St. Marys is a city in
Auglaize County
Auglaize County () is a county in Northwestern Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,442. Its county seat is Wapakoneta.
Auglaize County comprises the Wapakoneta Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also includ ...
,
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. Located in western Ohio, it is west of
Wapakoneta Wapakoneta may refer to:
;Places
*Wapakoneta, Ohio
*The Lima- Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio Combined Statistical Area
;Ships
*, United States Navy ships
;Other
*The Treaty of Wapakoneta
*The Wapakoneta City School District
The Wapakoneta City Schoo ...
and east of the Ohio/
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
border. The city is located on a portage between the
St. Marys and
Auglaize river
The Auglaize River (Shawnee: ''Kathinakithiipi'') is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river was derived from the F ...
systems, which was a significant factor in its development before the era of canals. The population was 8,332 at the
2010 census. It is included in the
Wapakoneta, Ohio
Wapakoneta, (, ) is a city in and the county seat of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States, about north of Dayton and south of Toledo. The population was 9,957 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Wapakonet ...
,
Micropolitan Statistical Area. It was founded in 1823 and takes its name from the nearby St. Marys River.
History
After the
Revolutionary War, the
Shawnee
The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
village on the site became known as Girty's Town for the Indian traders
James
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
and
Simon Girty
Simon Girty (November 14, 1741 – February 18, 1818) was an American-born frontiersman, soldier and interpreter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who served as a liaison between the British and their Indian allies during the American Revolution. H ...
, who had a trading post on the site. James Girty was originally a partner of
Peter Loramie, but fled to the St. Marys River when Loramie's trading post was burned in 1782. Girty maintained his trading post between 1783 and 1790 and fled when
General Harmar's army approached. He later returned to the post. When General Anthony Wayne approached the St. Marys area in 1794, James Girty packed up his goods and fled to Canada, thus ending the Girty Brothers era in Ohio. The village retained the name until the modern town was founded in 1823.
When General Wayne returned through the St. Marys area late in 1794 after the
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United State ...
, he found the site deserted but noted its strategic location as a portage between the St. Mary's River and Auglaize River. He ordered a fort built on the location. Fort St. Mary's, named for the nearby river, was built by a detachment under Lieutenant John Michael in Oct. 1795 following the Treaty of Greenville. Lieutenant
John Whistler was placed in charge of the garrison.
In 1812, Gen.
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
found the fort in ruins, and built a fort named Fort Barbee on an adjacent site. Col.
Joshua Barbee was placed in charge of the fort.
St. Marys was the site of the signing of the , and the six treaties comprising
Treaty of St. Mary's of 1818. The latter treaty secured about a third of the state of Indiana from the
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
and
Delaware Indians
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...
for the United States. The fort was abandoned shortly afterward.
The earliest settlers arrived in 1820. St. Marys was founded by William Houston and John McCorkle, and Charles Murray, in 1823. They bought of land and laid out the village of 68 lots. The village was incorporated as a town in 1834 and Judge Stacy Taylor was elected its first mayor. The town surpassed the threshold of 5,000 persons and became a city in 1904.
St. Marys was the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Mercer County from 1824 until 1840 when the seat was moved to
Celina. After
Auglaize County
Auglaize County () is a county in Northwestern Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,442. Its county seat is Wapakoneta.
Auglaize County comprises the Wapakoneta Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also includ ...
was organized in 1848, St. Marys competed with
Wapakoneta Wapakoneta may refer to:
;Places
*Wapakoneta, Ohio
*The Lima- Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio Combined Statistical Area
;Ships
*, United States Navy ships
;Other
*The Treaty of Wapakoneta
*The Wapakoneta City School District
The Wapakoneta City Schoo ...
for the position as county seat but was ultimately unsuccessful in a controversial countywide election.
Three properties in St. Marys are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
: the former
Fountain Hotel,
the
Dr. Issac Elmer Williams House and Office,
and the former
Holy Rosary Catholic Church, which was destroyed one year before it was placed on the Register.
[Shuffelton, Frank B. "Holy Rosary Catholic Church". Auglaize County Historical Society, ed. ''A History of Auglaize County Ohio''. Defiance: Hubbard, 1980, 211-212.]
St. Marys is a part of the
Tree City USA
The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members and has planted more than 350 million trees in neighborhoods, communities ...
national program.
Geography
St Marys is located at (40.544256, -84.390060).
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 t ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Education
Saint Marys is home to
Memorial High School.
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 in ...
of 2010, there were 8,332 people, 3,283 households, and 2,194 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was . There were 3,620 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.7%
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 o ...
, 0.4%
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 ...
, 0.1%
Native American, 0.7%
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 ...
, 0.1%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.4% 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 1.5% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
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 1.3% of the population.
There were 3,283 households, of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were
married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.2% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.08.
The median age in the city was 37.5 years. 26.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 14.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% 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 in ...
of 2000, there were 8,342
people, 3,218 households, and 2,240 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), 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 ...
was 1,926.7 people per square mile (743.8/km). There were 3,479 housing units at an average density of 803.5 per square mile (310.2/km). The racial makeup of the city was 97.49%
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 o ...
, 0.35%
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 ...
, 0.13%
Native American, 0.98%
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 ...
, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.14% 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 0.88% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...
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 0.46% of the population.
There were 3,218 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were
married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out, with 28.3% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,673, and the median income for a family was $44,247. Males had a median income of $38,371 versus $22,080 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 city was $17,682. About 5.7% of families and 7.3% 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 9.8% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
Sister cities
St. Marys' neighboring municipalities,
Wapakoneta Wapakoneta may refer to:
;Places
*Wapakoneta, Ohio
*The Lima- Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio Combined Statistical Area
;Ships
*, United States Navy ships
;Other
*The Treaty of Wapakoneta
*The Wapakoneta City School District
The Wapakoneta City Schoo ...
and
New Knoxville, are sister cities with
Lienen's neighbors,
Lengerich and
Ladbergen
Ladbergen is a municipality in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated near the Dortmund-Ems Canal, approximately 25 km south-west of Osnabrück and 20 km north-east of Münster.
Geography
The ...
, respectively.
Notable people
*
Galen Cisco,
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player and coach
*
Albert P. Halfhill, father of the tuna packing industry, attended school here.
*
William K. Howard, film director
*
Jim Tully, author
*
Robert Vogel, professional marksman and competition shooter
*
Chuck Weyant, racecar driver
*
Johann August Ernst von Willich, Prussian military officer, early proponent of communism in Germany, general in Union Army during the American Civil War
*
Barbara Poppe
Barbara Poppe (born 1958) was the executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) from 2009 to 2014. Prior to her appointment at USICH, she spent over 20 years working on homelessness with housing-related organ ...
, served in Obama Administration 2009-2014 as head of the
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is an independent federal agency within the U.S. executive branch that leads the implementation of the federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. USICH is advised by a Co ...
Gallery
File:Smohmpc.JPG, Memorial wall and twin cannons at Memorial Park in St. Marys, Ohio.
File:Smohmpb.JPG, Canal boat exhibit at Memorial Park. Display features a life-sized metal horse tethered to a restored canal boat on the Miami-Erie Canal.
File:Smohl13.JPG, The recently restored Lock 13 in St. Marys, Ohio. Lock 13 is one of many locks along the Miami-Erie Canal.
File:Smohmecl13.JPG, The newly restored Lock 13 area in the middle of downtown St. Marys.
File:Carl Chiles Walkpath.jpg, Beginning of the Carl Chiles Walk Path near Lock 13 and Memorial Park in St. Marys. This path runs along the Miami-Erie Canal.
Notes
References
External links
City website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Marys, Ohio
Cities in Auglaize County, Ohio
Populated places established in 1834
1834 establishments in Ohio
Cities in Ohio