Willard, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Willard is a city in Huron County
Huron County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 59,487 people, 22,307 households, and 16,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 121 people per square mile . There were 23,594 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile...

, 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...

. As of the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

, the city population was 6,806. Willard is served by the Willard Memorial Library.

Geography

Willard is located at 41°3′17"N 82°43′41"W (41.054649, -82.727982).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), of which, 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.86%) is water.

To the south of Willard are located the unincorporated communities
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 of Celeryville
Celeryville, Ohio
Celeryville is a census-designated place on the boundary between the New Haven and Richmond Townships of Huron County, Ohio, United States. Celeryville is located approximately one mile south of Willard, and the community relies on Willard's social services....

 and New Haven
New Haven, Ohio
New Haven is a census-designated place in central New Haven Township, Huron County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 44850. It lies at the intersection of U.S...

, plus the planned development of Holiday Lakes to the north.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 6,806 people, 2,545 households, and 1,738 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,963.0 people per square mile (757.3/km²). There were 2,715 housing units at an average density of 783.1 per square mile (302.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.32% White, 1.54% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 6.11% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.47% of the population.

There were 2,545 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,911, and the median income for a family was $35,271. Males had a median income of $30,377 versus $22,702 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $13,942. About 12.7% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.9% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

History

The original name of Willard was Chicago Junction, named for the junction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

's line to Sandusky
Sandusky, Ohio
Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....

 (the Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark Railroad) and the branch west to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 (the Baltimore and Ohio and Chicago Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio and Chicago Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio and Chicago Railroad was a subsidiary of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that owned the line from Willard, Ohio to Chicago, Illinois.-History:...

). Later the Akron and Chicago Junction Railroad was built east from the junction, providing a more direct route between the Northeast and Chicago. Chicago Junction was being confused by passengers for Chicago, so in 1917 the town changed its name to Willard, after the president of the B&O, Daniel Willard
Daniel Willard
Daniel Willard was a railroad executive best known as the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1910 to 1941. He served on or headed several government railroad commissions in World War I and appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1932 due to his part in negotiating wage cuts in the...

.

Economy

Several key businesses have a presence in Willard, they include: the Willard rail yard of CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

, Midwest Industries, RR Donnelley, Pepperidge Farm
Pepperidge Farm
Pepperidge Farm is a commercial bakery in the U.S. founded in 1937 by Margaret Rudkin, who named the brand after her family's property in Fairfield, Connecticut, which in turn was named for the pepperidge tree, Nyssa sylvatica. Since 1961, the company has been owned by the Campbell Soup Company...

, and Mercy Willard Hospital. Farmland surrounds the community, with the primary crops being corn, soybeans, wheat, onions, and radishes.

Notable natives

  • Charlie Frye
    Charlie Frye
    Charles Frye, , is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Akron.-Early years:...

    , American football quarterback of the NFL
  • Sean Swarner
    Sean Swarner
    Sean Swarner was the recipient of the Don't Ever Give Up Award presented by the Jimmy V Foundation and ESPN in 2007. He is a two-time cancer survivor who was first diagnosed at age 13 with Hodgkin's Disease and later with Askin's sarcoma...

    , first cancer survivor to complete the Seven Summits
    Seven Summits
    The Seven Summits are the highest mountains of each of the seven continents. Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such and achieved on April 30, 1985 by Richard Bass .-Definition:...

    . Author of Keep Climbing.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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