Lancaster, Ohio

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Lancaster is a city located in Fairfield County, Ohio. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 35,335. It is located near the Hocking River, approximately 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Columbus, Ohio. It is the county seat of Fairfield CountyTemplate:GR. The current mayor of Lancaster is Republican David S. Smith, who took office in January 2004 serving a four year term.

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History

The earliest known inhabitants of the southeastern and central Ohio region are the Hopewell, Adena, and Fort Ancient Native Americans, of whom little evidence today exists beyond the extravagant burial mounds these peoples left scattered around Ohio, and the archaeological artifacts left therein. (see also: Serpent Mound, Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, which though not located in Fairfield County proper, are very close by.)

Prior to and immediately after European settlement, the land today comprising Lancaster and Fairfield County, Ohio, was inhabited variously by the Shawnee, Iroquois, Wyandot, and other Native American tribes. (see also: Beaver Wars) The lands surrounding Lancaster and Fairfield County in this region of Ohio were inhabited earlier in prehistory by the Hopewell peoples.

Having been ceded to the United States by Great Britain after the American Revolution by the Treaty of Paris, the lands north of the Ohio River and west of the Appalachian Mountains became, in 1784, incorporated into the Northwest Territory. As white settlers (illegally) began to encroach on their ancestral lands in the Ohio Territory, and as the nascent government of the United States began to cast its eye westward, the stage was set for the series of campaigns that culminated in the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794, and the Treaty of Greenville in 1796. With settlement within Ohio now legal, and safe from Indian raids, land speculation began in earnest.

Knowing that such speculation, combined with Congressional grants of land sections to veterans of the Revolution, could result in a lucrative opportunity, Ebenezer Zane in 1795 petitioned the US Congress to grant him a contract to blaze a trail through Ohio, from Wheeling, West Virginia, to Limestone, Kentucky, (near modern Maysville, Kentucky) a distance of 266 miles. As part of the deal, Zane was awarded square-mile tracts of land at the points where his trace crossed the Hocking, Muskingum, and Scioto rivers. Zane's Trace, as it has become known, was completed by 1797, and as Zane's sons began to carve the square mile tract astride the Hocking into saleable plots, the city of Lancaster formally came into being in 1800, thus predating the formal establishment of the State of Ohio itself by three years.

The initial settlers were predominantly of German stock, and emigrated from Pennsylvania. Ohio's longest continuously operating newspaper, the Lancaster Eagle Gazette, was born of a merger of the early Der Ohio Adler with the Ohio Gazette in 1807.

Initially known as New Lancaster, and later shortened by city ordinance (1805), the town quickly grew; formal incorporation as a city came in 1831; the connection of the Hocking Canal to the Ohio and Erie Canal in this era provided a convenient way for the region's rich agricultural produce to reach eastern markets.

Modern Lancaster is distinguished by a rich blend of 19th century architecture, (Best evidenced in historic Square 13, part of Zane's original plot), with natural beauty, (Best evidenced by the famous Standing Stone, today known as Mount Pleasant.) with all the typical modern accoutrements of a small-medium sized American city.

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Notable Natives and Residents

Lancaster is the birthplace and/or hometown of:

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Society and Culture

  • Lancaster is home to the Lancaster campus of Ohio University, offering a variety of two and four year baccalaureate degrees, and several master's programs.
  • Lancaster is home to the Lancaster Festival, an 11-day arts and music festival.
  • Lancaster hosts two notable events sponsored annually by the Fairfield Heritage Association: the Pilgrimage Tour of Homes in which visitors can tour several of the area's historic houses, and the Christmas Candlelight Tour wherein downtown Lancaster's historic churches open their doors to the touring public.
  • Each October the Fairfield County Fair takes place at Lancaster's beautiful fairgrounds, in the shadow of Mount Pleasant. The Fair is the last county fair of the year in Ohio, and also one of Ohio's oldest.
  • In 1947 Lancaster was the first community in Ohio to act as the setting for a feature length Hollywood movie involving the principal cast (20th Century Fox's Green Grass of Wyoming).
  • Lancaster is home to both the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio and the Ohio Glass Museum, both located within the downtown area.
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Industry

Lancaster, like many Rust Belt cities, saw a dimunution of its industrial capacity during the 1980's. Industry in Lancaster includes:

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Geography

Lancaster is located at 39°43'9" North, 82°36'19" West (39.719297, -82.605293)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.8 km² (18.1 mi²). 46.8 km² (18.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.06% is water.

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Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 35,335 people, 14,852 households, and 9,564 families residing in the city. The population density was 755.0/km² (1,955.9/mi²). There were 15,891 housing units at an average density of 339.5/km² (879.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.38% White, 0.61% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 0.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 14,852 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,321, and the median income for a family was $39,773. Males had a median income of $30,462 versus $23,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,648. 10.6% of the population and 8.7% of families were below the poverty line. 14.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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External links

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