Lorain County, Ohio
Lorain County, Ohio | |||
---|---|---|---|
Old county building in Elyria | |||
| |||
Location in the U.S. state of Ohio | |||
Ohio's location in the U.S. | |||
Founded | April 1, 1824 | ||
Named for | Lorraine in France[1] | ||
Seat | Elyria | ||
Largest city | Lorain | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 923 sq mi (2,391 km2) | ||
• Land | 491 sq mi (1,272 km2) | ||
• Water | 432 sq mi (1,119 km2), 47% | ||
Population | |||
• (2010) | 301,356 | ||
• Density | 614/sq mi (237/km2) | ||
Congressional districts | 4th, 7th, 9th | ||
Website | www.loraincounty.us |
Lorain County is a county in northeastern Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 301,356.[2] Its county seat is Elyria.[3] The county was created in 1822 and later organized in 1824.[4]
Lorain County is part of the Cleveland-Elyria, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The county is also home to Amherst, with its sandstone quarries, and Oberlin College, in Oberlin.
Contents
1 History
2 Geography
2.1 Adjacent counties
2.2 Major highways
3 Demographics
4 Politics
5 Education
5.1 Higher education
5.2 Public school districts
5.3 Private high schools
6 Communities
6.1 Cities
6.2 Villages
6.3 Townships
6.4 Census-designated places
6.5 Other communities
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
History
Lorain County was established in 1822, from portions of several of its adjacent counties. This county became judicially-independent in 1824. The original proposed name for the county was "Colerain".[5] (and therefore, the final name "Lorain" seems to have no true intended connection to the Alsace-Lorraine area of France, as theorized by later historians).
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 923 square miles (2,390 km2), of which 491 square miles (1,270 km2) is land and 432 square miles (1,120 km2) (47%) is water.[6] It is the fourth-largest county in Ohio by total area.
Adjacent counties
Cuyahoga County (east)
Medina County (southeast)
Ashland County (south)
Huron County (southwest)
Erie County (northwest)
Major highways
Interstate 80 (Ohio Turnpike)
Interstate 90 (Ohio Turnpike)
Interstate 480
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 20
State Route 2
State Route 10
State Route 18
State Route 57
State Route 58
Ohio Route 82
Ohio Route 83
State Route 113
Ohio Route 162
Ohio Route 254
Ohio Route 301
Ohio Route 303
Ohio Route 511
Ohio Route 611
Demographics
Historical population | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1830 | 5,696 | — | |
1840 | 18,467 | 224.2% | |
1850 | 26,086 | 41.3% | |
1860 | 29,744 | 14.0% | |
1870 | 30,308 | 1.9% | |
1880 | 35,526 | 17.2% | |
1890 | 40,295 | 13.4% | |
1900 | 54,857 | 36.1% | |
1910 | 76,037 | 38.6% | |
1920 | 90,612 | 19.2% | |
1930 | 109,206 | 20.5% | |
1940 | 112,390 | 2.9% | |
1950 | 148,162 | 31.8% | |
1960 | 217,500 | 46.8% | |
1970 | 256,843 | 18.1% | |
1980 | 274,909 | 7.0% | |
1990 | 271,126 | −1.4% | |
2000 | 284,664 | 5.0% | |
2010 | 301,356 | 5.9% | |
Est. 2017 | 307,324 | [7] | 2.0% |
U.S. Decennial Census[8] 1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10] 1990-2000[11] 2010-2017[2] |
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 301,356 people, 116,274 households, and 80,077 families residing in the county.[12] The population density was 613.6 inhabitants per square mile (236.9/km2). There were 127,036 housing units at an average density of 258.7 per square mile (99.9/km2).[13] The racial makeup of the county was 84.8% white, 8.6% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 2.5% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 8.4% of the population.[12] In terms of ancestry, 26.5% were German, 16.7% were Irish, 10.9% were English, 8.4% were Polish, 8.2% were Italian, 6.2% were American, and 5.2% were Hungarian.[14]
Of the 116,274 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 13.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 31.1% were non-families, and 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 40.0 years.[12]
The median income for a household in the county was $52,066 and the median income for a family was $62,082. Males had a median income of $49,146 versus $35,334 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,002. About 10.3% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.[15]
Politics
Like most of northeastern Ohio, Lorain County leans Democratic. It has voted for the Democratic candidate for president in 12 of the last 15 elections. In 2016, however, the county was almost swept up in the unexpected Republican surge in the Rust Belt; Donald Trump came within 131 votes of being the first Republican to capture the county since Ronald Reagan in 1984.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third parties |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | 47.5% 66,818 | 47.6% 66,949 | 4.8% 6,795 |
2012 | 41.5% 59,405 | 56.9% 81,464 | 1.7% 2,384 |
2008 | 40.2% 59,068 | 58.1% 85,276 | 1.7% 2,515 |
2004 | 43.5% 61,203 | 56.1% 78,970 | 0.4% 569 |
2000 | 42.8% 47,957 | 53.3% 59,809 | 3.9% 4,414 |
1996 | 32.8% 34,937 | 52.4% 55,744 | 14.8% 15,764 |
1992 | 31.0% 36,803 | 43.0% 50,962 | 26.0% 30,840 |
1988 | 47.1% 50,410 | 52.0% 55,600 | 0.9% 916 |
1984 | 50.8% 57,379 | 46.9% 52,970 | 2.4% 2,672 |
1980 | 49.5% 51,034 | 39.7% 40,919 | 10.8% 11,131 |
1976 | 41.7% 39,459 | 55.3% 52,387 | 3.0% 2,865 |
1972 | 56.2% 51,102 | 40.3% 36,634 | 3.6% 3,280 |
1968 | 40.0% 34,252 | 49.7% 42,642 | 10.3% 8,833 |
1964 | 32.4% 26,683 | 67.6% 55,755 | |
1960 | 47.5% 39,361 | 52.5% 43,487 | |
1956 | 60.1% 40,340 | 39.9% 26,774 | |
1952 | 56.4% 33,825 | 43.6% 26,194 | |
1948 | 49.5% 21,616 | 49.0% 21,397 | 1.4% 625 |
1944 | 48.6% 23,866 | 51.4% 25,254 | |
1940 | 47.6% 23,422 | 52.5% 25,831 | |
1936 | 37.3% 15,906 | 57.2% 24,393 | 5.5% 2,357 |
1932 | 51.0% 20,897 | 45.8% 18,753 | 3.2% 1,321 |
1928 | 63.8% 24,386 | 35.6% 13,607 | 0.6% 212 |
1924 | 61.4% 17,062 | 14.3% 3,965 | 24.3% 6,747 |
1920 | 65.8% 18,125 | 31.4% 8,640 | 2.8% 764 |
1916 | 45.7% 6,868 | 50.9% 7,658 | 3.4% 516 |
1912 | 16.3% 2,226 | 33.7% 4,591 | 50.0% 6,804 |
1908 | 57.1% 8,699 | 35.8% 5,460 | 7.1% 1,076 |
1904 | 70.2% 9,001 | 21.0% 2,700 | 8.8% 1,129 |
1900 | 61.9% 8,497 | 36.4% 4,989 | 1.7% 235 |
1896 | 63.3% 7,801 | 35.4% 4,367 | 1.3% 159 |
1892 | 56.6% 5,434 | 38.3% 3,674 | 5.1% 492 |
1888 | 57.3% 5,235 | 36.3% 3,311 | 6.4% 587 |
1884 | 60.3% 5,478 | 35.2% 3,199 | 4.5% 408 |
1880 | 66.3% 5,609 | 32.5% 2,752 | 1.2% 105 |
1876 | 65.3% 5,187 | 34.2% 2,720 | 0.5% 39 |
1872 | 67.7% 4,432 | 32.0% 2,097 | 0.3% 17 |
Education
Higher education
Lorain County Community College, Elyria
Oberlin College, Oberlin
Public school districts
There are 20 public school districts in Lorain County. Those primarily in Lorain County are listed in bold. Each district's high school(s) and location is also listed.
Amherst Exempted Village School District
Amherst Marion L. Steele High School, Amherst
Avon Local School District
Avon High School, Avon
Avon Lake City School District
Avon Lake High School, Avon Lake
Black River Local School District (also in Medina Co and Ashland Co.)
- Black River High School, Sullivan
Clearview Local School District
- Clearview High School, Lorain
Columbia Local School District
- Columbia High School, Columbia Station
Elyria City School District
Elyria High School, Elyria
Firelands Local School District (also in Erie Co.)
- Firelands High School, Henrietta Twp (Oberlin)
Keystone Local School District
- Keystone High School, LaGrange
Lorain City School District
Lorain High School, Lorain
Mapleton Local School District (Primarily in Ashland Co.)
- Mapleton High School, Ashland
Midview Local School District
- Midview High School, Eaton Twp (Grafton)
New London Local School District (primarily in Huron Co.)
- New London High School, New London
North Ridgeville City School District
North Ridgeville High School, North Ridgeville
Oberlin City School District
- Oberlin High School, Oberlin
Olmsted Falls City Schools (primarily in Cuyahoga Co.)
- Olmsted Falls High School, Olmsted Falls
Sheffield-Sheffield Lake City School District
- Brookside High School, Sheffield
Strongsville City School District (primarily in Cuyahoga Co.)
- Strongsville High School, Strongsville
Vermilion Local Schools (primarily in Erie Co.)
- Vermilion High School, Vermilion
Wellington Exempted Village School District (also in Huron Co.)
- Wellington High School, Wellington
The county also includes the Lorain County Joint Vocational School District, which encompasses the entire county and serves students from the Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, Clearview, Columbia, Elyria, Firelands, Keystone, Midview, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Sheffield-Sheffield Lake and Wellington school districts from a 10-acre campus on a 100-acre site near the intersection of State Route 58 and U.S. Route 20 in Oberlin.[17]
Private high schools
Elyria Catholic High School, Elyria
Lake Ridge Academy, North Ridgeville
Open Door Christian School, Elyria
Christian Community School, North Eaton
First Baptist Christian School, Elyria
Communities
Cities
- Amherst
- Avon
- Avon Lake
Elyria (county seat)- Lorain
- North Ridgeville
- Oberlin
- Sheffield Lake
- Vermilion
Villages
- Grafton
- Kipton
- LaGrange
- Rochester
- Sheffield
- South Amherst
- Wellington
Townships
- Amherst
- Brighton
- Brownhelm
- Camden
- Carlisle
- Columbia
- Eaton
- Elyria
- Grafton
- Henrietta
- Huntington
- LaGrange
- New Russia
- Penfield
- Pittsfield
- Rochester
- Sheffield
- Wellington
https://web.archive.org/web/20160715023447/http://www.ohiotownships.org/township-websites
Census-designated places
- Eaton Estates
- Pheasant Run
Other communities
- Belden
- Brentwood Lake
- Brighton
- Brownhelm
- Brownhelm Station
- Columbia Hills Corners
- Columbia Station
- Henrietta
- Huntington
- North Eaton
- Penfield
- Pittsfield
- Whiskyville
See also
- Black River Colony
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lorain County, Ohio
- USS Lorain County (LST-1177)
References
^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 190..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ ab "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
^ "Ohio: Individual County Chronologies". Ohio Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
^ Sandusky Register (newspaper); Sandusky, Ohio, 1822
^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
^ abc "DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
^ "Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
^ "DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
^ "DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS – 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
^ JVS. "Lorain County JVS - About the Lorain County JVS". www.lcjvs.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
External links
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Lorain County. |
- Lorain County Government's website
- Lorain County Sheriff's Office
- Lorain County Historical Society's website
- Lorain County History Project
- LorainCounty.com
Coordinates: 41°28′N 82°09′W / 41.47°N 82.15°W / 41.47; -82.15