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Ironton, Ohio

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Ironton, Ohio as viewed from the Ohio River shore in Russell, Kentucky.
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Ironton, Ohio as viewed from the Ohio River shore in Russell, Kentucky.

Ironton is a city in Lawrence County, Ohio, along the Ohio River. The population was 11,211 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lawrence County[Geographic references#6GR6]. Ironton is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649.

Contents

Early History

Ironton was founded in 1849 by John Campbell, a farm boy from Georgetown, Ohio. Campbell became interested in the land that would become the city of Ironton due to his foundry business. The location of Ironton was chosen for its position on the river and the slope of the land itself. The slope of the land made movement of raw iron ore to the furnaces easier and the river allowed transport of the final product.

Underground Railroad

Ironton has been credited as being part of the Underground railroad that helped runaway slaves flee the South. Both the founder of the City (John Campbell) and other city notables helped hide slaves in their homes.

King of Iron 1850 to 1900

Between 1850 and 1890 Ironton was one of the foremost producers of iron in the world. England, France, and Russia all purchased iron for warships from here due to the quality. At one time some of the most opulent homes in the Midwest were located here. This was due to the great wealth that was generated by the "ironmasters". As many as 90 furnaces were in operation at the peak of production sometime in the late 19th century. With wealth came many new residents and new industries such as soap and nail production. Ironton even had a railroad named after it. The DT&I (Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad) operated between Detroit and Ironton. The city had as many as four daily newspapers and a few foreign language publications. Ironton also became known for its lax attitude towards sin and vice. Ironton was home to a racetrack, many saloons and brothels, and even the occasional Broadway show down from New York. Ironton often became the destination of choice to those in the area for recreation and quick and quiet marriages. It could be said that Ironton was a 19th century Las Vegas, although the city did not contain any legalized gambling.

Downward Spiral 1900 to 1920

The downfall of Ironton came as the market for iron changed. The quality of the iron that had once made Ironton one of the leading producers of pig iron was no longer considered as desirable. All of the easily accessible iron (close to the surface) had been mined by 1899 and at this point the continued production costs began to outweigh the benefit. Also, the nation was making the transition from a demand of iron to steel. After a nationwide economic recession\depression in the late 19th century Ironton was no longer growing. The great depression of the late 1920s and two major floods (1917, 1937) devastated the city to the point that most if not all the city's industries had closed down for good.

Life without Iron 1930 to Present

As the Iron Industries closed Ironton had little with which to replace them. A labor oriented town Ironton managed to keep alive by trying to attract heavy industry to the region. Companies like Allied Signal and Alpha Portland Cement did build in town but the boom days were now over. The continued dependency on labor industries has severely hurt the region as a whole but Ironton even more so. By 2004 both Alpha portland and Allied Signal were gone and Ironton had shrunk to the point where there were fewer people living in the whole county than had lived in the city of Ironton 110 years before.

Ironton's Military History

Civil war

The 91st Ohio was organized in Ironton on 8/26/1862 Company H was made up of men from Lawrence County. The unit would take part in 2 battles in the war the battle of Winchester and Cedar Creek. In the war the 91st Ohio would lose around 150 men of those 2 were officers.

Three Medal of Honor recipents from the Civil War either were born or lived in Ironton at one time.

(Captured in battle the flag of the 6th NC Infantry)

(Captured battle flag at Nashville TN 12/16/1864)

(Led 20 men and captured enemy encampement of 500 without loss of life on 11/26/1862)

World War I

William C. Lambert achieved the second highest air victory totals for an American ace in the war with 21.

The Ironton Tanks

From ohiohistorycentral.org:

"The Ironton Tanks was a semi-professional football team from Ironton, Ohio. Former football players from Ironton High School organized the team in 1919. The Ironton Tanks played its home games in Beechwood Park. The team’s games sometimes attracted crowds as large as 1,500 people, and eventually, grandstands were built to accommodate the spectators. The Tanks’ uniforms, consisting of red jerseys and khaki pants, earned the team the nickname the “Big Red Machine.”

During the early 1920s, the Ironton Tanks emerged as a football powerhouse. Between 1920 and 1926, the team won sixty-one, lost four, and tied eight games. By the late 1920s, the Tanks routinely played exhibition games against National Football League teams, including the Portsmouth Spartans, the New York Giants, and the Chicago Bears. Although not always victorious, the Tanks defeated each of these teams during this period. The 1930 season saw the end of the Ironton Tanks. The Great Depression caused the team to collapse due to a lack of funds."

Notable places

Lawrence County Museum

Briggs Library

Tanks Memorial Stadium

Current events and happenings

Home of "Rally on the River", a bikers event

Memorial Day Parade-continuous since 1869(reputedly longest running in nation)

Ironmaster Days

Notable Residents

Geography

Location of Ironton, Ohio

Ironton is located at [38°31′51″N, 82°40′42″W] (38.530720, -82.678309)[Geographic references#1GR1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.4 km² (4.4 mi²). 10.7 km² (4.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (5.91%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 11,211 people, 4,906 households, and 3,022 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,048.1/km² (2,711.3/mi²). There were 5,507 housing units at an average density of 514.8/km² (1,331.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.33% White, 5.24% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.09% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population.

There were 4,906 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,585, and the median income for a family was $35,014. Males had a median income of $31,702 versus $24,190 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,391. About 17.2% of families and 23.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.4% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Ohio University Southern Campus is located in Ironton.

See also

External links

 

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