield Paper.
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 km
2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km
2) 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 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.
Wittenberg University
Springfield is home to two institutions of higher learning, Wittenberg University and Clark State Community College.
Wittenberg University is a Lutheran university that was founded in Springfield in 1845. It is a four-year private liberal arts university. It has more than two thousand students and a faculty of more than one hundred ninety five. It is situated on a campus of one hundred and fourteen rolling acres, shaded by many majestic trees. It is one of the most highly rated liberal arts universities in the nation, offering more than seventy majors, which include those in the sciences as well as in the arts. Wittenberg has more than one hundred fifty campus organizations, which include fifteen national fraternities and sororities. It has its own WUSO radio station and newspaper. The University is best known for its music department and its athletic endeavors. Wittenberg is also distinguished by its strong interdisciplinary programs such as East Asian Studies and Russian Area Studies. Recently majors in Management, Communication, Education are also becoming popular. The University made major renovations to its science facilities with the opening of the Barbara Deer Kuss Science Center in 2003.
The city is also home to Clark State Community College. Clark State Community College was founded in 1962 under the name of the Springfield and Clark County Technical Education Program as a technical education college for Clark County, Ohio and the surrounding area. It changed its name in 1966 to Clark County Technical Institute. The Ohio Board of Regents accredited it as Ohio's first technical college. It is now called Clark State Community College and has more than one thousand students. It offers courses in business, health, public services, engineering technologies, agriculture and general studies.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
In 2009, during a scene of the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine, "Springfield, Ohio" is listed in the scene caption as the location of a carnival where Victor Creed/Sabretooth finds Chris Bradley / Bolt working as a game booth attendant.
Notable natives
The following are notable people born and/or raised in Springfield:
- Gene Bowshier -country music singer
- John Hall (John Stalder) -local radio broadcasting pesonality for WIZE, WBNS, WTTO, WAZU, WBLY, WSKW, WKRC, WGRR, WSAC, WCLR, WLW, WULM and WCDR
- John Legend (aka John Stephens) - singer, musician, r&b and neo-soul pianist
- Tony Powell - guitarist/vocalist for the band Animal Grace
- Larry Coressel - Radio, film and television announcer and theatre producer and director
- Will McEnaney - major league baseball player, pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds
Sister cities
Springfield has four
sister cities, as designated by
Sister Cities International:
See also
