Lucas 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 southeastern
Richland 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. Lucas is part of the
Mansfield, Ohio
Mansfield is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 47,534 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located approximately from Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Columbus via Interstate 71, it i ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 589 at the
2020 census.
History
David Tucker, a New Hampshire resident, moved to Richland County in 1819, where he set in a proposal to buy land in the rural country of the county. He was granted this proposal in 1824, allowing him to buy land from the state at $1.25 per acre.
After purchasing a mass quantity of land from the state, Tucker hired Mr. Steward to survey the land for auctioning out. David's brother, John, was placed in charge as the head attorney authored to sell land to incoming settlers and pioneers in 1829.
The auction was advertised in the local handbill "The Mansfield Shield and Banner", in which the land was described as "as good as a wheat growing country as the state can have." In response to this statement, the land for three major wheat mills was bought that year and mills were built in the following months. The town officially built and commissioned a postal office later that year. In 1830, the Chicago Railroad Company paid for tracks to be laid down on the south side of town of the town as well as a depot.
By 1834, the Lucas area was full of houses and shops, becoming a major rural center for Richland County, mostly due to being the first town in the county to receive federal aid in its building because the land where Lucas presided was a campsite of General
John Brooks as he marched north from Mansfield during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
, thus qualifying it as a historical site at the time. Currently three theories exist on how the Village of Lucas acquired its name:
# The town was named after the current at the time and 12th governor of Ohio,
Robert Lucas.
# The town was named in honor of Governor Lucas's brother, a major land owner for the town.
# The town was named in honor of the Tucker brothers' mother's maiden name, Lucas.
However the name came to be, the town of Lucas was officially established according to Ohio standards at the time in 1836.
Geography
Lucas lies southeast of Mansfield, a few miles from
Interstate 71
Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the midwestern and Southeastern United States, southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64, I-64 and Interstate 65, ...
on
State Route 39. Lucas is surrounded by the Rocky Fork and
Black Fork rivers, and the
Charles Mill Lake to the east, and the Pleasant Hill Lake to the south. Lucas has many hills and forests and is part of the Mohican Valley area, along with
Loudonville,
Perrysville,
Butler
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
and
Bellville. 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 615 people, 237 households, and 176 families residing 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 269 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.0%
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 ...
, 0.3%
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 1.6% from two or more races.
There were 237 households, of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.2% 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, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.7% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the village was 34.9 years. 29.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.8% were from 25 to 44; 21.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.
2000 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 2000, there were 620 people, 246 households, and 172 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 268 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.42%
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 ...
, 0.81%
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 ...
, 0.48%
Native American, 0.16% from
other races, and 1.13% 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 0.16% of the population.
There were 246 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% 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, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.4% 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 2.52 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 31.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females 8=)there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $37,813, and the median income for a family was $42,917. Males had a median income of $36,094 versus $20,625 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 $17,653. About 2.7% of families and 6.2% 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 ...
, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education and athletics
Lucas is in the
Lucas Local School District. The district enrolls 584 students and administers 3 public schools including Lucas Elementary School, Lucas Heritage Middle School, and
Lucas High School.
The Lucas "Cubs" are a member of the Mid-Buckeye Conference, participating in sports such as baseball, football, basketball, track, cross country, girls volleyball and girls softball.
Lucas has a public library, a branch of the Mansfield–Richland County Public Library.
Notable people
*
Louis Bromfield, Pulitzer Prize–winning author and world-famous conservationist
*
John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed, American pioneer nurseryman
*
Tim Seder,
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
and
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
placekicker
References
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Villages in Richland County, Ohio
Villages in Ohio