WADSWORTH, OHIO

'Wadsworth' is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1814, it was named after General Elijah Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War hero. The population was 18,437 at the 2000 census.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Life in Wadsworth

Education

Blue Tip Festival

References

External links

Geography

Wadsworth is located at 41°1'40" North, 81°43'47" West (41.027867, -81.729768).
The closest large cities are Cleveland and Akron.

Demographics

In the census of 2000, there were 18,437 people, 7,276 households, and 5,144 families residing in the city. The population density was 749.3/km² (1,940.5/mi²). There were 7,613 housing units at an average density of 309.4/km² (801.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.85% White, 0.39% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.71% from two or more races. 0.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There ware 7,276 households out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.3% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $48,605, and the median income for a family was $58,850. Males had a median income of $41,626 versus $25,805 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,859. 5.4% of the population and 4.2% of families were below the poverty line, including 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older.

Life in Wadsworth

Wadsworth mostly middle class Midwestern suburb that is steadily becoming more and more commercialized. The town's commercial centers are called Great Oaks, which is located on the north side of town (exit 9 on I-76), and Wadsworth Crossings, located to the east of town on State Route 261 at exit 11 on I-76. Long time establishments in this area are Domino's Pizza, K-Mart, Giant Eagle, Wendy's, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Burger King, the Buehler's grocery store, the Great Oaks Movie Theater, and the Great Oaks Lanes bowling alley. In October of 2004, Wal-Mart opened a location across the street from Great Oaks, and Home Depot followed suit a few months later. Great controversy arose between the City Council and the area's older residents, who argued vehemently against big-box retailers. The younger and family populations of Wadsworth and the surrounding communities, however, flocked to Wal-Mart soon after its opening.
Even more controversy over expansion occurred over Wadsworth's annexing of land near State Route 261. The same people who opposed Wal-Mart came out to oppose turning Wadsworth into "another Medina." Current plans for Wadsworth Crossings consist of Lowes (now open), Target (now open), Kohls (now open), three additional large retail stores connecting Target and Kohls (Shoe Carnival, Office Max, and Bed Bath & Beyond), and additional stores, resturaunts, and banks. The previous plan of nine resturaunts has now been changed to four. A Starbucks Coffee is located inside the Target store. Construction has begun behind Wadsworth Crossings for Stratford Crossings apartments.
The city of Wadsworth operates with the Wadsworth Police Department and the Wadsworth Fire Department, for public safety needs. The Police Department is staffed with a minimum of 3 officers 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The Fire Department is also staffed with firefighter/medics 24 hours a day 7 days a week as well.

Education

Wadsworth High School, along with the rest of the school system, continues to be an important part of the community. In fact, the school system is the single largest employer in the whole city. That being true, the system is well funded, recording a 1.2 million dollar profit during the 2006-2007 school year. However, it is because of this that there was much oppisition to the recent sales tax increase for all of Medina County.
Wadsworth High School and Wadsworth Middle School are members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The high school mascot is the Grizzly and the middle school mascot is the Bear Cub. The 2006 high school girls basketball team made their first trip to Columbus since 1997 to battle the Solon Comets for a bid for the state title.

Blue Tip Festival

The Blue Tip Festival is an annual event named for the Blue Tip matches that were produced in Wadsworth.^[1]

References

1. Blue Tip Festival History, Blue Tip Festival, 2007. Accessed 2007-09-01.

External links

★ History of Wadsworth

★ Downtown Wadsworth

★ The Medina County Community Advocate

★ The Official City of Wadsworth Web Site

★ Wadsworth City Schools

★ Wadsworth Public Library