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Galion, Ohio

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Galion, Ohio
City
The Galion Theatre located on Harding Way West in uptown Galion
The Galion Theatre located on Harding Way West in uptown Galion
Location of Galion, Ohio
Location of Galion, Ohio
Location of Galion in Crawford County
Location of Galion in Crawford County
Coordinates: 40°43′59″N 82°47′19″W / 40.73306°N 82.78861°W / 40.73306; -82.78861
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountiesCrawford, Morrow, Richland[1]
Government
 • TypeMayor-Council
 • MayorMayor Tom O'Leary
Area
[2]
 • Total7.41 sq mi (19.20 km2)
 • Land7.39 sq mi (19.15 km2)
 • Water0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation
[3]
1,171 ft (357 m)
Population
 (2010)[4]
 • Total10,512
 • Estimate 
(2019)[5]
9,982
 • Density1,350.20/sq mi (521.28/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
44833
Area code419
FIPS code39-29162[6]
GNIS feature ID1064699[3]
Websitehttp://www.galion.city

Galion is a city in Crawford, Morrow, and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 10,512 at the 2010 census. Galion is the second-largest city in Crawford County after Bucyrus.

The Crawford County portion of Galion is part of the Bucyrus Micropolitan Statistical Area. The small portion of the city that is located in Richland County is part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the portion extending into Morrow County is considered part of the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Galion was laid out in 1831.[7] The etymology of the name Galion is uncertain.[8] A post office called Galion has been in operation since 1825.[9]

Ohio Central Traction Company, an interurban line that connected the two communities of Bucyrus and Galion, developed Seccaium Park at the end of the Nineteenth Century.

Galion is home of The Galion Graders a member of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate Baseball League. The GLSCBL is a wooden bat league for college athletes looking to further improve on their great skill. The Graders specifically focus on doing this while providing a fun, family oriented experience for its fans and their communities.[10]

Geography

Galion is located in the southeastern corner of Crawford County at 40°43′59″N 82°47′19″W / 40.73306°N 82.78861°W / 40.73306; -82.78861 (40.733164, -82.788586).[11]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.63 square miles (19.76 km2), of which 7.61 square miles (19.71 km2) is land and 0.02 square miles (0.05 km2) is water.[12]

The Olentangy River begins near and runs through Galion, and then winds southward toward Columbus and eventually empties into the Scioto River.

Demographics

Galion's Municipal Building on Harding Way East, which houses the city's administrative offices as well as the police and fire departments.
Galion Public Library
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18601,966—
18703,52379.2%
18805,63559.9%
18906,32612.3%
19007,28215.1%
19107,214−0.9%
19207,3742.2%
19307,6744.1%
19408,68513.2%
19509,95214.6%
196012,65027.1%
197013,1233.7%
198012,424−5.3%
199011,859−4.5%
200011,341−4.4%
201010,512−7.3%
2019 (est.)9,982[5]−5.0%
Sources:[6][13][14]

2010 Census

As of the census[4] of 2010, there were 10,512 people, 4,484 households, and 2,797 families living in the city. The population density was 1,381.3 inhabitants per square mile (533.3/km2). There were 5,192 housing units at an average density of 682.3 per square mile (263.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.6% White, 0.5% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 4,484 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.6% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size as 2.89.

The median age in the city was 39.7 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64; and 17.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.1% male and 52.9% female.

2000 Census

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 11,341 people, 4,791 households, and 3,090 families living in the city. The population density was 2,286.5 people per square mile (882.8/km2). There were 5,150 housing units at an average density of 1,038.3 per square mile (400.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 98.28% White, 0.22% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 4,791 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the city the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,513, and the median income for a family was $38,554. Males had a median income of $32,517 versus $19,792 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,113. About 11.9% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Galion has a Mayor-Council government: it is governed by an elected city council and mayor.[15] Thomas O’Leary has served as mayor since 2013.[16][17]

Education

The Galion City School District encompasses the entire city of Galion, graduating about 150 students annually.[18] There are a handful of neighborhoods outside of Galion that are also included in the school district, including Blooming Grove. Galion High School serves students ranging from grades 9 through 12. The school colors are blue and orange and its athletic teams are known as the Tigers. The current high school building opened in 2007 following the demolition of the previous home of Galion High School on North Union Street.

Galion High School, which opened in late 2007

The first Galion Union High School was built in 1868 on West Walnut Street and served as Galion High School until 1917. This building was demolished in 1924 and a new junior high school was built on the site in 1925, which was razed in April 2008. The second home of GHS was built in 1917 on the site of a former cemetery on North Union Street. This building was extended in 1962, adding features such as a large gymnasium. This building was in use until the end of the 2006–2007 school year, with the new Galion High School opening in late 2007.

Media

Galion and neighboring communities are served by a semi-weekly newspaper, the Galion Inquirer.[19]

Parks and Recreation

Festivals

Every year the City of Galion hosts two major festivals: The Octoberfest and the Pickle Run Festival.

Pickle Run Festival

The Pickle Run Festival began in 1961 and was said to have been inspired "when a grocer used to dump his old pickles into the Whetstone Creek behind his store and the pickles would run through the creek."[20] The festival would include events like the Pickle Run 5k, car show, watermelon diving competition along with carnival rides and food vendors among other things. The Pickle Run did not run from 1998 up till 2015 when volunteers started the Pickle Run festival over moving the original date on Labor Day to the Fourth of July weekend.

Oktoberfest

Started by the Galion Jaycess in 1976 and later ran by the local Moose Lodge, the Galion Oktoberfest is the city's fall festival that runs on the last weekend of September in the city's Uptowne Business District.[21] This three day event features a carnival with rides and vendors as well as live music.

Parks

  • Heise Park is home to the city's central swimming pool that is operated by the Galion Community Center YMCA. The park features three play areas and four shelters as well as the high school football, baseball and softball fields. The park also features a coach pitch field, little league field, tennis courts, basketball court, sand volleyball pit and horseshoes can all be found here as well.  The high school baseball field is also home to the Galion Graders wood bat league team. In 2019, the city held an opening ceremony for the "Grader Park Playground" that features a playground funded by the Freese Family Foundation and is custom-built to resemble a road grader and roller to celebrate Galion's industrial history.[22]
  • The Veterans Triangle is also located in Heise Park.
  • East Park is home to the city's new sprayground. There are two shelters that are open for reservations along with an enclosed cabin. The only skate park is located here, along with a softball field, basketball courts and playgrounds. It is located one block south of Harding Way East via Third Avenue.
  • South Park is a small park located on the city's south side that is home to a baseball and teeball field, along with tennis courts, a playground and a shelter.
  • PECO Park is the site of a quad field located in Galion's industrial area that was built by the PECO II company that is no longer in business. Both softball and baseball are played here, and there is a playground and a shelter.
  • Cobey Park is located on North Murray Street. It is a heavily wooded area surrounding a marsh that features several picnic shelters and a roughly mile long hiking trail that encircles the park.
  • Amann Reservoir is an in-ground reservoir with natural park settings to the north and south. It has abundant green space and hiking areas. A 24-hole disc golf course was installed in 2014 on the south side of Amann. Disc Golf Scene ranked the course the fifth best course in Ohio. It is also home to the cross country course for the Galion City Schools cross country program, which hosts the annual Cross Country Festival that averages 30,000 attendees.
  • Amick Reservoir is an above ground reservoir located south of Amann.
  • Powers Reservoir s located on Railroad Street beside the Water Treatment Plant.

Transportation

"Big Four" train depot
Galion, Ohio, 1891. Shows the original North Central railyard and roundhouse.

The Erie Railroad also ran through Galion and established large rail yards here, making the city an important rail center. In April, 1851 the Cleveland Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, later known as the "Big Four" and eventually the New York Central, began operating regular service between Columbus and Cleveland, stopping at Galion along the way.[23] Prior to the end of the 19th century, Galion became a division headquarters for the line.

Galion once boasted two large railroad depots, the Big Four Depot on Washington Street, and the Erie Depot on South Market Street, which was torn down in 1986 due to its poor condition, after having served as a maintenance office for Conrail. With the move of the Erie yards to Marion in the 1910s, the railroads declined, although the city remained a passenger rail center into the 1960s. The Big Four Depot was abandoned; however, it has since been acquired by the City of Galion and is undergoing a slow but thorough restoration.

From 1915 to 1923, Galion was on the original route of the Lincoln Highway, America's first coast-to-coast route. In later years, however, the northern route was improved and became US 30 North, although until approximately 1970 the route through Galion was designated as US 30 South. The new, four-lane US 30 opened in 2005, and passes just north of town, giving the community excellent transportation access.

State routes in Galion include 309, which connects Marion to the southwest with Ontario to the east; 598, which originates in Galion and stretches northward; 19, which heads westward toward the county seat and also south toward Williamsport; 61, which goes south towards Morrow and Delaware Counties and north to Lake Erie, and 97, which goes east through Lexington.

Historic landmarks

Brownella Cottage and Grace Episcopal Church and Rectory

Brownella Cottage and Grace Episcopal Church and Rectory is a historic church complex at S. Union and Walnut Streets.

The site is significant for its association with Bishop William Montgomery Brown, notable as the first bishop of his communion to be tried for heresy since the Reformation and "'the first of any creed in America to be deposed for heretical teaching'".

The complex includes:

  • the Brownella Cottage, built during 1885-1887 for Brown and his wife, Ella Scranton Bradford, which was the bishop's home until his death in 1937
  • the bishop's study, formerly St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church
  • the Brownella carriage house
  • Grace Episcopal Church
  • the rectory of the Grace Episcopal Church

Industry

Galion road grader
PECO II Offices in 2007

The Galion brand of heavy equipment, such as road graders, road rollers, and earthmovers, was manufactured by Galion Iron Works, later purchased by Dresser Industries and then by Komatsu.

Galion was once the home of Peabody Galion, a manufacturer of sanitation equipment, primarily dump bodies, as well as front loading, side-loading and rear loading garbage trucks; rivaling the Heil Company for numbers of units sold throughout the world. For a short time, in the early 1970s, Peabody Galion maintained a manufacturing plant in Durant, Oklahoma, known as "Peabody Galion, Durant Division".

Galion was also once home to North Electric Company, a prime supplier of telephone switching systems for government and international markets. It was also producer of the Ericofon, the first ever one-piece telephone designed by Ralph Lysell and Hugo Blomberg.[24] Founded in 1884 by Charles N. North, the company became part of Ericsson in 1951. It was purchased by ITT in the mid-1970s and operated as ITT PowerSystems until the late 1980s, when it was sold to a private consortium and renamed PECO II (the name is derived from North Electric Company's purchase of Power Equipment Company (PECO) in 1960). Peco II purchased the telecommunications product line and associated assets from ITT in 1988. In 2010, PECO II was acquired by Lineage Power of Plano, Texas and has since closed the plant.

Notable Events

Frank Fisher Spectacle Lynching

Galion was the scene of a spectacle lynching. On Friday, April 28, 1882, Barbara Rettig accused Frank Fisher of raping her. On Sunday, April 30, 1882 a mob took Fisher, an African American, from Galion's jail and hanged him.[25][26] They left Fisher's body on display for several days after the lynching.[27] A newspaper correspondent at the scene reported a crowd of "at least two thousand people, men, women and children."[27] He concluded his article on the lynching with this summation: "The lynching of Frank Fisher, In broad daylight, upon Sunday, by unmasked men, was one of the boldest affairs that has ever transpired in this county. While the affair is to be regretted the crime was such that he has not a particle of sympathy from anyone who has heard the particulars of the crime for which he has so dearly paid with his life."

Flannery’s Antique Store Fixtures and Equipment Fire

In 1984, a fire destroyed Flannery’s Antique Store Fixtures and Equipment, 219 West Church Street. A newspaper photo became nationally well-known for displaying what looked like a face within the smoke cloud. The neighboring school children helped with the fire and Bucyrus’s Fireman Gordon Grove, who later became the Bucyrus Fire Captain, was nearly killed while on the ladder when a ball of fire shot out of the building while he was on the ladder.[28]

Notable Residents

References

  1. ^ "Subcounty population estimates: Ohio 2000-2008". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2009-03-18. Archived from the original (CSV) on 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  2. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  5. ^ a b "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  7. ^ History of Crawford County and Ohio. Baskin & Battey. 1881. pp. 444.
  8. ^ Overman, William Daniel (1958). Ohio Town Names. Akron, OH: Atlantic Press. p. 49.
  9. ^ "Post offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Archived from the original on 13 October 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  10. ^ "About". 2016-06-16. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  11. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  12. ^ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
  13. ^ "Number of Inhabitants: Ohio" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. 1960. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Ohio: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  15. ^ "City Council | Galion, OH - Official Website". www.ci.galion.oh.us. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  16. ^ Smalley, Krystal. "Three candidates vie for Galion mayor". Richland Source. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  17. ^ Jones, Noah. "Continuity in Galion; Mayor, law director & auditor re-elected". Richland Source. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  18. ^ "Pages - District-Report". reportcard.education.ohio.gov. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  19. ^ "About Us". Galion Inquirer. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  20. ^ Furr, Jake. "Galion's Pickle Run to return after 17-year absence". Mansfield News Journal. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  21. ^ Tuggle, Zach. "Galion Oktoberfest returns through Saturday after hiatus". Mansfield News Journal. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  22. ^ "Grader Park Playground Is Open For Kids To Enjoy In Galion". www.wmfd.com. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  23. ^ Murphy, Ared Maurice (1925-06-01). "The Big Four Railroad in Indiana". Indiana Magazine of History. ISSN 1942-9711.
  24. ^ "ericofon.com - Old Case North Electric Ericofons". www.ericofon.com. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  25. ^ ""LYNCHED!"". Cleveland Leader. 1 May 1882. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Map of White Supremacy Mob Violence". Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  27. ^ a b "LYNCHED. Frank Fisher Taken From The Gallon Jail and Hanged". The Highland Weekly News. Hillsboro, Ohio. 11 May 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  28. ^ Fox, Mary. "It Happened In Crawford County | Galion Fire and EMS Department". Telegraph-Forum. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
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