Ohio

Indigenous settlement

Artists conception of the Fort Ancient SunWatch Indian Village in Dayton.

Archeological evidence of spear points of both the Folsom and Clovis types indicate that the Ohio Valley was inhabited by nomadic people as early as 13,000 BC.^[22] These early nomads disappeared from Ohio by 1,000 BC.^[22] Between 1,000 and 800 BC, the sedentary Adena culture emerged. The Adena were able to establish "semi-permanent" villages because they domesticated plants, including sunflowers, and "grew squash and possibly corn"; with hunting and gathering, this cultivation supported more settled, complex villages.^[23] The most notable remnant of the Adena culture is the Great Serpent Mound, located in Adams County, Ohio.^[23]

Around 100 BC, the Adena evolved into the Hopewell people who were also mound builders. Their complex, large and technologically sophisticated earthworks can be found in modern-day Marietta, Newark, and Circleville.^[24] They were also a prolific trading society, their trading network spanning a third of the continent.^[25] The Hopewell disappeared from the Ohio Valley about 600 AD. The Mississippian culture rose as the Hopewell culture declined. Many Siouan-speaking peoples from the plains and east coast claim them as ancestors and say they lived throughout the Ohio region until approximately the 13th century.^[26]

There were three other cultures contemporaneous with the Mississippians: the Fort Ancient people, the Whittlesey focus people^[26] and the Monongahela Culture.^[27] All three cultures disappeared in the 17th century. Their origins are unknown. The Shawnees may have absorbed the Fort Ancient people.^[26] It is also possible that the Monongahela held no land in Ohio during the Colonial Era. The Mississippian culture was close to and traded extensively with the Fort Ancient people.

Iroquois conquests during the Beaver Wars (mid-1600s), which largely depopulated the upper and mid-Ohio River valley.

Indians in the Ohio Valley were greatly affected by the aggressive tactics of the Iroquois Confederation, based in central and western New York.^[28] After the Beaver Wars in the mid-17th century, the Iroquois claimed much of the Ohio country as hunting and, more importantly, beaver-trapping ground. After the devastation of epidemics and war in the mid-17th century, which largely emptied the Ohio country of indigenous people by the mid-to-late 17th century, the land gradually became repopulated by the mostly Algonquian. Many of these Ohio-country nations were multi-ethnic (sometimes multi-linguistic) societies born out of the earlier devastation brought about by disease, war, and subsequent social instability. They subsisted on agriculture (corn, sunflowers, beans, etc.) supplemented by seasonal hunts. By the 18th century, they were part of a larger global economy brought about by European entry into the fur trade.^[29]

Some of the indigenous nations which historically inhabited Ohio included the Iroquoian,^[c] the Algonquian^[d] and the Siouan.^[e][30][31] Ohio country was also the site of Indian massacres, such as the Yellow Creek massacre, the Gnadenhutten massacre and the Enoch Brown school massacre.^[32] After the War of 1812, when Natives suffered serious losses such as at Tippecanoe, most Native tribes either left Ohio or had to live on only limited reservations. By 1842, all remaining Natives were forced out of the state.^[33]

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. Beginning in 1754, the Kingdom of France and Kingdom of Great Britain fought in the French and Indian War, with various Native American tribes on each side. As a result of the Treaty of Paris, the French ceded control of Ohio and the remainder of the Old Northwest to Great Britain in 1763.^[34]

Prior to the American Revolution, Britain thinly exercised sovereignty over Ohio Country by lackadaisical garrisoning of the French forts.^[f] Just beyond Ohio Country was the great Miami capital of Kekionga which became the center of British trade and influence in Ohio Country and throughout the future Northwest Territory. By the Royal Proclamation of 1763, British lands west of Appalachia were forbidden to settlement by colonists.^[35] The Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1768 explicitly reserved lands north and west of the Ohio as Native lands.^[36] British military occupation in the region contributed to the outbreak of Pontiac's War in 1763.^[37] Ohio tribes participated in the war until an armed expedition in Ohio led by Colonel Henry Bouquet brought about a truce. Another colonial military expedition into the Ohio Country in 1774 brought Lord Dunmore's War, kicked off by the Yellow Creek massacre in Ohio, to a conclusion. In 1774, Britain passed the Quebec Act that formally annexed Ohio and other western lands to the Province of Quebec in order to provide a civil government and to centralize British administration of the Montreal-based fur trade.^[38] The prohibition of settlement west of the Appalachians remained, contributing to the American Revolution.^[39]

By the start of the American Revolutionary War, the movement of Natives and Americans between the Ohio Country and Thirteen Colonies had resulted in tension. Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania had become the main fort where expeditions into Ohio started. Intrusions into the area included General Edward Hand's 1778 movement of 500 Pennsylvania militiamen from Fort Pitt towards Mingo towns on the Cuyahoga River, where the British stored military supplies which they distributed to Indian raiding parties;^[40] Colonel Daniel Brodhead's invasion in 1780 and destruction of the Lenape Indian capital of Coshocton;^[41] a detachment of one hundred of George Rogers Clark's troops that were ambushed near the Ohio River by Indians led by Joseph Brant in the same year; a British and Native American attack on the U.S.' Fort Laurens;^[42] and the 1782 detainment and murder of 96 Moravian Lenape pacifists by Pennsylvania militiamen in the Gnadenhutten massacre.^[43][44]

The western theatre never had a decisive victor. In the Treaty of Paris in 1783, Britain ceded all claims to Ohio Country to the new United States after its victory in the American Revolutionary War.^[45][46]

Northwest Territory

The Ohio Country indicating battle sites between American settlers and indigenous tribes, 1775–1794.

The United States created the Northwest Territory under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787.^[47] Slavery was not permitted in the new territory. 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. Territorial surveyors from Fort Steuben began surveying an area of eastern Ohio called the Seven Ranges at about the same time.

The old Northwest Territory originally included areas previously known as Ohio Country and Illinois Country. As Ohio prepared for statehood, the 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 and a sliver of southeastern Indiana called "The Gore".

The coalition of Native American tribes, known as the Western Confederacy, was forced to cede extensive territory, including much of present-day Ohio, in the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

Under the Northwest Ordinance, areas could be defined and admitted as states once their population reached 60,000. Although Ohio's population was only 45,000 in December 1801, Congress determined that it was growing rapidly enough and accelerated the process via the Enabling Act of 1802. In regards to the Leni Lenape natives, Congress decided that 10,000 acres on the Muskingum River in the present state of Ohio would "be set apart and the property thereof be vested in the Moravian Brethren ... or a society of the said Brethren for civilizing the Indians and promoting Christianity".^[48]

Rufus Putnam, the "Father of Ohio"

Rufus Putnam by James Sharples, Jr., 1797

Rufus Putnam served in important military capacities in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the most highly respected men in the early years of the United States.^[49]

In 1776, Putnam created a method of building portable fortifications, which enabled the Continental Army to drive the British from Boston. George Washington was so impressed that he made Putnam his chief engineer. After the war, Putnam and Manasseh Cutler were instrumental in creating the Northwest Ordinance, which opened up the Northwest Territory for settlement. This land was used to serve as compensation for what was owed to Revolutionary War veterans. Putnam organized and led the Ohio Company of Associates, who settled at Marietta, Ohio, where they built a large fort called Campus Martius.^[50][51][52] He set substantial amounts of land aside for schools. In 1798, he created the plan for the construction of the Muskingum Academy (now Marietta College). In 1780, the directors of the Ohio Company appointed him superintendent of all its affairs relating to the settlement north of the Ohio River. In 1796, he was commissioned by President George Washington as Surveyor-General of United States Lands. In 1788, he served as a judge in the Northwest Territory's first court. In 1802, he served in the convention to form a constitution for the State of Ohio.^[53][54][55]

Statehood and early years

On February 19, 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson signed an act of Congress that approved Ohio's boundaries and constitution.^[56] However, Congress had never passed a formal resolution admitting Ohio as the 17th state. Although no formal resolution of admission was required, when the oversight was discovered in 1953, as Ohio began preparations for celebrating its sesquicentennial, Ohio congressman George H. Bender introduced a bill in Congress to admit Ohio to the Union retroactive to March 1, 1803, the date on which the Ohio General Assembly first convened.^[57] At a special session at the old state capital in Chillicothe, the Ohio state legislature approved a new petition for statehood which was delivered to Washington, D.C., on horseback, and approved that August.^[57][58][59]

Ohio has had three capital cities: Chillicothe, Zanesville, and Columbus. Chillicothe was the capital from 1803 to 1810. The capital was then moved to Zanesville for two years, as part of a state legislative compromise to get a bill passed. The capital was then moved back to Chillicothe, which was the capital from 1812 to 1816. Finally, the capital was moved to Columbus, to have it near the geographic center of the state.

Battle of Lake Erie by William Henry Powell.

Although many Native Americans had migrated west to evade American encroachment, others remained settled in the state, sometimes assimilating in part. Starting around 1809, the Shawnee pressed resistance to encroachment again. Under Chief Tecumseh, Tecumseh's War officially began in Ohio in 1811. When the War of 1812 began, the British decided to attack from Upper Canada into Ohio and merge their forces with the Shawnee. This continued until Tecumseh was killed at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. Most of the Shawnee, excluding the Pekowi in Southwest Ohio, were forcibly relocated west.^[60] Ohio played a key role in the War of 1812, as it was on the front line in the Western theater and the scene of several notable battles both on land and in Lake Erie. On September 10, 1813, the Battle of Lake Erie, one of the major battles, took place near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. The British eventually surrendered to Oliver Hazard Perry.

Ultimately, after the United States government used the Indian Removal Act of 1830 to force countless Native American tribes on the Trail of Tears, where all the southern states except for Florida were successfully emptied of Native peoples, the US government panicked because a majority of tribes did not want to be forced out of their own lands. Fearing further wars between Native tribes and American settlers, they pushed all remaining Native tribes in the East to migrate west against their own will, including all remaining tribes in Ohio.^[61][62]

In 1835, Ohio fought with the Michigan Territory in the Toledo War, a mostly bloodless boundary war over the Toledo Strip. Only one person was injured in the conflict. Congress intervened, making Michigan's admittance as a state conditional on ending the conflict. In exchange for giving up its claim to the Toledo Strip, Michigan was given the western two-thirds of the Upper Peninsula, in addition to the eastern third which was already considered part of the territory.

Civil War and industrialization

The route of Morgan's Raid.

Ohio's central position and its population gave it an important place during the Civil War. The Ohio River was a vital artery for troop and supply movements, as were Ohio's railroads. The industry of Ohio made the state one of the most important states in the Union during the Civil War. Ohio contributed more soldiers per capita than any other state in the Union. In 1862, the state's morale was badly shaken in the aftermath of the Battle of Shiloh, a costly victory in which Ohio forces suffered 2,000 casualties.^[63] Later that year, when Confederate troops under the leadership of Stonewall Jackson threatened Washington, D.C., Ohio governor David Tod still could recruit 5,000 volunteers to provide three months of service.^[64] From July 13 to 26, 1863, towns along the Ohio River were attacked and ransacked in Morgan's Raid, starting in Harrison in the west and culminating in the Battle of Salineville near West Point in the far east. While this raid was overall insignificant to the Confederacy, it aroused fear among people in Ohio and Indiana as it was the furthest advancement of troops from the South in the war.^[65] Almost 35,000 Ohioans died in the conflict, and 30,000 were physically wounded.^[66] By the end of the Civil War, the Union's top three generals – Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and Philip Sheridan – were all from Ohio.^[67]

The first Standard Oil refinery was opened in Cleveland by businessman John D. Rockefeller.

Throughout much of the 19th century, industry was rapidly introduced to complement an existing agricultural economy. One of the first iron manufacturing plants opened near Youngstown in 1804, called Hopewell Furnace. By the mid-19th century, 48 blast furnaces were operating in the state, most in the southern portions of the state.^[68] Discovery of coal deposits aided the further development of the steel industry in the state, and by 1853 Cleveland was the third largest iron and steel producer in the country. The first Bessemer converter was purchased by the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company, which eventually became part of the U.S. Steel Corporation following the merger of Federal Steel Company and Carnegie Steel, the first billion-dollar American corporation.^[68] The first open-hearth furnace used for steel production was constructed by the Otis Steel Company in Cleveland, and by 1892, Ohio ranked as the second-largest steel-producing state behind Pennsylvania.^[68] Republic Steel was founded in Youngstown in 1899 and was at one point the nation's third-largest producer. Armco, now AK Steel, was founded in Middletown also in 1899.

20th century

The state legislature officially adopted the flag of Ohio on May 9, 1902.^[69] Dayton natives Orville and Wilbur Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, inventing the first successful airplane.^[70] Ohio was hit by its greatest natural disaster in the Great Flood of 1913, resulting in at least 428 fatalities and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, particularly around the Great Miami River basin.^[71]

The National Football League was originally founded in Canton, Ohio in 1920 as the American Professional Football Conference.^[72] It included Ohio League teams in five Ohio cities (Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Columbus, and Dayton), although none of these teams still exist. The first official game occurred on October 3, 1920, when the Dayton Triangles beat the Columbus Panhandles 14-0 in Dayton.^[73] Canton would later be enshrined as the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.^[74]

Iron being converted to steel for wartime efforts at Youngstown's Republic Steel in 1941.

During the 1930s, the Great Depression struck the state hard. By 1933, more than 40% of factory workers and 67% of construction workers were unemployed in Ohio.^[75] Approximately 50% of industrial workers in Cleveland and 80% in Toledo became unemployed, with the state unemployment rate reaching a high of 37.3%.^[75] American Jews watched the rise of Nazi Germany with apprehension. Cleveland residents Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created the Superman comic character in the spirit of the Jewish golem. Many of their comics portrayed Superman fighting and defeating the Nazis.^[76][77] Approximately 839,000 Ohioans served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, of which over 23,000 died or were missing in action.^[78]

Artists, writers, musicians and actors developed in the state throughout the 20th century and often moved to other cities which were larger centers for their work. They included Zane Grey, Milton Caniff, George Bellows, Art Tatum, Roy Lichtenstein, and Roy Rogers. Alan Freed, who emerged from the swing dance culture in Cleveland, hosted the first live rock 'n roll concert in Cleveland in 1952. Famous filmmakers include Steven Spielberg, Chris Columbus and the original Warner Brothers, who set up their first movie theatre in Youngstown before that company later relocated to California. The state produced many popular musicians, including Dean Martin, Doris Day, The O'Jays, Marilyn Manson, Dave Grohl, Devo, Macy Gray and The Isley Brothers.

Two Ohio astronauts completed significant milestones in the space race in the 1960s: John Glenn becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, and Neil Armstrong becoming the first human to walk on the Moon. In 1967, Carl Stokes was elected mayor of Cleveland and became the first African American mayor of one of the nation's 10 most populous cities.^[79]

In 1970, an Ohio Army National Guard unit fired at students during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine. The Guard had been called onto campus after several protests in and around campus had become violent, including a riot in downtown Kent and the burning of an ROTC building. The main cause of the protests was the United States' invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.^[80]

Beginning in the 1980s, the state entered into international economic and resource cooperation treaties and organizations with other Midwestern states, as well as New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Quebec, including the Great Lakes Charter, Great Lakes Compact, and the Council of Great Lakes Governors.

21st century

Ohio's economy has undergone significant change in the 21st century, as the trend of deindustrialization has greatly impacted the American Midwest and the Rust Belt. Manufacturing in the Midwest experienced a stark decline during the early 21st century,^[81] a trend which greatly impacted Ohio. From 1990 to 2019, Ohio lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs, but added over 1,000,000 non-manufacturing jobs during that same time.^[81] Coinciding with this decline, Ohio has seen a large decline in union membership: 17.4% of Ohioan workers were union members in 2000, while 12.8% were union members in 2022.^[82]

In the wake of these economic changes, Ohio's state government has looked to promoting new industries to offset manufacturing losses, such as the production of solar energy and electric vehicles.^[83] One major program launched by the state's government was the "Third Frontier" program, created during the governorship of Bob Taft, which aims to increase investment in Ohio, and boost the state's technology sector.^[84] As of 2010, the Ohio Department of Development attributes the creation of 9,500 jobs to this program, with an average of salary of $65,000,^[85] while having a $6.6 billion economic impact with a return on investment of 9:1.^[85] In 2010 the state won the International Economic Development Council's Excellence in Economic Development Award, celebrated as a national model of success.^[86]

Many of the state's former industrial centers turned to new industries, including Akron as a center for polymer and biomedical research, Cincinnati as the state's largest mercantile hub,^[87] Columbus as a center for technological research and development, education, and insurance,^[87] Cleveland in regenerative medicine research and manufacturing, Dayton as an aerospace and defense hub, and Toledo as a national center for solar technology.^[88][89]

Ohio's economy was also heavily afflicted by the Great Recession, as the state's unemployment rate rose from 5.6% in the first two months of 2008 up to a peak of 11.1% in December 2009 and January 2010.^[90] It took until August 2014 for the unemployment rate to return to 5.6%.^[90] From December 2007 to September 2010, Ohio lost 376,500 jobs.^[91] In 2009, Ohio had 89,053 foreclosures filings, a then-record for the state.^[92] The median household income dropped 7% from 2006-2007 to 2008-200, and the poverty rate ballooned to 13.5% by 2009.^[93]

In 2015, Ohio gross domestic product was $608.1 billion, the seventh-largest economy among the 50 states.^[94] In 2015, Ohio's total GDP accounted for 3.4% of U.S. GDP and 0.8% of world GDP.^[94]

Politically, Ohio has been long regarded as a swing state,^[95] however, the success of many Republican Party candidates in Ohio since the late 2000s has led many to question whether Ohio remains an electoral battleground.^[95][96][97]

On March 9, 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic was confirmed to reach Ohio, with three cases being reported.^[98] As of February 2023, over 41,600 Ohioans have died from Covid-19.^[98][99] Ohio's economy was also heavily impacted by the pandemic, as the state saw large job losses in 2020, as well as large amounts of subsequent stimulus spending.^[100]

Discover more about History related topics

History of Ohio

History of Ohio

The history of Ohio as a state began when the Northwest Territory was divided in 1800, and the remainder reorganized for admission to the union on March 1, 1803 as the 17th state of the United States. The recorded history of Ohio began in the late 17th century when French explorers from Canada reached the Ohio River, from which the "Ohio Country" took its name, a river the Iroquois called O-y-o, "great river". Before that, Native Americans speaking Algonquin languages had inhabited Ohio and the central midwestern United States for hundreds of years, until displaced by the Iroquois in the latter part of the 17th century. Other cultures not generally identified as "Indians", including the Hopewell "mound builders", preceded them. Human history in Ohio began a few millennia after formation of the Bering land bridge about 14,500 BCE – see Prehistory of Ohio.

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient

Fort Ancient is a name for a Native American culture that flourished from Ca. 1000-1750 CE and predominantly inhabited land near the Ohio River valley in the areas of modern-day southern Ohio, northern Kentucky, southeastern Indiana and western West Virginia. Although a contemporary of the Mississippian culture, they are often considered a "sister culture" and distinguished from the Mississippian culture. Although far from agreed upon, there is evidence to suggest that the Fort Ancient Culture were not the direct descendants of the Hopewellian Culture. It is suspected that the Fort Ancient Culture introduced maize agriculture to Ohio. The Fort Ancient Culture were most likely the builders of the Great Serpent Mound. Recent archeological study and carbon dating suggests that Alligator Mound in Granville also dates to the Fort Ancient era, rather than the assumed Hopewell era. It is believed that neither the Serpent or Alligator Mounds are burial locations, but rather served as ceremonial effigy sites.

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Dayton was estimated to be at 814,049 residents. The Combined Statistical Area (CSA) was 1,086,512. This makes Dayton the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Ohio and 73rd in the United States. Dayton is within Ohio's Miami Valley region, 50 miles (80 km) north of the Greater Cincinnati area.

Adena culture

Adena culture

The Adena culture was a Pre-Columbian Native American culture that existed from 500 BCE to 100 CE, in a time known as the Early Woodland period. The Adena culture refers to what were probably a number of related Native American societies sharing a burial complex and ceremonial system. The Adena culture was centered on the location of the modern state of Ohio, but also extended into contiguous areas of northern Kentucky, eastern Indiana, West Virginia, and parts of extreme western Pennsylvania.

Maize

Maize

Maize, also known as corn in North American and Australian English, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that when fertilized yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits. The term maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as the common name because this refers specifically to this one grain whereas corn refers to any principal cereal crop cultivated in a country. For example, in North America and Australia corn is often used for maize, but in England and Wales it can refer to wheat or barley, and in Scotland and Ireland to oats.

Adams County, Ohio

Adams County, Ohio

Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,477. Its county seat and largest village is West Union. The county is named after John Adams, the second President of the United States.

Hopewell tradition

Hopewell tradition

The Hopewell tradition, also called the Hopewell culture and Hopewellian exchange, describes a network of precontact Native American cultures that flourished in settlements along rivers in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands from 100 BCE to 500 CE, in the Middle Woodland period. The Hopewell tradition was not a single culture or society but a widely dispersed set of populations connected by a common network of trade routes.

Earthworks (archaeology)

Earthworks (archaeology)

In archaeology, earthworks are artificial changes in land level, typically made from piles of artificially placed or sculpted rocks and soil. Earthworks can themselves be archaeological features, or they can show features beneath the surface.

Marietta, Ohio

Marietta, Ohio

Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Marietta has a population of 13,385 people. It is the principal city of the Marietta micropolitan area, which includes all of Washington County, and is the second-largest city in the Parkersburg–Marietta–Vienna combined statistical area.

Newark, Ohio

Newark, Ohio

Newark is a city serving as the county seat of Licking County, Ohio, United States, 40 miles (64 km) east of Columbus, at the junction of the forks of the Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 census, making it the 18th largest city in Ohio. It is part of the Columbus metropolitan area.

Circleville, Ohio

Circleville, Ohio

Circleville is a city in and the county seat of Pickaway County, Ohio, United States, set along the Scioto River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Columbus. The population was 13,927 at the 2020 census. The city is best-known today as the host of the Circleville Pumpkin Show, an annual festival held since 1903.

Mississippian culture

Mississippian culture

The Mississippian culture was a Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1600 CE, varying regionally. It was known for building large, earthen platform mounds, and often other shaped mounds as well. It was composed of a series of urban settlements and satellite villages linked together by loose trading networks. The largest city was Cahokia, believed to be a major religious center located in what is present-day southern Illinois.

Geographic regions of Ohio.

Ohio's geographic location has proven 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 along 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.^[101] To the north, Ohio has 312 miles (502 km) of coastline with Lake Erie,^[102] which allows for numerous cargo ports such as Cleveland and Toledo. Ohio's southern border is defined by the Ohio River. Ohio's neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Lake Erie 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.

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 the 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.^[103] 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 till 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. Geologically similar to parts of West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania, this area's coal mining legacy, dependence on small pockets of old manufacturing establishments, and distinctive regional dialect set this section off from the rest of the state. In 1965 the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, an attempt to "address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region".^[104] This act defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia.^[105] 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.)^[106]

Map of Ohio cities and rivers.

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 River 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 floodplain engineering project in Ohio and the United States.^[107]

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. This body of water, over 20 square miles (52 km²), was the largest artificial lake in the world when completed in 1845.^[108] 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 their location on canals, and as late as 1910 interior canals carried much of the bulk freight of the state.

Climate

Köppen climate types of Ohio, using 1991-2020 climate normals.

The climate of Ohio is a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfa/Dfb) 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 (Cfa) and Upland South region of the United States. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state, while winters generally range from cool to cold. Precipitation in Ohio is moderate year-round. Severe weather is not uncommon in the state, although there are typically fewer tornado reports in Ohio than in states located in what is known as the Tornado Alley. Severe lake effect snowstorms are also not uncommon on the southeast shore of Lake Erie, which is located in an area designated as the Snowbelt.

Although predominantly not in a subtropical climate, some warmer-climate flora and fauna do reach well into Ohio. For instance, some 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 a 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.^[110] The lowest recorded temperature was −39 °F (−39 °C), at Milligan on February 10, 1899,^[111] during the Great Blizzard of 1899.^[112]

Earthquakes

Although few have registered as noticeable to the average resident, more than 200 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.0 or higher have occurred in Ohio since 1776.^[113] The Western Ohio Seismic Zone and a portion of the Southern Great Lakes Seismic Zone are located in the state, and numerous faults lie under the surface.^[113][114]

The most substantial known earthquake in Ohio history was the Anna (Shelby County) earthquake,^[115] which occurred on March 9, 1937. It was centered in western Ohio, with a magnitude of 5.4, and was of intensity VIII.^[116]

Other significant earthquakes in Ohio include:^[117] one of magnitude 4.8 near Lima on September 19, 1884;^[118] one of magnitude 4.2 near Portsmouth on May 17, 1901;^[119] and one of 5.0 in LeRoy Township in Lake County on January 31, 1986, which continued to trigger 13 aftershocks of magnitude 0.5 to 2.4 for two months.^[120][121]

Notable Ohio earthquakes in the 21st century include one occurring on December 31, 2011, approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) northwest of Youngstown,^[122] and one occurring on June 10, 2019, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) north-northwest of Eastlake under Lake Erie;^[123] both registered a 4.0 magnitude.

Discover more about Geography related topics

Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is a 981-mile (1,579 km) long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinois. It is the third largest river by discharge volume in the United States and the largest tributary by volume of the north-south flowing Mississippi River that divides the eastern from western United States. It is also the 6th oldest river on the North American continent. The river flows through or along the border of six states, and its drainage basin includes parts of 14 states. Through its largest tributary, the Tennessee River, the basin includes several states of the southeastern U.S. It is the source of drinking water for five million people.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. Pennsylvania borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio to its west, Lake Erie and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest, New York state to its north, and the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east.

Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. It is bordered by Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the southwest, Indiana and Ohio to the south, and Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie to the north and east. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly 97,000 sq mi (250,000 km2), Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the largest by area east of the Mississippi River. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit. Metro Detroit is among the nation's most populous and largest metropolitan economies. Its name derives from a gallicized variant of the original Ojibwe word ᒥᓯᑲᒥ, meaning "large water" or "large lake".

Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point Lake Erie is 210 feet (64 m) deep.

Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th state on December 11, 1816. It is bordered by Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash River and Illinois to the west.

Kentucky

Kentucky

Kentucky, officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort, and its two largest cities are Louisville and Lexington. Its population was approximately 4.5 million in 2020.

Metes and bounds

Metes and bounds

Metes and bounds is a system or method of describing land, real property or real estate. The system has been used in England for many centuries and is still used there in the definition of general boundaries. The system is also used in the Canadian province of Ontario, and throughout Canada for the description of electoral districts. By custom, it was applied in the original Thirteen Colonies that became the United States and in many other land jurisdictions based on English common law, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, India and Bangladesh. While still in hand-me-down use, this system has been largely overtaken in the past few centuries by newer systems such as rectangular and lot and block.

Enabling Act of 1802

Enabling Act of 1802

The Enabling Act of 1802 was passed on April 30, 1802 by the Seventh Congress of the United States. This act authorized the residents of the eastern portion of the Northwest Territory to form the state of Ohio and join the U.S. on an equal footing with the other states. To accomplish this, and in doing so, the act also established the precedent and procedures for creation of future states in the western territories. The Enabling Act of 1802 would be the first appropriation by Congress for internal improvements in the country's interior.

Great Miami River

Great Miami River

The Great Miami River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 160 miles (260 km) long, in southwestern Ohio and Indiana in the United States. The Great Miami originates at the man-made Indian Lake and flows south through the cities of Sidney, Piqua, Troy, Dayton, Middletown and Hamilton.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the 3+1⁄2 miles wide, 295 feet deep, Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; the two are technically a single lake.

Virginia

Virginia

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Its geography and climate are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay. The state's capital is Richmond. Its most-populous city is Virginia Beach, and Fairfax County is the state's most-populous political subdivision. Virginia's population in 2022 was over 8.68 million, with 35% living within in the Greater Washington metropolitan area.

Toledo War

Toledo War

The Toledo War (1835–36), also known as the Michigan–Ohio War or the Ohio–Michigan War, was a boundary dispute between the U.S. state of Ohio and the adjoining territory of Michigan over what is now known as the Toledo Strip. Control of the mouth of the Maumee River and the inland shipping opportunities it represented, and the good farmland to the west were seen by both parties as valuable economic assets.

Largest cities or towns in Ohio Source: 2020 U.S. Census[124]
	Rank	Name	County	Pop.	Rank	Name	County	Pop.
Columbus Cleveland	1	Columbus	Franklin	905,748	11	Youngstown	Mahoning	60,068	Cincinnati Toledo
	2	Cleveland	Cuyahoga	372,624	12	Springfield	Clark	58,662
	3	Cincinnati	Hamilton	309,317	13	Kettering	Montgomery	57,862
	4	Toledo	Lucas	270,871	14	Elyria	Lorain	52,656
	5	Akron	Summit	190,469	15	Cuyahoga Falls	Summit	51,114
	6	Dayton	Montgomery	137,644	16	Middletown	Butler	50,987
	7	Parma	Cuyahoga	81,146	17	Lakewood	Cuyahoga	50,942
	8	Canton	Stark	70,872	18	Newark	Licking	49,934
	9	Lorain	Lorain	65,211	19	Euclid	Cuyahoga	49,692
	10	Hamilton	Butler	62,082	20	Dublin	Franklin	49,328

Ohio's three largest cities are Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, all three of which anchor major metropolitan areas. Columbus is the capital of the state, located near its geographic center and is well known for Ohio State University. In 2019, the city had six corporations named to the U.S. Fortune 500 list: Alliance Data, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, American Electric Power, L Brands, Huntington Bancshares, and Cardinal Health in suburban Dublin.^[125][126] Other major employers include hospitals (among others, Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital), high tech research and development including the Battelle Memorial Institute, information-based companies such as OCLC and Chemical Abstracts Service, manufacturer Worthington Industries, and financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase and Huntington Bancshares. Fast food chains Wendy's and White Castle are also headquartered in Columbus.

Located in Northeast Ohio along the Lake Erie shore, Cleveland is characterized by its New England heritage, ethnic immigrant cultures, and history as a major American manufacturing and healthcare center. It anchors the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area, of which the cities of Akron and Canton are constituent parts. Mansfield and Youngstown are also major cities in the region. Northeast Ohio is known for major industrial companies Goodyear Tire and Rubber and Timken, top-ranked colleges Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College, and Kent State University, the Cleveland Clinic, and cultural attractions including the Cleveland Museum of Art, Big Five member Cleveland Orchestra, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Playhouse Square, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Cincinnati anchors Southwest Ohio and the Cincinnati Tri-State area, which also encompasses counties in the neighboring states of Kentucky and Indiana. The metropolitan area is home to Miami University and the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati Union Terminal, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and various Fortune 500 companies including Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Macy's, Inc., and Fifth Third Bank. Dayton and Springfield are located in the Miami Valley, which is home to the University of Dayton, the Dayton Ballet, and the extensive Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Toledo and Lima are the major cities in Northwest Ohio, an area known for its glass-making industry. It is home to Owens Corning and Owens-Illinois, two Fortune 500 corporations. Steubenville is the only metropolitan city in Appalachian Ohio, a region known for its mixed mesophytic forests.

Metropolitan areas

The Cincinnati metropolitan area extends into Kentucky and Indiana, the Steubenville metropolitan area extends into West Virginia, and the Youngstown metropolitan area extends into Pennsylvania.

Other metropolitan areas that contain cities in Ohio, but are primarily in other states include:

• Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area (Lawrence County)
• Wheeling, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area (Belmont County)

Additionally, 30 Ohio cities function as centers of micropolitan areas, urban clusters smaller than that of metropolitan areas. Many of these are included as part of larger combined statistical areas, as shown in the table above.

Discover more about Major cities related topics

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago, and the third-most populous U.S. state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest city in the U.S.

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cleveland, officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in Northeast Ohio along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and lies approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of Pennsylvania.

Franklin County, Ohio

Franklin County, Ohio

Franklin County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,323,807, making it the most populous county in Ohio. Most of its land area is taken up by its county seat, Columbus, the state capital and most populous city in Ohio. The county was established on April 30, 1803, less than two months after Ohio became a state, and was named after Benjamin Franklin. Franklin County originally extended north to Lake Erie before being subdivided into smaller counties. Franklin County is the central county of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown, Ohio

Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068, making it the 11th largest city in Ohio. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which had a population of 541,243 in 2020, making it the seventh-largest metro area in Ohio and 107th-largest metro area in the United States.

Mahoning County, Ohio

Mahoning County, Ohio

Mahoning County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 228,614. Its county seat and largest city is Youngstown. The county is named after the Mahoning River and was formed on March 1, 1846; the 83rd county in Ohio. Until 1846, the area that is now Mahoning County was part of Trumbull and Columbiana counties, when the counties in the area were redefined and Mahoning County emerged as a new county. Mahoning County is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 2,256,884, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 65th in the United States. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, surpassed only by New Orleans and the older, established settlements of the United States eastern seaboard, as well as being the sixth-most populous city from 1840 until 1860.

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo, Ohio

Toledo is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according to the 2020 census, the 79th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 270,871, it is the principal city of the Toledo metropolitan area. It also serves as a major trade center for the Midwest; its port is the fifth-busiest in the Great Lakes and 54th-biggest in the United States. The city was founded in 1833 on the west bank of the Maumee River, and originally incorporated as part of Monroe County, Michigan Territory. It was refounded in 1837, after the conclusion of the Toledo War, when it was incorporated in Ohio.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Cuyahoga County is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S.-Canada maritime border. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second-most-populous county in the state.

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. Springfield is home to Wittenberg University, a liberal arts college.

Clark County, Ohio

Clark County, Ohio

Clark County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,001. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield. The county was created on March 1, 1818, and was named for General George Rogers Clark, a hero of the American Revolution.

Hamilton County, Ohio

Hamilton County, Ohio

Hamilton County is located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 830,639, making it the third-most populous county in Ohio. The county seat and largest city is Cincinnati. The county is named for the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton County is part of the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Kettering, Ohio

Kettering, Ohio

Kettering is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. It is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 57,862, making it the largest suburb in Dayton metropolitan area.

Population

From just over 45,000 residents in 1800, Ohio's population grew faster than 10% per decade (except for the 1940 census) until the 1970 census, which recorded just over 10.65 million Ohioans.^[130] Growth then slowed for the next four decades.^[131] The United States Census Bureau counted 11,808,848 in the 2020 census, a 2.4% increase since the 2010 United States census.^[9] Ohio's population growth lags that of the entire United States, and whites are found in a greater density than the US average. As of 2000^[update], Ohio's center of population is located in Morrow County,^[132] in the county seat of Mount Gilead.^[133] This is approximately 6,346 feet (1,934 m) south and west of Ohio's population center in 1990.^[132]

Population growth by county in Ohio between the 2010 and 2020 censuses.

  -10 to -5 percent

  -5 to -2 percent

  -2 to 0 percent

  0 to 2 percent

  2 to 5 percent

  5 to 10 percent

  10 to 20 percent

   More than 20 percent

As of 2011, 27.6% of Ohio's children under the age of 1 belonged to minority groups.^[134] 6.2% of Ohio's population is under five years of age, 23.7 percent under 18 years of age, and 14.1 percent were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51.2 percent of the population.

According to HUD's 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report, there were an estimated 10,654 homeless people in Ohio.^{[135] [136]}

Birth data

Note: Births in table do not add up because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.

• Since 2016, data for births of White Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in one Hispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Ancestry

In 2010, there were 469,700 foreign-born residents in Ohio, corresponding to 4.1% of the total population. Of these, 229,049 (2.0%) were naturalized US citizens and 240,699 (2.1%) were not.^[12] The largest groups were:^[150] Mexico (54,166), India (50,256), China (34,901), Germany (19,219), Philippines (16,410), United Kingdom (15,917), Canada (14,223), Russia (11,763), South Korea (11,307), and Ukraine (10,681). Though predominantly white, Ohio has large black populations in all major metropolitan areas throughout the state, Ohio has a significant Hispanic population made up of Mexicans in Toledo and Columbus, and Puerto Ricans in Cleveland and Columbus, and also has a significant and diverse Asian population in Columbus.

Map of counties in Ohio by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census

Non-Hispanic White   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%   80–90%   90%+

Ancestry groups (which the census defines as not including racial terms) in the state are:^[12][151]

• 26.5% German
• 14.1% Irish
• 9.0% English
• 6.4% Italian
• 3.8% Polish
• 2.5% French
• 1.9% Scottish
• 1.7% Hungarian
• 1.6% Dutch
• 1.5% Mexican
• 1.2% Slovak
• 1.1% Welsh
• 1.1% Scotch-Irish

Ancestries claimed by less than 1% of the population include Sub-Saharan African, Puerto Rican, Swiss, Swedish, Arab, Greek, Norwegian, Romanian, Austrian, Lithuanian, Finnish, West Indian, Portuguese and Slovene.

Ohio population density map.

Languages

About 6.7% of the population age 5 years and older reported speaking a language other than English, with 2.2% of the population speaking Spanish, 2.6% speaking other Indo-European languages, 1.1% speaking Asian and Austronesian languages, and 0.8% speaking other languages.^[12] Numerically: 10,100,586 spoke English, 239,229 Spanish, 55,970 German, 38,990 Chinese, 33,125 Arabic, and 32,019 French. In addition, 59,881 spoke a Slavic language and 42,673 spoke another West Germanic language according to the 2010 census.^[152] Ohio also had the nation's largest population of Slovene speakers, second largest of Slovak speakers, second largest of Pennsylvania Dutch (German) speakers, and the third largest of Serbian speakers.^[153]

Religion

Amish children on their way to school

According to a Pew Forum poll, as of 2014, 73% of Ohioans identified as Christian.^[154] Specifically, 29% of Ohio's population identified as Evangelical Protestant, 17% as Mainline Protestant, 7% as Historically Black Protestant, and 18% as Catholic.^[154] 22% of the population is unaffiliated with any religious body.^[154] Small minorities of Jews (1%), Jehovah's Witnesses (1%), Muslims (1%), Hindus (Buddhists (1%), Mormons (1%), and other faiths (1-1.5%) exist.^[154]

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA), in 2010 the largest denominations by adherents were the Catholic Church with 1,992,567; the United Methodist Church with 496,232; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with 223,253, the Southern Baptist Convention with 171,000, the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ with 141,311, the United Church of Christ with 118,000, and the Presbyterian Church (USA) with 110,000.^[155] With about 80,000 adherents in 2020, Ohio has the second largest Amish population of all U.S. states, only behind neighboring Pennsylvania.^[156]

According to the same data, a majority of Ohioans, 56%, feel religion is "very important", 25% that it is "somewhat important", and 19% that religion is "not too important/not important at all".^[154] 38% of Ohioans indicate that they attend religious services at least once weekly, 32% occasionally, and 30% seldom or never.^[154]

Discover more about Demographics related topics

1800 United States census

1800 United States census

The United States census of 1800 was the second census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 4, 1800. It showed that 5,308,483 people were living in the United States, of whom 893,602 were enslaved. The 1800 census included the new District of Columbia. The census for the following states were lost: Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Virginia.

1810 United States census

1810 United States census

The United States census of 1810 was the third census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 6, 1810. It showed that 7,239,881 people were living in the United States, of whom 1,191,362 were slaves.

1820 United States census

1820 United States census

The United States census of 1820 was the fourth census conducted in the United States. It was conducted on August 7, 1820. The 1820 census included six new states: Louisiana, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois, Alabama and Maine. There has been a district wide loss of 1820 census records for Arkansas Territory, Missouri Territory and New Jersey.

1830 United States census

1830 United States census

The United States census of 1830, the fifth census undertaken in the United States, was conducted on June 1, 1830. The only loss of census records for 1830 involved some countywide losses in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Mississippi.

1840 United States census

1840 United States census

The United States census of 1840 was the sixth census of the United States. Conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1840, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 17,069,453 – an increase of 32.7 percent over the 12,866,020 persons enumerated during the 1830 census. The total population included 2,487,355 slaves. In 1840, the center of population was about 260 miles (418 km) west of Washington, near Weston, Virginia.

1850 United States census

1850 United States census

The United States census of 1850 was the seventh census of the United States. Conducted by the Census Office, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876—an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons enumerated during the 1840 census. The total population included 3,204,313 slaves.

1860 United States census

1860 United States census

The United States census of 1860 was the eighth census conducted in the United States starting June 1, 1860, and lasting five months. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,322 in 33 states and 10 organized territories. This was an increase of 35.4 percent over the 23,069,876 persons enumerated during the 1850 census. The total population included 3,953,762 slaves.

1870 United States census

1870 United States census

The United States census of 1870 was the ninth United States census. It was conducted by the Census Bureau from June 1, 1870, to August 23, 1871. The 1870 census was the first census to provide detailed information on the African American population, only five years after the culmination of the Civil War when slaves were granted freedom. The total population was 38,925,598 with a resident population of 38,558,371 individuals, a 22.6% increase from 1860.

1880 United States census

1880 United States census

The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census. It was the first time that women were permitted to be enumerators. The Superintendent of the Census was Francis Amasa Walker. This was the first census in which a city—New York City—recorded a population of over one million.

1890 United States census

1890 United States census

The United States census of 1890 was taken beginning June 2, 1890, but most of the 1890 census materials were destroyed in 1921 when a building caught fire and in the subsequent disposal of the remaining damaged records. It determined the resident population of the United States to be 62,979,766—an increase of 25.5 percent over the 50,189,209 persons enumerated during the 1880 census. The data reported that the distribution of the population had resulted in the disappearance of the American frontier.

1900 United States census

1900 United States census

The United States census of 1900, conducted by the Census Office on June 1, 1900, determined the resident population of the United States to be 76,212,168, an increase of 21.01% from the 62,979,766 persons enumerated during the 1890 census.

1910 United States census

1910 United States census

The United States census of 1910, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 census. The 1910 census switched from a portrait page orientation to a landscape orientation.

Cincinnati's Procter & Gamble is one of Ohio's largest companies in terms of revenue.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total number of people employed in 2016 was 4,790,178. The total number of unique employer establishments was 252,201, while the total number of non-employer establishments was 785,833.^[157] In 2010, Ohio was ranked second in the country for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database.^[158] The state has also won three consecutive Governor's Cup awards from the magazine, based on business growth and developments.^[159] As of 2016^[update], Ohio's gross domestic product (GDP) was $626 billion.^[160] This ranks Ohio's economy as the seventh-largest of all fifty states and the District of Columbia.^[161]

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council ranked the state No. 10 for best business-friendly tax systems in their Business Tax Index 2009, including a top corporate tax and capital gains rate that were both ranked No. 6 at 1.9%.^[162] Ohio was ranked No. 11 by the council for best friendly-policy states according to their Small Business Survival Index 2009.^[163] The Directorship's Boardroom Guide ranked the state No. 13 overall for best business climate, including No. 7 for best litigation climate.^[164] Forbes ranked the state No. 8 for best regulatory environment in 2009.^[165] Ohio has five of the top 115 colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2010 rankings,^[166] and was ranked No. 8 by the same magazine in 2008 for best high schools.^[167]

Ohio's unemployment rate stands at 4.5% as of February 2018,^[168] down from 10.7% in May 2010.^[169][170] The state still lacks 45,000 jobs compared to the pre-recession numbers of 2007.^[171] The labor force participation as of April 2015 is 63%, slightly above the national average.^[171] Ohio's per capita income stands at $34,874.^[161][172] As of 2019^[update], Ohio's median household income is $58,642,^[173] and 13.1% of the population is below the poverty line.^[174]

The manufacturing and financial activities sectors each compose 18.3% of Ohio's GDP, making them Ohio's largest industries by percentage of GDP.^[161] Ohio has the third largest manufacturing workforce behind California and Texas.^[175][176] Ohio has the largest bioscience sector in the Midwest, and is a national leader in the "green" economy. Ohio is the largest producer in the country of plastics, rubber, fabricated metals, electrical equipment, and appliances.^[177] 5,212,000 Ohioans are currently employed by wage or salary.^[161]

By employment, Ohio's largest sector is trade/transportation/utilities, which employs 1,010,000 Ohioans, or 19.4% of Ohio's workforce, while the health care and education sector employs 825,000 Ohioans (15.8%).^[161] Government employs 787,000 Ohioans (15.1%), manufacturing employs 669,000 Ohioans (12.9%), and professional and technical services employs 638,000 Ohioans (12.2%).^[161] Ohio's manufacturing sector is the third-largest of all fifty United States states in terms of gross domestic product.^[161] Fifty-nine of the United States' top 1,000 publicly traded companies (by revenue in 2008) are headquartered in Ohio, including Procter & Gamble, Goodyear Tire & Rubber, AK Steel, Timken, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Wendy's.^[178]

Ohio is also one of 41 states with its own lottery,^[179] the Ohio Lottery.^[180] As of 2020^[update], the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $26 billion to education beginning in 1974.^[181]

Discover more about Economy related topics

Economy of Ohio

Economy of Ohio

The economy of Ohio nominally would be the 21st largest global economy behind Saudi Arabia and ahead of Argentina according to the 2017 International Monetary Fund GDP estimates. The state had a GDP of $656.19 billion in 3rd quarter of 2017, up from $517.1 billion in 2012, and up from $501.3 billion in 2011, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In 2013, Ohio was ranked in the top ten states for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database. The state was edged out only by Texas and Nebraska for the 2013 Governor's Cup award from the magazine, based on business growth and economic development.

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer health, personal care and hygiene products; these products are organized into several segments including beauty; grooming; health care; fabric and home care; and baby, feminine, and family care. Before the sale of Pringles to Kellogg's, its product portfolio also included food, snacks, and beverages. P&G is incorporated in Ohio.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) is an American media company that publishes news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. It was launched in 1948 as the merger of domestic-focused weekly newspaper U.S. News and international-focused weekly magazine World Report. In 1995, the company launched 'usnews.com' and in 2010, the magazine ceased printing.

Great Recession in the United States

Great Recession in the United States

In the United States, the Great Recession was a severe financial crisis combined with a deep recession. While the recession officially lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, it took many years for the economy to recover to pre-crisis levels of employment and output. This slow recovery was due in part to households and financial institutions paying off debts accumulated in the years preceding the crisis along with restrained government spending following initial stimulus efforts. It followed the bursting of the housing bubble, the housing market correction and subprime mortgage crisis.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high-tech, but it is most commonly applied to industrial design, in which raw materials from the primary sector are transformed into finished goods on a large scale. Such goods may be sold to other manufacturers for the production of other more complex products, or distributed via the tertiary industry to end users and consumers.

Timken Company

Timken Company

The Timken Company is a global manufacturer of bearings and power transmission products. Timken operates from 42 countries.

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in New Albany, Ohio. The company operates three other offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Hollister Co., and Gilly Hicks. As of February 2020, the company operated 854 stores across all brands.

Wendy's

Wendy's

Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was the world's third-largest hamburger fast-food chain with 6,711 locations, following Burger King and McDonald's. On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc Companies Inc., a publicly traded company and the parent company of Arby's. Wendy's headquarters remained in Dublin. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, and later as the Wendy's Company.

Ohio Lottery

Ohio Lottery

The Ohio Lottery is a state lottery run by the Ohio Lottery Commission. Its games consist of scratch tickets; Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 ; Rolling Cash 5, Classic Lotto, Keno, Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball.

Roads

Many major east–west transportation corridors go through Ohio. One of those pioneer routes, known in the early 20th century as "Main 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, Wooster, 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. Route 30.

Ohio is home to 228 miles (367 km) of the historic National Road, now U.S. Route 40.

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, I-70 through Columbus and Dayton, and the Appalachian Highway (State Route 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 south into West Virginia. Interstate 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton is one of the heaviest traveled sections of interstate in Ohio.

Trails

Ohio also has a highly developed network of signed state bicycle routes. Many of them follow rail trails, with conversion ongoing. The Ohio to Erie Trail (route 1) connects Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. U.S. Bicycle Route 50 traverses Ohio from Steubenville to the Indiana state line outside Richmond.^[182]

Ohio has several long-distance hiking trails, the most prominent of which is the Buckeye Trail which extends 1,444 mi (2,324 km) in a loop around the state of Ohio. Part of it is on roads and part is on wooded trail. Additionally, the North Country Trail (the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress) and the American Discovery Trail (a system of recreational trails and roads that collectively form a coast-to-coast route across the mid-tier of the United States) pass through Ohio. Much of these two trails coincide with the Buckeye Trail.

Rail

v t e Ohio passenger rail
Legend
Capitol Limited to Chicago Lake Shore Limited to Chicago Bryan Cardinal to Chicago Toledo Cincinnati Sandusky Cardinal to New York City Elyria Cleveland Alliance Lake Shore Limited to New York City, Capitol Limited to Washington Boston

Map of Ohio showing Interurban Railways c 1907

Ohio has an extensive rail network, though today most lines carry only freight traffic. Three Class I freight railroads operate in Ohio: CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Canadian National Railway. Many local freight carriers also exist in the state.

Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, operates three long-distance rail routes through Ohio. The Lake Shore Limited serves Cleveland, Elyria, Toledo, Sandusky, and Bryan. The Capitol Limited stops in those cities as well as in Alliance. The Cardinal serves Cincinnati Union Terminal. From Ohio, passengers can ride directly to Chicago, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, and dozens of destinations in-between.

Columbus is the largest city in the United States without any form of passenger rail. Its Union Station was last served in 1979 by the National Limited.

Ohio is home to several scenic railways and museums, including the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Age of Steam Roundhouse museum, and the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway near Hocking Hills State Park.

Transit

Cincinnati light rail

Mass transit exists in many forms in Ohio cities, primarily through bus systems. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) operates the RTA Rapid Transit system, which consists of one heavy rail line, three light rail lines, and three bus rapid transit lines. Cincinnati is served by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) bus network as well as a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) streetcar line, the Cincinnati Bell Connector. Other major transit agencies in Ohio include the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) serving Columbus and the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (GDRTA) serving Dayton.

Air travel

Ohio has four international airports, four commercial, and two military. The four international include Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Dayton International Airport, and Rickenbacker International Airport (one of two military airfields). The other military airfield is Wright Patterson Air Force Base which is one of the largest Air Force bases in the United States. Other major airports are located in Toledo and Akron. Cincinnati's primary airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, is in Hebron, Kentucky, and therefore is not included in Ohio airport lists.

Waterways

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List of Interstate Highways in Ohio

List of Interstate Highways in Ohio

There are a total of 21 Interstate Highways in Ohio, including both primary and auxiliary routes. With the exception of the Ohio Turnpike, all of the Interstate Highways are owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Ohio through the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT); however, they were all built with money from the U.S. federal government. The road miles of these 21 Interstates add up to a total of 1,572.35 miles (2,530.45 km). Ohio has more route miles than this, most of which comes from I-80 running concurrently with I-90 for 142.80 miles (229.81 km). The Interstate Highways in Ohio range in length from I-71, at 248.15 miles (399.36 km), all the way down to I-471, at 0.73 miles (1.17 km).

List of U.S. Routes in Ohio

List of U.S. Routes in Ohio

U.S. Routes in Ohio are the components of the United States Numbered Highway System that are located in the U.S. state of Ohio. They are owned by the state, and maintained by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) except in cities.

List of state routes in Ohio

List of state routes in Ohio

State Routes in Ohio are owned by the state, and maintained by the state except in cities. They are signed with a white silhouette of Ohio against a black background.

Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913, the Lincoln Highway runs coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City west to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California. In 1915, the "Colorado Loop" was removed, and in 1928, a realignment relocated the Lincoln Highway through the northern tip of West Virginia. There are 14 states, 128 counties, and more than 700 cities, towns and villages through which the highway passed at some time in its history.

Canton, Ohio

Canton, Ohio

Canton is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio, United States. It is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) south of Cleveland and 20 miles (32 km) south of Akron in Northeast Ohio on the edge of Ohio's Amish Country. As of the 2020 census, the population of Canton was 70,872, making Canton eighth among Ohio cities in population. It is the largest municipality in the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area, which includes all of Stark and Carroll counties, and was home to 401,574 residents in 2020.

Mansfield, Ohio

Mansfield, Ohio

Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The city lies approximately 65 miles (105 km) southwest of Cleveland, 45 miles (72 km) southwest of Akron and 65 miles (105 km) northeast of Columbus.

Lima, Ohio

Lima, Ohio

Lima is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 approximately 72 miles (116 km) north of Dayton, 78 miles (126 km) southwest of Toledo, and 63 mi (101 km) southeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Interstate 80 in Ohio

Interstate 80 in Ohio

Interstate 80 (I-80) in the US state of Ohio runs across the northern part of the state. Most of the route is part of the Ohio Turnpike; only an 18.78-mile (30.22 km) stretch is not part of the toll road. That stretch of road is the feeder route to the Keystone Shortway, a shortcut through northern Pennsylvania that provides access to New York City.

Interstate 90 in Ohio

Interstate 90 in Ohio

Interstate 90 (I-90) runs east–west across the northern tier of the US state of Ohio. Much of it is along the Ohio Turnpike, but sections outside the turnpike pass through Cleveland and northeast into Pennsylvania.

Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Cleveland. At the 2020 census, the city proper had a total population of 190,469, making it the 125th largest city in the United States. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had an estimated population of 703,505.

Interstate 70 in Ohio

Interstate 70 in Ohio

Interstate 70 (I-70) in the US state of Ohio provides access between Indiana and West Virginia. I-70 is a major highway for traffic within, to, from, and through Ohio. The highway is a core roadway of the Columbus metropolitan area and is of additional importance in the Dayton metropolitan area.

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago, and the third-most populous U.S. state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest city in the U.S.

Current governor Mike DeWine

The state government of Ohio consists of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.^{[183][184][185]}

Executive branch

The executive branch is headed by the governor of Ohio.^[183] The current governor is Mike DeWine since 2019, a member of the Republican Party.^[186] A lieutenant governor succeeds the governor in the event of any removal from office, and performs any duties assigned by the governor.^[187][188] The current lieutenant governor is Jon Husted. The other elected constitutional offices in the executive branch are the secretary of state (Frank LaRose), auditor (Keith Faber), treasurer (Robert Sprague), and attorney general (Dave Yost).^[183] There are 21 state administrative departments in the executive branch.^[189][190]

Legislative branch

The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, home to the Ohio General Assembly.

The Ohio General Assembly is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives.^[191] The Senate is composed of 33 districts, each of which is represented by one senator. Each senator represents approximately 330,000 constituents.^[192] The House of Representatives is composed of 99 members.^[193] The Republican Party is the controlling party in both houses as of the 2020 election cycle.

In order to be enacted into law, a bill must be adopted by both houses of the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. If the Governor vetoes a bill, the General Assembly can override the veto with a three-fifths supermajority of both houses. A bill will also become a law if the Governor fails to sign or veto it within 10 days of its being presented. The session laws are published in the official Law of Ohio.^[194] These in turn have been codified in the Ohio Revised Code.^[195]

The General Assembly, with the approval of the Governor, draws the U.S. congressional district lines for Ohio's 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives. The Ohio Apportionment Board draws state legislative district lines in Ohio.

Judicial branch

The Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center holds the Supreme Court of Ohio.

There are three levels of the Ohio state judiciary. The lowest level is the court of common pleas: each county maintains its own constitutionally mandated court of common pleas, which maintain jurisdiction over "all justiciable matters".^[196] The intermediate-level court system is the district court system.^[197] Twelve courts of appeals exist, each retaining jurisdiction over appeals from common pleas, municipal, and county courts in a set geographical area.^[196] A case heard in this system is decided by a three-judge panel, and each judge is elected.^[196]

The state's highest-ranking court is the Ohio Supreme Court.^[198] A seven-justice panel composes the court, which, by its own discretion, hears appeals from the courts of appeals, and retains original jurisdiction over limited matters.^[199]

Local government

There are also several levels of local government in Ohio: counties, municipalities (cities and villages), townships, special districts and school districts.

Ohio is divided into 88 counties.^[200] Ohio law defines a structure for county government, although they may adopt charters for home rule.^[201][202] Summit County^[201] and Cuyahoga County^[203] have chosen an alternate form of government. The other counties have a government with a three-member board of county commissioners,^[204] a sheriff,^[205] coroner,^[206] auditor,^[207] treasurer,^[208] clerk of the court of common pleas^[209] prosecutor,^[210] engineer,^[211] and recorder.^[212]

There are two kinds of incorporated municipalities, 251 cities and 681 villages.^{[201][213][214]} If a municipality has five thousand or more residents as of the last United States Census it is a city, otherwise it is a village.^[201][215] Municipalities have full home rule powers, may adopt a charter, ordinances and resolutions for self-government.^[216] Each municipality chooses its own form of government, but most have elected mayors and city councils or city commissions. City governments provide much more extensive services than county governments, such as police forces and paid (as opposed to volunteer) fire departments.

The entire area of the state is encompassed by townships.^[201] When the boundaries of a township are coterminous with the boundaries of a city or village, the township ceases to exist as a separate government (called a paper township).^[201] Townships are governed by a three-member board of township trustees.^[201] Townships may have limited home rule powers.^[217]

There are more than 600 city, local, and exempted village school districts providing K-12 education in Ohio, as well as about four dozen joint vocation school districts which are separate from the K-12 districts. Each city school district, local school district, or exempted village school district is governed by an elected board of education.^[201] A school district previously under state supervision (municipal school district) may be governed by a board whose members either are elected or appointed by the mayor of the municipality containing the greatest portion of the district's area.^[201]

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Government of Ohio

Government of Ohio

The government of the U.S. state of Ohio consists of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches. Its basic structure is set forth in the Constitution and law of Ohio.

Mike DeWine

Mike DeWine

Richard Michael DeWine is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th governor of Ohio since 2019. He previously served as the 50th Attorney General of Ohio, from 2011 to 2019, and in both houses of Congress: in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991 and in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio

The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as acting governor if a vacancy in the governorship occurred. Until 1978, lieutenant governors were elected separately but concurrently with the governor. Thus, there were several occasions when the lieutenant governor was from a different party than the governor. This was changed by constitutional amendment. In 1974, Richard F. Celeste was the last lieutenant governor to be elected separately. In 1978, George Voinovich became the first lieutenant governor to be elected on the same ticket with the governor.

Jon Husted

Jon Husted

Jon Allen Husted is an American politician serving as the 66th lieutenant governor of Ohio, since 2019. He was previously the 53rd Ohio Secretary of State. A member of the Republican Party, he previously represented the 6th District of the Ohio Senate from 2009 to 2011 and was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009. From 2005 to 2009, Husted served as Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and remains the 7th youngest person to ever become Ohio House Speaker. Husted was elected Ohio Secretary of State in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. He was a candidate in the Republican Party primary for Governor of Ohio in the 2018 election but later announced that he would instead run for lieutenant governor of Ohio as Attorney General Mike DeWine's running mate.

Ohio Secretary of State

Ohio Secretary of State

The Secretary of State of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state; registering secured transactions; and granting access to public documents.

Frank LaRose

Frank LaRose

Frank LaRose is an American politician. He has served as Secretary of State of Ohio since 2019, after serving two terms as a Republican member of the Ohio State Senate from Ohio's 27th Senate district which includes Wayne County as well as portions of Stark and Summit counties.

Ohio State Auditor

Ohio State Auditor

The Ohio State Auditor is responsible for auditing all the public offices of the state of Ohio. The auditor is elected to a four-year term. The current Auditor is Keith Faber.

Keith Faber

Keith Faber

Keith Faber is an American politician from Ohio. A Republican, he has been State Auditor of Ohio since 2019. He was formerly a member of the Ohio House of Representatives (2001-2007), elected from the 84th district, and then a member of the Ohio State Senate (2007-2016), elected from the 12th District. He was president of the Ohio Senate from 2013 to 2016.

Ohio Attorney General

Ohio Attorney General

The Ohio Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The current Ohio Attorney General is Republican Dave Yost.

Dave Yost

Dave Yost

David Anthony Yost is an American politician and lawyer who currently serves as the 51st Attorney General of Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, Yost previously served as Ohio State Auditor.

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest after Chicago, and the third-most populous U.S. state capital. Columbus is the county seat of Franklin County; it also extends into Delaware and Fairfield counties. It is the core city of the Columbus metropolitan area, which encompasses 10 counties in central Ohio. It had a population of 2,138,926 in 2020, making it the largest metropolitan entirely in Ohio and 32nd-largest city in the U.S.

Ohio General Assembly

Ohio General Assembly

The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.

"Mother of presidents"

Six U.S. presidents hailed from Ohio at the time of their elections, giving rise to its nickname "mother of presidents", a sobriquet it shares with Virginia. It is also termed "modern mother of presidents", in contrast to Virginia's status as the origin of presidents earlier in American history. Seven presidents were born in Ohio, making it second to Virginia's eight. Virginia-born William Henry Harrison lived most of his life in Ohio and is also buried there. Harrison conducted his political career while living on the family compound, founded by his father-in-law, John Cleves Symmes, in North Bend, Ohio. The seven presidents born in Ohio were Ulysses S. Grant (elected from Illinois), Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison (grandson of William Henry Harrison & elected from Indiana), William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding.^[219] All seven were Republicans.

Electoral history

Presidential election results by county for 2020

  Democratic

  Republican

Ohio is considered a swing state, being won by either the Democratic or Republican candidates reasonably each election. As a swing state, Ohio is usually targeted by both major-party campaigns, especially in competitive elections.^[220] Pivotal in the election of 1888, Ohio has been a regular swing state since 1980 and has been considered a bellwether.^[221][222] This status, however, was called into question after incumbent Republican Donald Trump won the state by a comfortable eight-point margin in the 2020 presidential election despite losing nationally to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.^[223]

Historian R. Douglas Hurt asserts that not since Virginia "had a state made such a mark on national political affairs".^[224] 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".^[225] Since 1896, Ohio has had only three misses in the general election (Thomas E. Dewey in 1944, Richard Nixon in 1960, and Donald Trump in 2020) and had the longest perfect streak of any state, voting for the winning presidential candidate in each election from 1964 to 2016, and in 33 of the 38 held since the Civil War. No Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio.

As of 2019, there are more than 7.8 million registered Ohioan voters, with 1.3 million Democrats and 1.9 million Republicans. They are disproportionate in age, with a million more over 65 than there are 18- to 24-year-olds.^[226] Since the 2010 midterm elections, Ohio's voter demographic has leaned towards the Republican Party.^[227] The governor, Mike DeWine, is Republican, as are all other non-judicial statewide elected officials, including Lieutenant Governor Jon A. Husted, Attorney General Dave Yost, State Auditor Keith Faber, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and State Treasurer Robert Sprague. In the Ohio State Senate the Republicans are the majority, 25–8, and in the Ohio House of Representatives the Republicans control the delegation 64–35.

Losing one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives following the 2020 census, Ohio will have 15 seats for the two presidential elections of the decade in 2024 and 2028.^[228] As of the 2022 cycle, ten federal representatives are Republicans while five are Democrats. Marcy Kaptur (D-09) is the most senior member of the Ohio delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives.^[229] The senior U.S. senator, Sherrod Brown, is a Democrat, while the junior, J. D. Vance, is a Republican.^[230][231]

Allegations of voter suppression

Since 1994, the state has had a policy of purging infrequent voters from its rolls. In April 2016, a lawsuit was filed, challenging this policy on the grounds that it violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993^[232] and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.^[233] In June, the federal district court ruled for the plaintiffs and entered a preliminary injunction applicable only to the November 2016 election. The preliminary injunction was upheld in September by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Had it not been upheld, thousands of voters would have been purged from the rolls just a few weeks before the election.^[232][234]

Still, it has been estimated that the state has removed up to two million voters since 2011.^[235]

In a 2020 study, Ohio was ranked as the 17th hardest state for citizens to vote in.^[236]

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Politics of Ohio

Politics of Ohio

Political control of Ohio has oscillated between the two major parties. Republicans outnumber Democrats in Ohio government. The governor, Mike DeWine, is a Republican, as are all other non-judicial statewide elected officials: Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Jon A. Husted, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio State Treasurer Robert Sprague.

Elections in Ohio

Elections in Ohio

Elections in Ohio are held on a county, state, and federal level. The Republicans are strongest in the rural Northwest, the affluent Cincinnati and Columbus suburbs, and have made gains in Appalachian Southeast Ohio and the industrial, working-class Northeast in the 21st century. The Democrats rely on the state's major cities, and have made gains in educated suburban areas in recent years.

Political party strength in Ohio

Political party strength in Ohio

The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Ohio:Governor Lieutenant Governor Attorney General Secretary of State State Treasurer State Auditor

Independent voter

Independent voter

An independent voter, often also called an unaffiliated voter or non-affiliated voter in the United States, is a voter who does not align themselves with a political party. An independent is variously defined as a voter who votes for candidates on issues rather than on the basis of a political ideology or partisanship; a voter who does not have long-standing loyalty to, or identification with, a political party; a voter who does not usually vote for the same political party from election to election; or a voter who self-describes as an independent.

Democratic Party (United States)

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1828, it was predominantly built by Martin Van Buren, who assembled politicians in every state behind war hero Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest active political party. Its main political rival has been the Republican Party since the 1850s, with both parties being big tents of competing and often opposing viewpoints. Modern American liberalism — a variant of social liberalism — is the party's majority ideology. The party also has notable centrist, social democratic, and left-libertarian factions.

Libertarian Party (United States)

Libertarian Party (United States)

The Libertarian Party (LP) is a political party in the United States that promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government. The party was conceived in August 1971 at meetings in the home of David F. Nolan in Westminster, Colorado, and was officially formed on December 11, 1971, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The organizers of the party drew inspiration from the works and ideas of the prominent Austrian school economist, Murray Rothbard. The founding of the party was prompted in part due to concerns about the Nixon administration, the Vietnam War, conscription, and the introduction of fiat money.

John Cleves Symmes

John Cleves Symmes

John Cleves Symmes was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New Jersey, and later a pioneer in the Northwest Territory. He was also the father-in-law of President William Henry Harrison and, thereby, the great-grandfather of President Benjamin Harrison.

North Bend, Ohio

North Bend, Ohio

North Bend is a village in Miami Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. It is a part of the Greater Cincinnati area. The population was 857 at the 2010 census.

Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern United States. It shares borders with Wisconsin to its north, Iowa to its northwest, Missouri to its southwest, Kentucky to its south, and Indiana to its east. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other metropolitan areas include Peoria and Rockford, as well as Springfield, its capital. Of the fifty U.S. states, Illinois has the fifth-largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth-largest population, and the 25th-largest land area.

James A. Garfield

James A. Garfield

James Abram Garfield was the 20th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1881, until his death six months later—two months after he was shot by assassin Charles J. Guiteau. A lawyer and Civil War general, Garfield served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives and is, to date, the only sitting member of the House to be elected president. Before his candidacy for the White House, he had been elected to the U.S. Senate by the Ohio General Assembly—a position he declined when he became president-elect.

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison

Benjamin Harrison was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V, a Founding Father.

Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th state on December 11, 1816. It is bordered by Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the south and southeast, and the Wabash River and Illinois to the west.

Ohio's system of public education is outlined in Article VI of the state constitution, and in Title XXXIII of the Ohio Revised Code. Ohio University, the first university in the Northwest Territory, was also the first public institution in Ohio. 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 which have recently been reorganized into the University System of Ohio under Governor Strickland. The system averages an annual enrollment of more than 400,000 students, making it one of the five largest state university systems in the U.S.

Colleges and universities

University Hall at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio's largest university by enrollment^[237]

Ohio schools consistently ranking in the top 50 nationally of the U.S. News & World Report of liberal arts colleges are Ohio Big Three; Denison University, Oberlin College, and Kenyon College. Ranking in the top 100 of national research universities typically includes Case Western Reserve University, Ohio State University and Miami University.^[238]

• 13 state universities
  • Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green)
  • Central State University (Wilberforce)
  • Cleveland State University (Cleveland)
  • Kent State University (Kent)
  • Miami University (Oxford)
  • Ohio State University, (Columbus)
  • Ohio University (Athens)
  • Shawnee State University (Portsmouth)
  • University of Akron (Akron)
  • University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
  • University of Toledo (Toledo)
  • Wright State University (Dayton)
  • Youngstown State University (Youngstown)
• 24 state university branch and regional campuses

Bosworth Hall at Oberlin College in northeast Ohio, the first college in the U.S. to admit women^[239]

• 46 private colleges and universities
• 6 free-standing state-assisted medical schools
  • Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University
  • Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University
  • Northeast Ohio Medical University
  • The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health
  • University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
  • University of Toledo College of Medicine (formerly Medical University of Ohio)
• 15 community colleges
• 8 technical colleges
• 24 independent non-profit colleges

Libraries

Ohio is home to some of the nation's highest-ranked public libraries.^[240] The 2008 study by Thomas J. Hennen Jr. ranked Ohio as number one in a state-by-state comparison.^[241] For 2008, 31 of Ohio's library systems were all ranked in the top ten for American cities of their population category.^[240]

• 500,000 books or more
  • Columbus Metropolitan Library (First)
  • Cuyahoga County Public Library (Second)
  • Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Tenth)

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 for the other libraries. The program is largely successful in allowing researchers for access to books and other media that might not be otherwise available.

Discover more about Education related topics

Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Revised Code

The Ohio Revised Code contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments of the General Assembly is the Laws of Ohio; the Ohio Revised Code is only a reference.

Northwest Territory

Northwest Territory

The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation through the Northwest Ordinance, it was the nation's first post-colonial organized incorporated territory.

Education in the United States

Education in the United States

Education in the United States is provided in public and private schools and by individuals through homeschooling. State governments set overall educational standards, often mandate standardized tests for K–12 public school systems and supervise, usually through a board of regents, state colleges, and universities. The bulk of the $1.3 trillion in funding comes from state and local governments, with federal funding accounting for about $260 billion in 2021 compared to around $200 billion in past years.

Ohio Board of Regents

Ohio Board of Regents

The Ohio Board of Regents was created in 1963 by the Ohio General Assembly to: provide higher education policy advice to the Governor of Ohio and the Ohio General Assembly; develop a strategy involving Ohio's public and independent colleges and universities; advocate for and manage state funds for public colleges; and coordinate and implement state higher education policies. In 2015 the Ohio General Assembly renamed the office of the Board of Regents as the "Department of Higher Education."

List of colleges and universities in Ohio

List of colleges and universities in Ohio

The state of Ohio is home to a number of public and private institutions of higher learning. Prior to statehood, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 included a provision to establish an institution of higher education in what became Ohio. American Western University was chartered in 1802 as a result, but never opened. Two years later, the new Ohio General Assembly chartered Ohio University, which opened for classes in 1809, followed by Miami University, which was chartered in 1809 and opened in 1824. In northern Ohio, Western Reserve College was established in 1826.

Denison University

Denison University

Denison University is a private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. The college was first called the Granville Literary and Theological Institution, later took the name Granville College, and, in the mid-1850s, was renamed Denison University, in honor of a key benefactor. The college enrolled 2300 students in Fall 2019 and students choose from 56 academic majors.

Oberlin College

Oberlin College

Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second-oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. In 1835, Oberlin became one of the first colleges in the United States to admit African Americans, and in 1837 the first to admit women. It has been known since its founding for progressive student activism.

Kenyon College

Kenyon College

Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reserve, and Case Institute of Technology, founded in 1880 through the endowment of Leonard Case Jr., formally federated.

Miami University

Miami University

Miami University is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio and the 10th oldest public university in the United States. The school's system comprises the main campus in Oxford, as well as regional campuses in nearby Hamilton, Middletown, and West Chester. Miami also maintains an international boarding campus, the Dolibois European Center in Differdange, Luxembourg. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The 1,338-acre (541.5 ha) main academic and residential campus is 15 miles (24 km) south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the natural and social sciences, education, arts, business, health and wellness, humanities and applied technologies. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 as a normal school, specializing in teacher training and education, as part of the Lowry Normal School Bill that authorized two new normal schools in the state of Ohio. Over the university's history, it has developed from a small rural normal school into a comprehensive public research university. It is a part of University System of Ohio and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Bowling Green, Ohio

Bowling Green, Ohio

Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Ohio, United States, located 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Toledo. The population was 30,028 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Toledo Metropolitan Area and a member of the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University.

Arts

Music

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame are both located in Cleveland. Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed is credited with coining the term and promoting rock and roll in the early 1950s. Cincinnati is home to the American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Popular musicians from Ohio include Mamie Smith, Dean Martin, Dave Grohl, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots, Frankie Yankovic, Doris Day, The McGuire Sisters, The Isley Brothers, Bobby Womack, Howard Hewett, Shirley Murdock, Boz Scaggs, John Legend, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of The Black Keys, Griffin Layne, Joe Dolce, Kid Cudi, Benjamin Orr of The Cars, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, William "Bootsy" Collins, Stephanie Eulinberg of Kid Rock's Twisted Brown Trucker Band, and Devo. Five Ohio musicians are Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members.

Performing arts

The Cleveland Orchestra performing at the Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy.

Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland is the second-largest performing arts center in the United States, home to ten theaters.^[242] The Cleveland Orchestra is one of the historic Big Five orchestras in the U.S., and is considered one of the best worldwide.^[243]

Many other Ohio cities are home to their own orchestras, including Akron, Blue Ash, Canton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, and Youngstown. Cincinnati is home to its own ballet, symphony orchestra, pops orchestra, and opera, all housed at the Cincinnati Music Hall. Dayton is also home to a ballet, orchestra, and opera, collectively known as the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance.

The Columbus Association for the Performing Arts manages seven historic Columbus area theaters.^[244]

Within the marching arts, Winter Guard International has hosted national championships in performing arts at the University of Dayton 18 times between 1983 and 2003, and has permanently since 2005. The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps are Ohio's highest fielding drum corps, competing in the Drum Corps International World Class circuit out of Canton.

Visual arts

Ohio is home to 30 art institutions, including the Columbus Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, and other entities. The full list includes:

The Cincinnati Art Museum holds over 100,000 works spanning 6,000 years of human history, being among the most comprehensive collections in the Midwest. Among its notable collections are works by Master of San Baudelio, Jorge Ingles, Sandro Botticelli (Judith with Head of Holofernes), Matteo di Giovanni, Domenico Tintoretto (Portrait of Venetian dux Marino Grimani), Mattia Preti, Bernardo Strozzi, Frans Hals, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (St. Thomas of Villanueva), Peter Paul Rubens (Samson and Delilah) and Aert van der Neer. The collection also includes works by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet (Rocks At Belle Isle), and Pablo Picasso. The museum also has a large collection of paintings by American painter Frank Duveneck (Elizabeth B. Duveneck).

The Cleveland Museum of Art is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, and has a permanent collection of more than 61,000 works from around the world.^[245] It is the fourth-wealthiest art museum in the United States.^[246]

The Columbus Museum of Art holds nineteenth and early twentieth-century American and European art, including early Cubist paintings by Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris, works by François Boucher, Paul Cézanne, Mary Cassatt, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Edward Hopper, and Norman Rockwell, and installations by Mel Chin, Josiah McElheny, Susan Philipsz, and Allan Sekula. Also in Columbus, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum collection includes 450,000 original cartoons, 36,000 books, 51,000 serial titles, and 3,000 feet (910 m) of manuscript materials, plus 2.5 million comic strip clippings and tear sheets, making it the largest research library for cartoon art.

Youngstown's Butler Institute of American Art was the first museum to be dedicated exclusively to American art.^[247]

Sports

Professional sports teams

Great American Ball Park, home to the Cincinnati Reds baseball team.

Ohio is home to eight professional sports teams across the five different major leagues in the United States. Current teams include the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball,^[248][249] the Columbus Crew SC and FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer,^[250] the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association,^[251] the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns of the National Football League,^[252] and the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.^[253]

Ohio has brought home seven World Series titles (Reds 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, 1990; Indians 1920, 1948), two MLS Cups (Crew 2008, 2020), one NBA Championship (Cavaliers 2016), and nine NFL Championships (Pros 1920; Bulldogs 1922, 1923, 1924; Rams 1945; Browns 1950, 1954, 1955, 1964). Despite this success in the NFL in the first half of the 20th century, no Ohio team has won the Super Bowl since its inception in 1967. No Ohio team has made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Ohio played a central role in the development of both Major League Baseball and the National Football League. Baseball's first fully professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869, were organized in Ohio.^[254] An informal early-20th-century American football association, the Ohio League, was the direct predecessor of the modern NFL, although neither of Ohio's modern NFL franchises trace their roots to an Ohio League club. The NFL itself was founded in Canton, Ohio in 1920 as the American Professional Football Conference.^[72] The first official game occurred on October 3, 1920, when the Dayton Triangles beat the Columbus Panhandles 14-0 in Dayton.^[73] Canton would later be enshrined as the home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963.^[74]

On a smaller scale, Ohio hosts minor league baseball, arena football, indoor football, mid-level hockey, and lower division soccer.

Individual sports

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has hosted several auto racing championships, including CART World Series, IndyCar Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, Can-Am, Formula 5000, IMSA GT Championship, American Le Mans Series and Rolex Sports Car Series. The Grand Prix of Cleveland also hosted CART races from 1982 to 2007. The Eldora Speedway is a major dirt oval that hosts NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and USAC Silver Crown Series races.

Ohio hosts two PGA Tour events, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and Memorial Tournament. The Cincinnati Masters is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 tennis tournament.

College sports

Ohio Stadium in Columbus, home to the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, is the fifth largest stadium in the world.

Ohio has eight NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football teams, divided among three different conferences. It has also experienced considerable success in the secondary and tertiary tiers of college football divisions.

There is only one program in the Power Five conferences, the Ohio State Buckeyes, who play in the Big Ten Conference. The football team is second in all-time winning percentage, with a 931–327–53 overall record and a 25–26 bowl record as of 2020. The program has produced seven Heisman Trophy winners, forty conference titles, and eight undisputed national championships. The men's basketball program has appeared in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 27 times.

In the Group of Five conferences, the Cincinnati Bearcats play as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Their men's basketball team has over 1,800 wins, 33 March Madness appearances, and is currently on a nine-year streak of appearances as of 2019. Six teams are represented in the Mid-American Conference: the Akron Zips, Bowling Green Falcons, Kent State Golden Flashes, Miami RedHawks, Ohio Bobcats and the Toledo Rockets. The MAC headquarters are in Cleveland. The Cincinnati–Miami rivalry game has been played in southwest Ohio every year since 1888 and is the oldest current non-conference NCAA football rivalry.

Other Division I schools, either part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision or not fielding in football include the Cleveland State Vikings, Xavier Musketeers, Wright State Raiders, and Youngstown State Penguins. Xavier's men's basketball has performed particularly well, with 27 March Madness appearances. Youngstown State's football has the third most NCAA Division I Football Championship wins, with 3.

There are 12 NCAA Division II universities and 22 NCAA Division III universities in Ohio.

Discover more about Culture related topics

Music of Ohio

Music of Ohio

Cleveland

Cleveland

Cleveland, officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in Northeast Ohio along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the U.S. maritime border with Canada and lies approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of Pennsylvania.

Disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs, club DJs, mobile DJs, and turntablists. Originally, the "disc" in "disc jockey" referred to shellac and later vinyl records, but nowadays DJ is used as an all-encompassing term to also describe persons who mix music from other recording media such as cassettes, CDs or digital audio files on a CDJ, controller, or even a laptop. DJs may adopt the title "DJ" in front of their real names, adopted pseudonyms, or stage names.

Alan Freed

Alan Freed

Albert James "Alan" Freed was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout North America.

Cincinnati

Cincinnati

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line with Kentucky. The city is the economic and cultural hub of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. With an estimated population of 2,256,884, it is Ohio's largest metropolitan area and the nation's 30th-largest, and with a city population of 309,317, Cincinnati is the third-largest city in Ohio and 65th in the United States. Throughout much of the 19th century, it was among the top 10 U.S. cities by population, surpassed only by New Orleans and the older, established settlements of the United States eastern seaboard, as well as being the sixth-most populous city from 1840 until 1860.

American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum

American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The American Classical Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a non-profit organization celebrating past and present individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to classical music—"people who have contributed to American music and music in America", according to Samuel Adler. The project was founded in 1996 by Cincinnati businessman and civic leader David A. Klingshirm and inducted its first honorees in 1998.

Mamie Smith

Mamie Smith

Mamie Smith was an American vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist, and actress. As a vaudeville singer she performed in multiple styles, including jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues history as the first African American artist to make vocal blues recordings. Willie "The Lion" Smith described the background of that recording in his autobiography, Music on My Mind (1964).

Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Dean Martin was an American singer, actor, and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool." Martin gained his career breakthrough together with comedian Jerry Lewis, billed as Martin and Lewis, in 1946. They performed in nightclubs and later had numerous appearances on radio, television and in films.

Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl

David Eric Grohl is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of grunge band Nirvana from 1990 to 1994.

Josh Dun

Josh Dun

Joshua William Dun is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside Tyler Joseph. He has collaborated with a variety of other artists as well.

Frankie Yankovic

Frankie Yankovic

Frank John Yankovic was an American accordion player and polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King", Yankovic was considered the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during his long career. He was not related to fellow accordionist and song parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic, although the two collaborated.

Doris Day

Doris Day

Doris Day was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey" and "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" with Les Brown & His Band of Renown. She left Brown to embark on a solo career and recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967.