Tiffin, Ohio

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Tiffin, Ohio
Location of Tiffin, Ohio
Location of Tiffin, Ohio
Coordinates: 41°7′1″N 83°10′44″W / 41.11694, -83.17889
Country United States
State Ohio
County Seneca
Government
 - Mayor James Boroff
Area
 - Total 6.6 sq mi (17.2 km²)
 - Land 6.5 sq mi (16.8 km²)
 - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.4 km²)
Elevation [1] 745 ft (227 m)
Population (2000)
 - Total 18,135
 - Density 2,792.4/sq mi (1,078.1/km²)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 44883
Area code(s) 419, 567
FIPS code 39-76778[2]
GNIS feature ID 1058075[1]

Tiffin is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Seneca County.[3] The population was 18,135 at the 2000 census.

It is the home of Heidelberg College and Tiffin University. At one time it was noted as a glass and porcelain manufacturing center.

The current mayor is James Boroff.

Contents

[edit] History

The history of Tiffin dates back to 1812. The familiar bronze statue of THE INDIAN MAIDEN standing on Frost Parkway, near Miami Street, marks the site of Fort Ball, which was a military depot of the war of 1812.

Fighting an engagement of that war, Eratus Bowe first sighted the location upon which Tiffin now stands. In 1817, he returned to the site and built his Pan Yan Tavern, which later became a stagecoach stop, on the north bank of the Sandusky River.

Early homesteaders followed soon after Bowe, and the settlement of Oakley sprang up around the Pan Yan. The main traveled road of the area followed the path of the stagecoaches through Oakley, called Fort Ball after 1824.

In 1820, Josiah Hedges purchased a piece of land on the south bank of the river opposite Oakley and founded another settlement. He named this village “Tiffin” in honor of Edward Tiffin, first governor of Ohio and later member of the United States Senate, and a man who had fought long and brilliantly to finally win statehood for the Ohio Territory in 1803. Tiffin was incorporated by an act of the Ohio Legislature on March 7, 1835.

These two communities, split by the Sandusky River, were great rivals. But, in 1850, seeing that later their interests lay together, the two villages merged to form greater Tiffin, with Fort Ball becoming a part of Tiffin in March of that year.

In 1824, with the establishment of Seneca County by the Ohio Legislature, Tiffin became a county seat. The county took its name from the Seneca Indians, who originally were native to this territory.

The discovery of natural gas in the vicinity in 1888 gave new momentum to the town’s industries and new enterprises located in Tiffin, making it a prosperous industrial city.

The National Machinery Company moved from Cleveland to Tiffin in 1882.

Tiffin was the home of Tiffin Glass Works from 1889 to 1980.

Tiffin was the home of American Standard Company (formerly Great Western Pottery), maker of ceramic kitchen and bath products, from 1899 to 2007.

In the spring of 1913, the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys were ravaged by one of the most devastating floods in the region's history. Among those communities which suffered the consequences of that flood was Tiffin, located on the Sandusky River in northwest Ohio. During that three-day period, Tiffin sustained more than $1,000,000 in property loss, 46 houses and 2 factories swept away, 10 factories damaged, 69 places of business heavily damaged, 6 bridges within the corporate limits destroyed, and -- worst of all -- 19 lives lost.


Tiffin has been the home of Ballreich's Bros., Inc., a potato chip company, since 1920.

In the first decades of the 20th century, Tiffin was known to have the largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States.

Tiffin St. Paul's United Methodist Church was the first church in the world to be lit by Edison's light bulb, and the first public building in the United States to be wired for electricity.[4][5] Tiffin is home to a large population of German-Americans and a smaller but significant population of Italian-Americans.

Tiffin is the home of the historic Ritz Theatre, built in 1928 as a vaudeville house with an Italian Renaissance design. The Ritz Theatre underwent extensive renovation and restoration in 1998.

In 2002, a F3 tornado hit SE Tiffin destoying several homes outside city limits.

[edit] Geography

Tiffin is located at 41°7′1″N, 83°10′44″W (41.116834, -83.179003)[6].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.6 square miles (17.2 km²), of which, 6.5 square miles (16.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (2.11%) is water, primarily the Sandusky River which flows through the center of town.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 18,135 people, 7,330 households, and 4,471 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,792.4 people per square mile (1,078.9/km²). There were 7,862 housing units at an average density of 1,210.6/sq mi (467.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.26% White, 1.46% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.10% of the population.

There were 7,330 households out of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 15.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,261, and the median income for a family was $41,329. Males had a median income of $31,207 versus $22,259 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,580. About 5.7% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Tiffin is served by Tiffin City Schools: Columbian High School, Tiffin Middle School, and Clinton, C.A. Krout, Lincoln, Noble, and Washington Elementary Schools.

Weekday Religious Education has been offered to the city's elementary and middle schools since 1940.

Tiffin is also served by the Calvert Catholic Schools: Calvert High School, St. Joseph Campus, and St. Mary Campus. The two campuses offer preschool through eighth grades. While the high school offers ninth through twelfth.

Other schools in Tiffin include the Sentinel Career Center and the charter school Bridges Community Academy.

Roadside signs entering Tiffin claim it as the "Education Community."

Tiffin is the home of Tiffin University, Heidelberg College, the Tiffin Academy of Hair Design, and formerly of the American Institute of Massotherapy.

[edit] Notable natives

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  3. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ East Ohio Conference United Methodist Archives Center. East Ohio Conference Historian's Page. Retrieved on 2006-03-26.
  5. ^ St. Paul's Methodist has gift from Edison. The Advertiser Tribune. Retrieved on 2006-03-26.
  6. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Municipalities and communities of
Seneca County, Ohio
County seat: Tiffin
Cities

Bellevue | Fostoria | Tiffin
Map of Ohio highlighting Seneca County
Villages
Townships
Unincorporated
communities