Wheelersburg is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Scioto County Scioto County is a county located along the Ohio River in the south central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,008. Its county seat is Portsmouth. The county was founded March 24, 1804, from Adams ...

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. It lies along the northern banks of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

southern Ohio Appalachian Ohio is a bioregion and political unit in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio, characterized by the western foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Plateau. The Appalachian Regional Commission defines ...

. Wheelersburg is approximately east of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and west of Ironton. It is in Porter Township. The population was 6,437 at the 2010 census.

History

Wheelersburg was originally called Concord, and under the latter name was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

ted in 1824. The present name honors Major Porter Wheeler, a pioneer settler. By 1833, Wheelersburg had about 150 inhabitants. A post office called Wheelersburgh was established in 1879, and the name was changed to Wheelersburg in 1893. In 1968, the town was devastated by an F5 tornado that killed seven people.

Geography

Wheelersburg is located at (38.733779, -82.842411). 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 CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.36%, is water.

Climate

Wheelersburg suffered an F5 (maximum wind speeds of 261–318 miles per hour)

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

on April 23, 1968, in which seven people were killed and 93 people injured, costing nearly $5 million in damages. Wheelersburg is below the Ohio state average for tornado activity, however.

Demographics

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 6,471 people, 2,558 households, and 1,826 families residing in the CDP. 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 1,112.9 people per square mile (430.0/km²). There were 2,755 housing units at an average density of 473.8/sq mi (183.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.90%

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 ...

, 0.28%

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 ...

, 0.63% Native American, 0.14%

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 list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.15% 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, 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 ...

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 0.45% of the population. There were 2,558 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% 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 2.91. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,970 in 2000. In 2005, it was $34,400 compared with the state average of $43,493. The median income for a family was $41,200. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $22,472 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 CDP was $18,787. About 10.7% of families and 14.2% 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 22.5% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Public services

Wheelersburg residents are served by the Portsmouth Public Library-Wheelersburg Branch, the Wheelersburg Local School District, and by a full-time as well as a

volunteer fire department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond ...

Sports

Wheelersburg is a member of the Division II Southern Ohio Conference (S.O.C.). In 1989 and 2017, the high school football team won the OHSAA state championship. Wheelersburg is the home of the 2001 11-12-year-old, the 2003 13-14-year-old, the 2003 15-16-year-old, and the 2007 9-10-year-old state girls'

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

champions. Wheelersburg is also the home of the 2007 11-12-year-old boys Little League team that was invited to play an exhibition game in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

during the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...

festivities. In 2012 the Wheelersburg high school boys baseball team received their second state title championship. Wheelersburg won back to back baseball championships in 2012 and 2013. In 2018 11-12-year-old girls' softball team won the Little League World Series becoming the first team (boys or girls) to win the World Series from Ohio. In 2011 the school's football stadium underwent renovations. The renovations were completed prior to the 2012 season and the first game in the new stadium was played against rival Ironton.

Notable people

Douglas Gunn Douglas Gunn (August 31, 1841 – November 26, 1891) was an American scholar, publisher, pioneer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from California. Born Lewis Douglas Gunn on August 31, 1841, in Wheelersburg, Ohio, to ...

, mayor of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

1889-1891 * Matthew W. McFarland, United States District Judge * Seth Morrison, lead guitarist for the Christian rock band

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...

* Josh Newman, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Redonda Miller Redonda Gail Miller is an American public health leader. After serving as chief resident, vice chair for clinical operations for the Department of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs, she became the first female president of Johns Hopk ...

, public health leader

References

External links

Wheelersburg Local School District
{{authority control Census-designated places in Scioto County, Ohio Census-designated places in Ohio Ohio populated places on the Ohio River