Benton Ridge is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Hancock County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. The population was 272 at the 2020 census. It is within the boundaries of the Liberty-Benton Local School district.

History

Benton Ridge was originally called Benton, and under the latter name was laid out in 1835 and named for Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858), a U.S. Senator from Missouri. Some of the earliest settlers of Benton Ridge are buried in Swartz Cemetery, which also has a Veteran's Memorial. A post office called Benton Ridge has been in operation since 1837. The village was incorporated in 1875. In 1994, the Benton Ridge postmaster Fairy Parkins was named Postmaster of the Year for the state of Ohio. The Benton Ridge Telephone Company was founded in 1902, and is an

Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier An incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) is a local telephone company which held the regional monopoly on landline service before the market was opened to competitive local exchange carriers, or the corporate successor of such a firm, in the Un ...

for 3 exchanges in west central Ohio. It provides telecommunication services in rural communities, spinning off a cable TV and internet company in 1992 (WATCH), as well as a fiber based internet company (CFS) in 2010. The company was acquired by Cequel III in 2022. On Nov. 1, 1941, just one month before the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

, a B-25 bomber on a training mission flying out of

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

, crashed nearby. Solt Automotive Engineering, one of the oldest go-kart manufacturers in the USA, was located just outside of Benton Ridge.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 299 people, 116 households, and 77 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 119 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.7% Native American, 1.7% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.0% of the population. There were 116 households, of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.6% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the village was 37.4 years. 24.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.1% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 13.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.8% male and 49.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 315 people, 118 households, and 82 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 122 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 99.37%

, 0.32%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

and 0.32% Native American.

or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population. There were 118 households, out of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were

living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.34. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.8% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 103.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the village was $50,000, and the median income for a family was $56,250. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $25,208 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $18,426. About 1.3% of families and 2.3% 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 ...

, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Aaron Craft - basketball

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

* A. J. Granger - basketball player, NCAA champion in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

* Fred Hissong - U.S. Army Lieutenant General

References

{{authority control Villages in Hancock County, Ohio Villages in Ohio