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Wooster, Ohio

Encyclopedia : W : WO : WOO : Wooster, Ohio

Wayne County courthouse in downtown Wooster
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Wayne County courthouse in downtown Wooster

Wooster (IPA [wʊstɚ]) first syllable pronounced "puss--like the cat--with a w" is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States. Located in eastern Ohio approximately 50 mi (80 km) SSW of Cleveland, Wooster is noted as the location of The College of Wooster. The population was 24,811 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County[Geographic references#6GR6].

Wooster is the birthplace of physics Nobel Prize winner and chancellor of Washington University Arthur Compton and his brother physicist and president of MIT Karl Taylor Compton.

Contents

Geography

thumbLocation of Wooster, Ohio

Wooster is located at [40°48′33″N, 81°56′14″W] (40.809301, -81.937258)[Geographic references#1GR1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.3 km² (14.4 mi²). 37.2 km² (14.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.14%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 24,811 people, 10,040 households, and 6,174 families residing in the city. The population density was 666.6/km² (1,726.1/mi²). There were 10,674 housing units at an average density of 286.8/km² (742.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.59% White, 3.82% African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.54% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.

There were 10,040 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,400, and the median income for a family was $47,118. Males had a median income of $34,021 versus $23,608 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,505. About 7.8% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Architectural telamon (or atlas) on the courthouse entrance.
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Architectural telamon (or atlas) on the courthouse entrance.

Mayor and council

As of 2006, the city is governed by an elected mayor, Jamie Howey, a Republican in his third term as mayor. There is a seven-member City Council: Mindy Cavin (D-1st Ward), Keith Topovski (D-2nd Ward), David Silvestri (R-3rd Ward), Jeff Griffin (R-4th Ward), and at-large members Jon Ulbright (D), Jon Ansel (R) and Bob Breneman (R). Meetings are presided over by City Council President Judy Mitten (R), who is elected at-large.

Elected representatives

As of 2006, the city is represented in the state House of Representatives by [Jim Carmichael] (R); in the state Senate by [Ron Amstutz] (R); and in the U.S. House of Representatives by [Ralph Regula] (R). Both Carmichael and Amstutz are from Wooster.

Newspapers

The city has a daily newspaper, [The Daily Record], published by Dix Communications/Wooster Republican Printing Co., and a weekly paper, The Wooster Weekly News, published by [Graphic Publications Inc.] [The Akron Beacon Journal] occasionally covers the city and Wayne County.

Major Industries

Wooster is the home of a number of major industries. For example, Rubbermaid made its corporate headquarters in Wooster until the end of the 20th Century. Wooster Brush [link] and Wooster Motor Ways [link] have corporate headquarters located in Wooster. The The J.M. Smucker Co., while technically in nearby Orrville, Ohio began, in part, in Wooster when Jerome Monre Smucker, the company founder, worked with and eventually acquired the Wooster-based Warner Pickle Company in late-1800s/early-1900s.

For its size, Wooster is also dedicated to the "industry of education." It is common folklore that, with both The College of Wooster and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (a teaching and research facility dedicated to agricultural science, subsidiary of The Ohio State University), there were more Ph.D.'s per capita in Wooster than anywhere else in Ohio.

In addition to these industries, Wooster remains an agricultural center for Ohio. The OARDC enriches the local farms with knowledge and expertise, which is proudly displayed at the annual Wayne County Fair, held each September (see also Fair). Students in Wooster and surrounding rural communities continue to enroll in youth farming programs such as 4-H and National FFA Organization. Many traditional Amish farmers come to Wooster by horse-and-buggy for commerce as well, including nearby Lehman's Hardware store [link], which provides electricity-free tools and appliances. Lehman's garnered international attention at the turn of the 20th century, during which there was a prevalent scare of what might happen to the electrical infrastructure of the nation when computers transitioned from 1999 to 2000. (See Y2K for more.)

Points of interest

People of interest

The following individuals were born in, raised in, lived in, or currently live in Wooster, Ohio. This is a selective, non-exhaustive list. Some may appear in multiple categories.

Arts

Athletes Business & Industry Law & Politics Literature, Letters, Writing Military Religion Sciences

External links

 

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