Lucasville is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...
(CDP) in
Scioto County
Scioto County is a county along the Ohio River in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Ohio. At the 2020 census, the population was 74,008. Its county seat is Portsmouth. The county was founded on March 24, 1804, from Adams County and i ...
,
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 1,655 at the
2020 census.
It is part of the
Portsmouth micropolitan area.
Lucasville is the location of the Scioto County Fairgrounds. The
Southern Ohio Correctional Facility
The Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (commonly referred to as Lucasville) is a maximum security prison located just outside Lucasville in Scioto County, Ohio. The prison was constructed in 1972. As of 2023, the warden is Cindy Davis.
The p ...
, Ohio's one of three maximum security prisons and the location of Ohio's death house where
death row
Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...
inmates are
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
, is located just outside Lucasville. The community is served by the
Portsmouth Public Library, as well as the
Valley Local School District and Northwest Local School District.
History
Lucasville was laid out by Captain John Lucas (1788-1825) in 1819, and named for him. A post office called Lucasville has been in operation since 1828.
John Lucas was the brother of
Robert Lucas
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
, a War of 1812 hero, two-term governor of Ohio (1832-1836), and the first territorial governor of Iowa. John volunteered for service and commanded a regiment during the War of 1812. Upon the death of his father in 1814, John inherited much of his family's property in Scioto County, and it was on a portion of this land that he would establish the town of Lucasville on August 7, 1819. He and his wife, Mary Lucas, ran a tavern in Lucasville until his death in 1825. He is interred in Lucasville Cemetery.
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 CDP has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.6 km
2), of which 2.5 square miles (6.5 km
2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km
2), or 1.57%, is water.
Demographics
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 1,588 people, 589 households, and 448 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 672 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 97.10%
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 ...
, 0.13%
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 ...
, 0.25%
Native American, 0.25%
Asian, 0.06%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...
, 0.06% from
other races, and 2.14% 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 0.31% of the population.
There were 589 households, out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% 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, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,313, and the median income for a family was $37,443. Males had a median income of $30,125 versus $21,174 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 CDP was $13,569. About 6.8% of families and 8.5% 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 6.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Notable people

*
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...
, baseball executive
*
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer.
Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...
, singer and cowboy actor
*
Barry Sparks, professional musician/bass guitarist
*
Ted Strickland
Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 68th governor of Ohio from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ( ...
, former
representative (1993–2006) and
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
(2007-2011)
*
Gene Tenace
Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oaklan ...
, former Major League Baseball player
References
{{authority control
Census-designated places in Scioto County, Ohio
Census-designated places in Ohio
Populated places established in 1819