Struthers, Ohio

Struthers, Ohio
—  City  —
Location of Struthers, Ohio
Coordinates: 41°3′8″N 80°35′37″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Mahoning
Government
• Mayor	Terry P. Stocker
Area
• Total	3.7 sq mi (9.7 km2)
• Land	3.7 sq mi (9.7 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,007 ft (307 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	12,036
• Density	3,150.2/sq mi (1,216.3/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	44471
Area code(s)	330
FIPS code	39-75126
GNIS feature ID	1056948
Website	http://www.cityofstruthers.com/

Struthers is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,036 at the 2000 census. Struthers is served by a branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

John Struthers, from Washington County, Pennsylvania, purchased 400 acres (1.6 km²) of Poland Township land in 1798. This land would later be known as the present day city of Struthers. The community's early history centers on Yellow Creek which was the site for the first iron blast furnace built west of Pittsburgh. The furnace was built in 1803 by Daniel Eaton and is mentioned in the first line of the 1995 Bruce Springsteen song "Youngstown".

Several furnaces were built along the creek during the first decade of the 1800s and all ceased to exist after The War of 1812 began. The land on the Yellow Creek would lay dormant for more than 50 years until 1865 when Thomas Struthers, son of John Struthers, bought back the land his father had lost following the War of 1812. Thomas Struthers laid out the village that year and gave it his family's name. An excerpt from a 1948 Cradle of Steel Homecoming program illustrates what happened next:

In 1869 Struthers again became an iron producing community with the construction of the Anna Furnace by the Struthers Iron Company. In 1880 there was added the sheet mill plant of the Summer's Brothers Co., and in 1888 the plant of the J. A. and D. P. Cooper Gear Company.

With all these activities Struthers still remained a village of less than 1,000 inhabitants, after 100 years had elapsed since John. Struthers built his first cabin and erected the sawmill and grist mill on Yellow Creek. In 1899 Struthers was brought into closer communication with Youngstown and the upper Mahoning Valley by the completion of an interurban electric line.

In 1902 the neighboring village of East Youngstown (now Campbell) was started. This new community was started shortly after the incorporation of The Youngstown Iron Sheet and Tube Company (known as The Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., since 1905).

With the steel industry booming in the early part of the 1900s, immigrants from throughout Europe flooded into Struthers. A village in 1902 when it was officially incorporated, Struthers quickly became a city in 1920. The steel industry allowed the city to flourish until 1977 when several area plants closed their doors for good. The city padded the loss of thousands of jobs by using its industrial infrastructure to lure non-steel making jobs, but population losses have continued throughout the start of the new century.[1]

Geography

Struthers is located at 41°3′8″N 80°35′37″W (41.052255, -80.593591).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²).

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	3,370		—
1920	5,847		73.5%
1930	11,249		92.4%
1940	11,739		4.4%
1950	11,941		1.7%
1960	15,631		30.9%
1970	15,343		−1.8%
1980	13,609		−11.3%
1990	12,284		−9.7%
2000	11,756		−4.3%
Est. 2008	10,734		−8.7%

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,756 people, 4,704 households, and 3,255 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,150.2/sq. mile (1,216.9/km²). There were 4,982 housing units at an average density of 1,335.0/sq. mile (515.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.63% White, 1.78% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.02% of the population.

There were 4,704 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.5 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,720, and the median income for a family was $37,212. Males had a median income of $30,588 versus $21,438 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,587. About 8.8% of families and 12.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

The most common ancestries in Struthers are Italian (23%), German (16%), Slovak (13%), Irish (13%), Polish (5%), and English (5%).

Notable residents

• Steve Belichick, late father of NFL coach Bill Belichick
• John Gerak, former Penn State/NFL offensive lineman
• Andy Kosco, former Major League Baseball player

Media

Struthers is served by the Hometown Journal, a local weekly newspaper.

External links

• Struthers city schools
• City government, history, and other information
• Youngstown State University history
• Hometown Journal