Iberia is a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 in western Washington Township

Washington Township, Morrow County, Ohio

Washington Township is one of the sixteen townships of Morrow County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,227 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...

, Morrow County

Morrow County, Ohio

Morrow County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Shawnee people used the area for hunting purposes before white settlers arrived in the early 19th century. Morrow County was organized in 1848 from parts of four neighboring counties and named for Jeremiah Morrow, Governor of...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The community is served by the Northmor Local School District which operates Iberia Elementary School in the community. Iberia is near to Galion

Galion, Ohio

Settlers arrived in the area as early as 1817. The location was at the crossroads of a north-south road from Columbus to Portland , and the east-west route that later became the Lincoln Highway and subsequently the Harding Highway....

, and Martel

Martel, Ohio

Martel is an unincorporated community in central Tully Township, Marion County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it had a post office, with the ZIP code of 43335. After its post office was closed, the community was made part of the Caledonia ZIP code area.-References:...

. The ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 assigned to Iberia by the United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

 is 43325. The current population of Iberia is less than 200 as of the 2000 census. Iberia is northwest of Mount Gilead

Mount Gilead, Ohio

Mount Gilead is a village in Morrow County, Ohio, United States.Mount Gilead's population was 3,290 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morrow County and the center of population of Ohio. The village was established in 1832, eight years after white settlers arrived in the region...

, the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

.

Geography

Iberia is located in Central Ohio at 40°67'034" North, 82°84'357" West (40.67034, -82.84357), at the junction of State Route 309 and Morrow County Road 30.

History

Iberia was founded in 1827 and plated in 1832 by Frederick Meyers and Samuel Foster. The name of the community was suggested by Robert Rowland who was visiting family members that had settled in the area. On modern maps, the town is located at the junction of State Route 309 and Morrow County Road 30.

Iberia was once the home of Iberia College, later Ohio Central College

Ohio Central College

Ohio Central College was a college located in Iberia, Ohio in northwestern Morrow County, Ohio during the second half of the 19th Century. Open to both genders and all races, the college was founded by the Presbyterian Church and led by the Rev. George Gordon, a strong abolitionist. It counts...

, a Presbyterian Church affiliated institution of higher learning. The college is most closely aligned with its most notable graduate, Warren G. Harding

Warren G. Harding

Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...

, the 29th President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

. Following the cessation of classes, the records and alumni of Ohio Central College were assumed by Muskingum College

Muskingum College

Muskingum University is a private four-year comprehensive college with a strong liberal arts tradition located in New Concord, Ohio, approximately sixty miles east of the state capital of Columbus. Founded in 1837, Muskingum University is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church , although since the...

 of New Concord, Ohio

New Concord, Ohio

New Concord is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,651 at the 2000 census. New Concord is the home of Muskingum University and is served by a branch of the Muskingum County Library System.-Geography:...

.

Another man affiliated with Iberia College was its first president, the Rev. George A. Gordon, an abolitionist and local Presbyterian minister who refused a presidential pardon granted by Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

. The minister had been convicted for violating the Fugitive Slave Law. He died in 1868 and was buried in Iberia Cemetery. His actions were but a part of the operations of the Underground Railroad

Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...

, along which Iberia was a significant host to several "stations".

Iberia's greatest period of growth occurred at turn of the 20th Century when the community served as a farm community center. For a short period in the 1920s, the town was located along the "Marion" spur of the Lincoln Highway

Lincoln Highway

The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...

.