Garrettsville is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
in northeastern
Portage County,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, United States. The population was 2,449 at the
2020 census. It is part of the
Akron metropolitan area
The Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Greater Akron, is defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget as an area consisting of two counties, Summit and Portage, in Northeast Ohio and anchored by t ...
. The village was formed from portions of
Hiram,
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, and
Freedom
Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
townships in the
Connecticut Western Reserve
The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms of ...
.
History
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
John Garrett III purchased 300
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
s (1 214 062 m
2) of land in
Nelson Township, Portage County, Ohio
Nelson Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 3,101 people in the township.
Geography
Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following other townships and ...
in 1803, the year
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
became a
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
. The land was purchased for the price of $1,313, or about $4.40 per acre. In July of the following year, he
settled
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
Settle ...
on this land with his family and two slave girls, 6 and 10 years old. These settlers constructed a
grist mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...
, which was to open in January 1806. In this month, however, Garrett died.
In 1806, the
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
-
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
Road was constructed near Garrett's mill. This improved commerce to the area, and nearby pioneers would mill their grain at the mill, eventually building roads and trails to meet with the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Road. By 1864, residents in the area around the mill had built up a settlement which they hoped to incorporate. This was done, and on September 1, 1864, Garrettsville was
incorporated as a village.
In November, 1935,
Alvin Karpis
Alvin Francis Karpis (born Albin Francis Karpavičius; August 10, 1907 – August 26, 1979), a Depression-era gangster nicknamed "Creepy" for his sinister smile and called "Ray" by his gang members, was a Canadian-born (naturalized American) crim ...
robbed a train in Garrettsville. Karpis was a member of
Ma Barker
Kate Barker (born
Arizona Donnie Clark; October 8, 1873 – January 16, 1935), better known as Ma Barker (and sometimes known as Arizona Barker and Arrie Barker), was the mother of several American criminals who ran the Barker–Karpis Gang ...
's gang, and was assisted in the robbery by gang member Harry Campbell and at least one other accomplice. Karpis and his gang stole $30,000, and obtained a private airplane to escape to
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...
. Karpis was eventually convicted of his crimes, and was imprisoned at
Alcatraz
Alcatraz Island () is a small island in San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, and a military pris ...
longer than any other inmate.
On March 22, 2014, a large fire broke out downtown, burning approximately one city block and 13 businesses to the ground. The local fire department was assisted by 34 fire departments from surrounding communities. Despite the size of the fire nobody was seriously injured; although one
Windham firefighter suffered from smoke inhalation.
Rick Patrick is the current mayor of Garrettsville.
Maple syrup, Crane family
The Garrettsville-Hiram Chamber of Commerce reports that at the beginning of the 20th century, Garrettsville was the largest center in the world for the processing of
maple syrup
Maple syrup is a syrup made from the sap of maple trees. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple tree ...
. This was due largely to the efforts of Arthur Crane, who canned this maple tree product at a cannery on Windham Street.
Crane's son, Clarence Arthur (C.A.) Crane, grew up in Garrettsville. The younger Crane married Grace Edna Hart in the village on June 1, 1898. In 1899, Grace gave birth to
Harold Hart Crane, who later became renowned as a poet.
Clarence Crane and his family left Garrettsville in the 1900s. Clarence continued to work in the maple sugar and candies industry, having started out in the industry working for his father. In 1912, Clarence Crane and his company, the Queen Victoria Chocolate Company, invented
Life Savers
Life Savers (stylized as LifeSavers) is an American brand of ring-shaped hard and soft candy. Its range of mints and fruit-flavored candies is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in paper-wrapped aluminum foil rolls.
Candy manufacturer C ...
candy.
Geography
Garrettsville is located at (41.283955, -81.095179).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Demographics
2010 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2010, there were 2,325 people, 964 households, and 629 families living in the village. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 1,054 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.8%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.5%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.3%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.3% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.9% of the population.
There were 964 households, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.8% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.96.
The median age in the village was 41 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 30.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 2,262 people, 930 households, and 619 families living in the village. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 893.8 people per square mile (345.2/km
2). There were 976 housing units at an average density of 385.6 per square mile (148.9/km
2). The racial makeup of the village was 98.41%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.27%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.18%
Native American, 0.13%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, and 1.02% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 0.40% of the population.
There were 930 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.4% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $47,256, and the median income for a family was $54,297. Males had a median income of $39,469 versus $28,080 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the village was $20,198. About 2.5% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
The James A. Garfield Local School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and
James A. Garfield High School.
Garrettsville has a public library, a branch of the Portage County District Library.
Culture
Much of the film ''The Year That Trembled'', starring
Jonathan Brandis
Jonathan Gregory Brandis (April 13, 1976 – November 12, 2003) was an American actor. Beginning his career as a child model, Brandis moved on to acting in commercials and subsequently won television and film roles. Brandis made his acting debut ...
,
Martin Mull
Martin Eugene Mull (born August 18, 1943) is an American actor, comedian and musician who has appeared in many television and film roles. He is also a painter and recording artist. As an actor, he first became known in his role on ''Mary Hartman, ...
, and
Fred Willard
Frederic Charles Willard (September 18, 1933 May 15, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, and writer. He was best known for his roles in the Rob Reiner mockumentary film ''This Is Spinal Tap'' (1984); the Christopher Guest mockumentaries ''Wai ...
, was filmed in Garrettsville and nearby
Hiram. The film is "a 1970 coming-of-age story set in the shadow of
Kent State
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...
."
Each summer the village is home to the Garrettsville Summerfest. This annual summer event hosts many attractions including canoe races, a tractor parade, the Garrettsville Idol contest, and a car or cash raffle.
Notable people
*
Hart Crane
Harold Hart Crane (July 21, 1899 – April 27, 1932) was an American poet. Provoked and inspired by T. S. Eliot, Crane wrote modernist poetry that was difficult, highly stylized, and ambitious in its scope. In his most ambitious work, '' The Brid ...
, poet
*
Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, First Lady
*
Jeff Richmond
Jeffrey Wayne Richmond (born January 7, 1961) is an American composer, actor, director, and producer. He composed the music for, and directed multiple episodes of '' 30 Rock'', a sitcom created by and starring his wife, Tina Fey. He also executiv ...
, composer, director, actor
*
Allyn Vine Allyn C. Vine (1914–1994) was a physicist and oceanographer who was a leader in developing crewed submersible vessels to explore the deep sea.
Projects
* Major contributor to redesigning the Bathythermograph during World War II. His version c ...
, physicist and oceanographer
References
External links
Village website
{{authority control
Villages in Portage County, Ohio
Villages in Ohio
Populated places established in 1806