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Ohio
State
CountryUnited States
Admitted to the UnionMarch 1, 1803 (17th,
declared retroactively on
August 7 1953)
CapitalColumbus
Largest cityColumbus
Largest metro and urban areasGreater Cleveland
Government
 • GovernorTed Strickland (D)
 • Upper house{{{Upperhouse}}}
 • Lower house{{{Lowerhouse}}}
U.S. senatorsGeorge V. Voinovich (R)
Sherrod Brown (D)
Population
 • Total11,353,140
 • Density277.26/sq mi (107.05/km2)
Language
 • Official languageEnglish de facto
Latitude38° 24′ N to 41° 59′ N
Longitude80° 31′ W to 84° 49′ W

Ohio (/oʊˈhaɪoʊ/, /əˈhaɪə/ (non-standard)) is a Midwestern state of the United States. Part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads. At the time of European contact and in the years that followed, Native Americans in today's Ohio included the Iroquois, Miamis, and Wyandots. Beginning in the 1700s, the area was settled by people from New England, the Middle States, Appalachia, and the upper south.

Prior to 1984, the United States Census Bureau considered Ohio part of the North Central Region.[2] That region was renamed "Midwest" and split into two divisions. Ohio is now in the East North Central States division.[3] Ohio also has the highest density of population of any state not on the Eastern Seaboard.

Ohio was the first state admitted to the Union under the Northwest Ordinance. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is OH; its old-style abbreviation was O. Natives of Ohio are known as Ohioans.

Etymology

The name "Ohio" derives from the Seneca word ohi:yo’, meaning "beautiful river" or "large creek", which was originally the name of both the Ohio River and Allegheny River.[4][5][6][7][8]

History

Plaque commemorating the Northwest Ordinance outside Federal Hall in lower Manhattan
Main article: History of Ohio

Native Americans

After the so-called Beaver Wars, the powerful Iroquois confederation of the New York-area claimed much of the Ohio country as a hunting and, probably most importantly, a beaver-trapping ground. After the devastation of epidemics and war in the mid-1600s, which had largely emptied the Ohio country of indigenous people by the mid-to-late seventeenth century, the land gradually became repopulated by the mostly Algonquian-speaking descendants of its ancient inhabitants, that is, descendants of the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian cultures. Many of these Ohio-country nations were multi-ethnic and sometimes multi-linguistic societies born out of the earlier devastation brought about by disease, subsequent social instability, Iroquois. They subsisted on agriculture (corn, sunflowers, beans, etc.) supplemented by seasonal hunts. By the 1650s they were very much part of a larger global economy brought about by fur trade.

The indigenous nations to inhabit Ohio in the historical period (most clearly after 1700), included the Miamis (a large confederation), Wyandots (made up of refugees, especially from the fractured Huron confederacy), Delawares (pushed west from their historic homeland in New Jersey), Shawnees (also pushed west, although they may be descended from the Fort Ancient people of Ohio), Ottawas (more commonly associated with the upper Great Lakes region), Mingos (like the Wyandot, a recently-formed composite of refugees from Iroquois and other societies), and Eries (gradually absorbed into the new, multi-ethnic "republics," namely the Wyandot).

Ohio country was also the site of Indian massacres, such as the Yellow Creek Massacre (Chief Logan) and Gnadenhutten.

Colonial and Revolutionary Eras

During the 18th century, the French set up a system of trading posts to control the fur trade in the region.

In 1754, France and Great Britain fought a war known in the United States as the French and Indian War. As a result of the Treaty of Paris, the French ceded control of Ohio and the rest of the Old Northwest to Great Britain. Pontiac's Rebellion in the 1760s challenged British military control, which ended with the American victory in the American Revolution. In the Treaty of Paris in 1783 Britain ceded all claims to Ohio to the United States.

Northwest Territory: 1787-1803

The United States created the Northwest Territory under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Slavery was not permitted. Settlement began with the founding of Marietta by the Ohio Company of Associates, which had been formed by a group of American Revolutionary War veterans. Following the Ohio Company, the Miami Company (also referred to as the "Symmes Purchase") claimed the southwestern section and the Connecticut Land Company surveyed and settled the Connecticut Western Reserve in present-day Northeast Ohio. The old Northwest Territory originally included areas that had previously been known as Ohio Country and Illinois Country. As Ohio prepared for statehood, Indiana Territory was created, reducing the Northwest Territory to approximately the size of present-day Ohio plus the eastern half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and the eastern tip of the Upper Peninsula.

Under the Northwest Ordinance, any of the states to be formed out of the Northwest Territory would be admitted as a state once the population exceeded 60,000. Although Ohio's population numbered only 45,000 in December 1801, Congress determined that the population was growing rapidly and Ohio could begin the path to statehood with the assumption that it would exceed 60,000 residents by the time it would become a state.

Statehood: 1803 - present

Eight U.S. presidents hailed from Ohio at the time of their elections, giving rise to the nickname "Mother of Presidents", a sobriquet it shares with Virginia. Seven presidents were born in Ohio, making it second to Virginia's eight, but Virginia-born William Henry Harrison and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, (who also lived part of his adult life in Indiana) settled in, led their political careers from and/or were buried in North Bend, Ohio, on the family compound, founded by William's father-in-law John Cleves Symmes.

In 1835, Ohio fought a mostly bloodless boundary war with Michigan over the Toledo Strip known as the Toledo War. Congress intervened and, as a condition for admittance as a state of the Union, Michigan was forced to accept the western two-thirds of the Upper Peninsula, in addition to the eastern third that was already part of the state, in exchange for giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip. (A war between two states may be unusual, but the Toledo War is not unique; Pennsylvania and Maryland fought Cresap's War over a border dispute a century earlier.)

Ohio's central position and its population gave it an important place during the Civil War, and the Ohio River was a vital artery for troop and supply movements, as were Ohio's railroads. At the end of the Civil War, three top Union generals were all from Ohio: Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan. Ohio also contributed more soldiers per-capita than any other state in the Union.

In 1912 a Constitutional Convention was held with Charles B. Galbreath as Secretary. The result reflected the concerns of the Progressive Era. It introduced the initiative and the referendum, allowed the General Assembly to put questions on the ballot for the people to ratify laws and constitutional amendments originating in the Legislature as well. Under the Jeffersonian principle that laws should be reviewed once a generation, the constitution provided for a recurring question to appear on Ohio's general election ballots every 20 years. The question asks whether a new convention is required. Although the question has appeared in 1932, 1952, 1972, and 1992, it has never been approved. Instead constitutional amendments have been proposed by petition to the legislature hundreds of times and adopted in a majority of cases.

On February 19 1803, President Jefferson signed an act of Congress that approved Ohio's boundaries and constitution. However, Congress had never passed a resolution formally admitting Ohio as the 17th state. The current custom of Congress declaring an official date of statehood did not begin until 1812, with Louisiana's admission as the 18th state. Although no formal resolution of admission was required, when the oversight was discovered in 1953, Ohio congressman George H. Bender introduced a bill in Congress to admit Ohio to the Union retroactive to March 1 1803. At a special session at the old state capital in Chillicothe, the Ohio state legislature approved a new petition for statehood that was delivered to Washington, D.C. on horseback. On August 7 1953 (the year of Ohio's 150th anniversary), President Eisenhower signed an act that officially declared March 1 1803 the date of Ohio's admittance into the Union.[9]

See also: Category:History of Ohio

Law and government

Main article: Government of Ohio

Ohio's capital is Columbus, located close to the center of the state. The executive branch is made up of six officers: Governor and lieutenant governor, Secretary of state, Attorney general, Auditor, and Treasurer. Governor Ted Strickland took office as governor in January 2007. The legislative branch of Ohio government, the Ohio General Assembly, is made up of two houses--the senate, which has 33 members, and the house of representatives, which has 99 members.The judicial branch is headed by the supreme court, which has one chief justice and six associate justices.

In the United States federal government, Ohio has 18 seats in the United States House of Representatives.

Geography

The Ohio coast of Lake Erie.
Map of Ohio.
Physical geography of Ohio.
Further information: List of Ohio counties, List of cities in Ohio, List of villages in Ohio, List of Ohio townships, and Ohio public lands

Ohio's geographic location has proved to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because Ohio links the Northeast to the Midwest, much cargo and business traffic passes through its borders on its well-developed highways. Ohio has the nation's 10th largest highway network, and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North America's population and 70% of North America's manufacturing capacity.[10] To the North, Lake Erie gives Ohio 312 miles (502 km) of coastline,[11] which allows for numerous seaports. Ohio's southern border is defined by the Ohio River (with the border being at the 1793 low-water mark on the north side of the river), and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. Ohio's neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Ontario to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, and West Virginia on the southeast.

Ohio's borders were defined by metes and bounds in the Enabling Act of 1802 as follows:

Bounded on the east by the Pennsylvania line, on the south by the Ohio River, to the mouth of the Great Miami River, on the west by the line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami aforesaid, and on the north by an east and west line drawn through the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan, running east after intersecting the due north line aforesaid, from the mouth of the Great Miami until it shall intersect Lake Erie or the territorial line, and thence with the same through Lake Erie to the Pennsylvania line aforesaid.

Note that Ohio is bounded by the Ohio River, but nearly all of the river itself belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia. In 1980, the U.S. Supreme Court held that, based on the wording of the cessation of territory by Virginia (which, at that time included what is now Kentucky and West Virginia), the boundary between Ohio and Kentucky (and by implication, West Virginia) is the northern low-water mark of the river as it existed in 1792.[12] Ohio has only that portion of the river between the river's 1792 low-water mark and the present high-water mark.

The border with Michigan has also changed, as a result of the Toledo War, to angle slightly northeast to the north shore of the mouth of the Maumee River.

Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with an exceptionally flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. This glaciated region in the northwest and central state is bordered to the east and southeast first by a belt known as the glaciated Allegheny Plateau, and then by another belt known as the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills and forests.

The rugged southeastern quadrant of Ohio, stretching in an outward bow-like arc along the Ohio River from the West Virginia Panhandle to the outskirts of Cincinnati, forms a distinct socio-economic unit. Known somewhat erroneously as Ohio's "Appalachian Counties" (they are actually in the Allegheny Plateau), this area's coal mining legacy, dependence on small pockets of old manufacturing establishments, and even distinctive regional dialect set this section off from the rest of the state and, unfortunately, create a limited opportunity to participate in the generally high economic standards of Ohio. In 1965 the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, at attempt to "address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region."[13] This act defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia.[14] While 1/3 of Ohio's land mass is part of the federally defined Appalachian region, only 12.8% of Ohioans live there (1.476 million people.)[15]

Significant rivers within the state include the Cuyahoga River, Great Miami River, Maumee River, Muskingum River, and Scioto River. The rivers in the northern part of the state drain into the northern Atlantic Ocean via Lake Erie and the St. Lawrence River, and the rivers in the southern part of the state drain into the Gulf of Mexico via the Ohio and then the Mississippi. The worst weather disaster in Ohio history occurred along the Great Miami River in 1913. Known as the Great Dayton Flood, the entire Miami River watershed flooded, including the downtown business district of Dayton. As a result, the Miami Conservancy District was created as the first major flood plain engineering project in Ohio and the United States.[16]

Grand Lake St. Marys in the west central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water for canals in the canal-building era of 1820–1850. For many years this body of water, over 20 square miles (52 km²), was the largest artificial lake in the world. It should be noted that Ohio's canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their industrial emergence to location on canals, and as late as 1910 interior canals carried much of the bulk freight of the state.

Climate

The climate of Ohio is a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa) throughout most of the state except in the extreme southern counties of Ohio's Bluegrass region section which are located on the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate and Upland South region of the United States. Summers are hot and humid throughout the State, while winters are generally cool to cold. Precipitation is moderate year-round. Severe weather is not uncommon in the State as it is a battleground between cold Arctic air and warm Gulf air for much of the year, although there are fewer tornadoes in Ohio than in states more to the west. Severe lake effect snowstorms are also not uncommon on the southeast shore of Lake Erie, which also provides a moderating effect on the climate there.

Although predominantly not in a subtropical climate, some warmer-climate flora and fauna does reach well into Ohio. For instance, a number of trees with more southern ranges, such as the blackjack oak, Quercus marilandica, are found at their northernmost in Ohio just north of the Ohio River. Also evidencing this climatic transition from a subtropical to continental climate, several plants such as the Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), Albizia julibrissin (mimosa), Crape Myrtle, and even the occasional Needle Palm are hardy landscape materials regularly used as street, yard, and garden plantings in the Bluegrass region of Ohio; but these same plants will simply not thrive in much of the rest of the State. This interesting change may be observed while traveling through Ohio on Interstate 75 from Cincinnati to Toledo; the observant traveler of this diverse state may even catch a glimpse of Cincinnati's common wall lizard, one of the few examples of permanent "subtropical" fauna in Ohio.

Records

The highest recorded temperature was 113 °F (45 °C), near Gallipolis on July 21 1934.[17] The lowest recorded temperature was -39 °F (-39 °C), at Milligan on February 10 1899.[18]

Major cities

See also: List of cities in Ohio

City and metropolitan data are from the US Census Bureau's 2006 estimates:

Rank City Population[19] Metro Pop[20]
1 Columbus 733,203 1,725,570
2 Cleveland 444,313 2,114,155
3 Cincinnati 332,252 2,104,218
4 Toledo 298,446 653,695
5 Akron 209,704 700,943
6 Dayton 156,771 838,940
7 Youngstown 81,520 586,939
8 Parma 80,009 2,114,155
9 Canton 78,924 409,764
10 Lorain 70,592 2,114,155

Columbus is the capital of Ohio, near the geographic center of the state. Other Ohio cities functioning as centers of United States metropolitan areas include Akron (home of University of Akron and Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company), Canton (home of Pro Football Hall of Fame, Malone College, and The Timken Company), Cincinnati (home of University of Cincinnati), Cleveland (home of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), Dayton (home of University of Dayton), Lima (home of University of Northwestern Ohio), Mansfield (home of Mansfield Motorsports Park), Sandusky (home of Cedar Point), Springfield (home of Wittenberg University), Toledo (home of University of Toledo), and Youngstown (home of Youngstown State University).

Note: The Cincinnati metropolitan area extends into Kentucky and Indiana, and the Youngstown metropolitan area extends into Pennsylvania.


Economy

Ohio is a major producer of machines, tires and rubber products, steel, processed foods, tools, and other manufactured goods. This is not immediately obvious because Ohio specializes in capital goods (goods used to make other goods, such as machine tools, automobile parts, industrial chemicals, and plastic moldings). Nevertheless, there are well known Ohio consumer items including some Procter & Gamble products, Smuckers jams and jellies, and Day-Glo paints.

There are also numerous automobile plants in Ohio that manufacture cars, most notably the Jeep plant in Toledo, where the vehicles have been made since their initial release in World War II. Honda, Ford, and General Motors also have or had automobile plants in Ohio; in the case of the latter, one of their plants in Ohio (Lordstown Assembly, near Youngstown) is located right off the Ohio Turnpike with its own exit.

Ohio is the site of the invention of the airplane, resulting from the experiments of the Wright brothers in Dayton. (Wright State University located in Dayton is named in their honor.) Production of aircraft in the USA is now centered elsewhere, but a large experimental and design facility, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been located near Dayton and serves in the co-ordination of production of US military aircraft. On the base are located Wright Hill and Huffman Prairie, where many of the earliest aerodynamic experiments of the Wright brothers were performed. Ohio today also has many aerospace, defense, and NASA parts and systems suppliers scattered throughout the state.

As part of the Corn Belt, agriculture also plays an important role in the state's economy. There is also a small commercial fishing sector on Lake Erie, and the principal catch is yellow perch. In addition, Ohio's historical attractions, varying landscapes, and recreational opportunities are the basis for a thriving tourist industry. Over 2,500 lakes and 43,000 miles (70,000 km) of river landscapes are a paradise for boaters, fishermen, and swimmers. Three major amusement parks, Cedar Point, Geauga Lake, and Kings Island, are also important to the tourism industry. Of special historical interest are the Native American archaeological sites—including grave mounds[21] and other sites.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Ohio's gross state product in 2004 was $419 billion[2]. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $30,129, 25th in the nation. Ohio's agricultural outputs are soybeans, dairy products, corn, tomatoes, hogs, cattle, poultry, and eggs. Its industrial outputs are transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, food processing, and electricity equipment.

Ohio is recognized for its health care, due to several flagship hospitals that operate in the northeast region of the state. The Cleveland Clinic, ranked among the three leading hospitals in the U.S., has its world headquarters and main campus in Cleveland. Its partner, the University Hospitals of Cleveland health system, includes the Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, ranked among the top ten children's hospitals in the country. Cincinnati Children's Hospital is the leading center for research into childhood diseases in the state.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
180045,365—
1810230,760408.7%
1820581,434152.0%
1830937,90361.3%
18401,519,46762.0%
18501,980,32930.3%
18602,339,51118.1%
18702,665,26013.9%
18803,198,06220.0%
18903,672,32914.8%
19004,157,54513.2%
19104,767,12114.7%
19205,759,39420.8%
19306,646,69715.4%
19406,907,6123.9%
19507,946,62715.0%
19609,706,39722.1%
197010,652,0179.7%
198010,797,6301.4%
199010,847,1150.5%
200011,353,1404.7%
2006 (est.)11,478,006

As of 2006, Ohio has an estimated population of 11,478,006,[22] which is an increase of 7,321 from the prior year and an increase of 124,861 since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 263,004 people (that is 938,169 births minus 675,165 deaths) and a decrease from net migration of -145,718. Immigration from outside the United States contributed to a growth of 92,101 people, most coming from southeast and south Asia, yet net migration within the country resulted in a decrease of 237,819 people. Ohio has witnessed an increase in the Laotian American and Thai American populations, as well as Asian Indians and Latin Americans.

The center of population of Ohio is also located in Morrow County, in the county seat of Mount Gilead [3].

Demographics of Ohio (csv)
By race White Black AIAN* Asian NHPI*
2000 (total population) 86.83% 12.18% 0.67% 1.41% 0.06%
2000 (Hispanic only) 1.70% 0.19% 0.05% 0.02% 0.01%
2005 (total population) 86.27% 12.66% 0.66% 1.68% 0.07%
2005 (Hispanic only) 2.05% 0.20% 0.05% 0.03% 0.01%
Growth 2000–05 (total population) 0.32% 4.98% -1.57% 20.32% 9.32%
Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) -0.11% 4.97% -1.96% 20.48% 11.15%
Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) 22.11% 5.70% 3.04% 10.81% -0.26%
* AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

As of 2004, Ohio's population included about 390,000 foreign-born (3.4%).

The largest ancestry groups in Ohio are German (25.2%), Irish (12.7%), African American (11.5%), English (9.2%), American (8.5%), and Italian (6.0%).

German is the largest reported ancestry in most of the counties in Ohio, especially in the northwest and in the extreme southwest. Ohioans who cited American and British ancestry are present throughout the state as well, particularly in the south-central part of the state. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton have large African American communities. Cleveland and Toledo have sizable Hispanic populations, while the Cleveland and Columbus areas have the largest Asian populations. Greater Cleveland is home to a notably large Jewish community. Other Ohio cities, such as Cincinnati, also have sizable Jewish populations.

6.6% of Ohio's population were reported as under 5, 25.4% under 18, and 13.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.4% of the population.

Ohio Population Density Map
Population Growth in Ohio

Political demographics and history

See also: U.S. Electoral College, Politics of Ohio, Ohio Democratic Party, and Ohio Republican Party

Politically, Ohio is considered a swing state. The Economist notes that, "This slice of the mid-west contains a bit of everything American—part north-eastern and part southern, part urban and part rural, part hardscrabble poverty and part booming suburb,"[23]

The mixture of urban and rural areas, and the presence of both large blue-collar industries and significant white-collar commercial districts leads to a balance of conservative and liberal population that (together with the state's 20 electoral votes, more than most swing states) makes the state very important to the outcome of national elections. Ohio was a deciding state in the 2004 presidential election between George W. Bush and John Kerry. Bush narrowly won the state's 20 electoral votes by a margin of 2 percentage points and 50.8% of the vote [4]. The state supported Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but supported Republican George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. Ohio was also a deciding factor in the 1948 presidential election when Democrat Harry S. Truman defeated Republican Thomas Dewey (who had won the state four years earlier) and in the 1976 presidential election when Democrat Jimmy Carter defeated Republican Gerald Ford by a slim margin in Ohio and took the election.

Ohio's demographics cause many to consider the state as a microcosm of the nation as a whole. A Republican presidential candidate has never won the White House without winning Ohio, and Ohio has gone to the winner of the election in all but two contests since 1892, backing only losers Thomas E. Dewey in 1944 (Ohio's John Bricker was his running mate) and Richard M. Nixon in 1960. Consequently, the state is very important to the campaigns of both major parties. Ohio had 20 electoral votes in the Electoral College in 2004. [24]

Many political analysts divide the state into five distinct regions: a central region and one in each corner. These regions are as different from each other as most states, and the largest (northeast) is only twice the size of the smallest (southeast). The northeast, including Cleveland, Youngstown, Lorain/Elyria, and other industrial areas, votes solidly Democrat largely due to its traditionally strong unions. The northwest is largely farmland with a few small manufacturing cities such as Toledo and Lima, and leans slightly Republican. The southwest is the most heavily Republican part of the state, especially in the suburbs in between Dayton and Cincinnati. Libertarian candidates also run surprisingly strongly in this area. The Appalachian regions in the Southeast are a swing bloc, tending to favor the candidates who have strong economic agendas. The central part of the state, consisting of Columbus and its suburbs, is typical of many newly large cities: a poor urban Democratic core surrounded by a rich suburban Republican ring.

Ohio is known as the "Modern Mother of Presidents", having sent eight of its native sons to the White House. Seven of them were Republicans, and the other was a member of the Whig Party.[25]

"Ohio has excelled as a recruiting-ground for national political leaders. Between the Civil War and 1920, seven Ohioans were elected to the presidency, ending with Harding's election in 1920. At the same time, six Ohioans sat on the US Supreme Court and two served as Chief Justices....'Not since the Virginia dynasty dominated national government during the early years of the Republic' notes historian R. Douglas Hurt, 'had a state made such a mark on national political affairs.'

Ohioans dominated national politics for seventy years, because Ohio was to a large extent a microcosm of the nation. Hurt writes that the elements of that microcosm were 'the diversity of the people, the strength of the industrial and agricultural economy, and the balance between rural and urban populations.' He continues: 'The individuals who played major roles in national affairs appealed to broad national constituencies because they learned their skills in Ohio, where political success required candidates to reconcile wide differences among the voters. Ohioans were northerners and southerners as well as easterners and westerners. Consequently, Ohio's politicians addressed constituencies that were the same as those across the nation.' Finally, the pragmatic and centrist character of Ohio politics, Hurt asserts, has made it 'job-oriented rather than issue oriented.'"[26]

Education

Ohio's system of public education is outlined in Article VI of the state constitution, and in Title XXXIII of the Ohio Revised Code. Substantively, Ohio's system is similar to those found in other states. At the State level, the Ohio Department of Education, which is overseen by the Ohio State Board of Education, governs primary and secondary educational institutions. At the municipal level, there are approximately 700 school districts statewide. The Ohio Board of Regents coordinates and assists with Ohio's institutions of higher education.

Colleges and universities

Main article: List of colleges and universities in Ohio


a Included among these is the University of Dayton, which is a private, Roman Catholic university run by the Society of Mary.
b Two of these institutions are ranked among the top 40 in the nation: Case Western Reserve University, and Oberlin College.

Libraries

Ohio is home to some of the nation's highest-ranking public libraries.[27] The 2006 study by Thomas J. Hennen Jr. ranked Ohio as number one in a state-by-state comparison. For 2006, Ohio's three largest library systems were all ranked in the top ten for American cities of 500,000 or more:[28]

The Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) is an organization that provides Ohio residents with internet access to their 251 public libraries. OPLIN also provides Ohioans with free home access to high-quality, subscription research databases.

Ohio also offers the OhioLINK program, allowing Ohio's libraries (particularly those from colleges and universities) access to materials in other libraries. The program is largely successful in allowing researchers access to books and other media that might not otherwise be available.

Sports

Professional

The first openly all-professional sports team called Ohio home; baseball's Cincinnati Red Stockings, formed in 1869. Today, Ohio is home to many professional sports teams, including six major professional sports league franchises.

Ohio is currently the only state to have teams in each of the major leagues where no one city or metro area could lay claim to the "Grand Slam," though Cleveland briefly held this status from 1976 to 1978. Current teams in the "big four" include:

Additionally, the Columbus Crew is a charter member of Major League Soccer and is noted for both its strong, stable fan base and Columbus Crew Stadium, the first soccer-specific stadium in the United States.

The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals have an instate rivalry now tied at 38 wins a piece after the Browns beat the Bengals in September of 2007. The Browns however consider the Pittsburgh Steelers their arch rival; that rivalry is the oldest in the American Football Conference (AFC). The Browns won all 4 All-America Football Conference Championships before joining the NFL in 1950. They won 4 NFL Championships before the advent of the Super Bowl, most recently a 27-0 win over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in the 1964 Championship game.

Outside of Cincinnati-Dayton area, football fan loyalties in Ohio are said to be "down with the Browns." The Bengals fan base is more concentrated in southwest Ohio and most of eastern and central Kentucky. The Steelers fan base within Ohio is on the Pennsylvania border, particularly the Youngstown and Steubenville-Weirton, WV-Wheeling, WV areas. (The Steelers actually played a few home games in Youngstown in the 1930's so as not to compete too much with the then-more popular University of Pittsburgh football team.) The San Francisco 49ers also enjoy a small following in the Youngstown area as the team's owners, John & Denise York are based out of the Youngstown suburb of Canfield.

In contrast to the Browns-Bengals rivalry, Cincinnati Reds-Cleveland Indians fan bases are split more or less evenly within the state, with the north and east sides of the state being Indian territory and the south and west comprising Reds land. The Detroit Tigers have a sizable minority of fans in northwest Ohio, thanks to Toledo's proximity to Detroit, the Toledo Mud Hens' historical status as the Tigers' top farm club for much of their history and once-regular broadcasts of Tigers games on Toledo television.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, as Ohio's only NBA franchise, command NBA fan loyalties statewide. Their recent success and the play of Akron native LeBron James have greatly raised the team's profile both in Ohio and internationally.

While the Columbus Blue Jackets are Ohio's only NHL franchise, they have yet to establish a strong tradition and following outside Columbus and the Detroit Red Wings continue to maintain a sizable fan base in northwest Ohio.

Former major league teams:

Other Ohio Professional Sports Teams

College & High School

Ohio is also known for being full of rabid fans of college and high school football. Ohio State is the 5th winningest program in NCAA history and has 7 National Championships and 7 Heisman Trophy winners. Cincinnati, Akron, Ohio, Miami University, Bowling Green, Toledo and Kent State all also compete in Division I-A Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of College Football. Toledo holds one of the nation's longest Division I football winning streaks, winning 35 consecutive games from 1969 to 1971 under quarterback Chuck Ealey. Youngstown State is a perennial power in Division I-AA Football Championship Subdivision having won 4 I-AA Championships under current Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel. Mount Union College is the dynasty of Division III college football with 11 National Championships and a record 62 game winning streak at one point.

Massillon Washington High School in Massillon has won 9 high school football national championship polls and 31 state championships. Cincinnati Colerain is rising to be a dynasty in its own right, and is scheduled to face Massillon at Cleveland Browns Stadium in 2008.

Transportation

Many major east-west transportation corridors go through Ohio. One of those pioneer routes, known in the early 1900s as "Ohio Market Route 3", was chosen in 1913 to become part of the historic Lincoln Highway which was the first road across America, connecting New York City to San Francisco. In Ohio, the Lincoln Highway linked many towns and cities together, including Canton, Mansfield, Lima, and Van Wert. The arrival of the Lincoln Highway to Ohio was a major influence on the development of the state. Upon the advent of the federal numbered highway system in 1926, the Lincoln Highway through Ohio became U.S. Highway 30.

Ohio also is home to 228 miles (367 km) of the Historic National Road.

Ohio has a highly developed network of roads and interstate highways. Major east-west through routes include the Ohio Turnpike (I-80/I-90) in the north, I-76 through Akron to Pennsylvania, U.S. 30 (the Lincoln Highway) a bit further south through Canton, Mansfield, Lima, and Van Wert, I-70 through Columbus and Dayton, and the Appalachian Highway (Ohio 32) running from West Virginia to Cincinnati. Major north-south routes include I-75 in the west through Toledo, Dayton, and Cincinnati, I-71 through the middle of the state from Cleveland through Columbus and Cincinnati into Kentucky, and I-77 in the eastern part of the state from Cleveland through Akron, Canton, New Philadelphia and Marietta down into West Virginia. Interstate 75 between Cincinnati & Dayton is one of the heaviest section of traveled interstate in Ohio.

Air travel includes Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which is a major hub for Continental Airlines, as well as Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (located in the state of Kentucky), which is a major hub for Delta Air Lines. Other major airports are located in Dayton, Toledo, Columbus, and Akron-Canton.

See also: List of airports in Ohio

Transportation Lists

State symbols

Ohio quarter showing the "Birthplace of aviation pioneers" slogan.
Ohio buckeyes, the seed from the Ohio buckeye tree.

There has been an attempt to make the pawpaw the state fruit, but this has been blocked by others who wish to make the apple the state fruit. This has resulted in a bumper sticker that may often be seen in southeastern Ohio saying "I'm pro-pawpaw - and I vote!"[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Elevations and Distances in the United States". U.S Geological Survey. 29 April 2005. Retrieved November 7. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  2. ^ "Geographic Definitions"Census Region definition, United States Census Bureau, retrieved December 22 2005.
  3. ^ "Geographic Definitions" Census Region definition Attachment C, United States Census Bureau, retrieved December 22 2005
  4. ^ Dow, Dustin (2007-01-22). "On the Banks of the Ohi:yo". NCAA Hoops Blog. Retrieved 2007-02-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Mithun, Marianne. 1999. Languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pg. 312
  6. ^ "Native Ohio". American Indian Studies. Ohio State University. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  7. ^ "About". Salamanca Cigarette Outlet. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  8. ^ Harvey, Christopher. "Seneca". Languagegeek. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  9. ^ "The Date of Ohio Statehood", Frederick J. Blue, Ph.D., Ohio Academy of History Newsletter', Volume 23, Autumn 2002
  10. ^ "Transportation delivers for Ohio", Ohio Department of Transportation, retrieved December 22 2005
  11. ^ "Ohio Coastal Atlas" Page 1 of "County Profiles" subsection, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, retrieved December 22 2005.
  12. ^ Ohio v. Kentucky, 444 U.S. 335 (1980)
  13. ^ "History of the Appalachian Regional Commission", Appalachian Regional Commission, retrieved January 3 2006.
  14. ^ "Counties in Appalachia", Appalachian Regional Commission, retrieved January 3 2006
  15. ^ "GCT-T1 Ohio County Population Estimates--2005", The United States Census Bureau, retrieved January 3 2006. True summation of Ohio Appalachia counties population (1,476,384) obtained by adding the 29 individual county populations together (July 1 2005 data). Percentage obtained by dividing that number into that table's estimate of Ohio population as of July 1 2005 (11,464,042)
  16. ^ "The History of the MCD: The Conservancy Act". Miami Conservancy District. Retrieved January 13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "All-Time Temperature Maximums By State (2003)" (PDF). National Climatic Data Center. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "All-Time Temperature Minimums By State (2003)" (PDF). National Climatic Data Center. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ U.S. Census Bureau. "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Ohio, Listed Alphabetically: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006". Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  20. ^ U.S. Census Bureau. "Annual Estimates of the Population of Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006". Retrieved 2007-04-05.
  21. ^ http://www.ibsgwatch.imagedjinn.com/learn/ohio.htm
  22. ^ "Table 1: Estimates of Population Change for the United States and States, and for Puerto Rico and State Rankings: [[July 1]] [[2005]] to [[July 1]] [[2006]]". United States Census Bureau. 2006-12-22. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ " A grain of sand for your thoughts", The Economist, December 20 2005, retrieved December 23 2005.
  24. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4141463
  25. ^ http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/07/01/loc_wwwloc2aprez1.html
  26. ^ The American Mayor, Melvin G. Holli, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999, Page 162. ISBN 0-271-01876-3.
  27. ^ Thomas J. Hennen's American Public Library Ratings for 2006
  28. ^ [1]
  29. ^ http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1882
  30. ^ http://www.conway.com/oh/9708/
  31. ^ http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1869
  32. ^ http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/16311422.htm


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