Mechanicsburg 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 Champaign 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 1,681 at the 2020 census.

History

Mechanicsburg 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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1814. The village was so named for the fact a large share of its settlers worked as mechanics. By 1833, Mechanicsburg's industries included two stores, a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

and a saw mill. Mechanicsburg was incorporated as a village in 1834. During the antebellum years, because of its location on a tributary of the Ohio River, Mechanicsburg was used as a station on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

. The "conductor" Udney Hyde (1808-1887) is credited with helping more than 500 fugitive slaves on their way to freedom.

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 , of which, is land and is water. It is located on Little Darby Creek, a tributary of the Scioto River, and, ultimately the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. Fugitive slaves made their way cross-country when escaping from Kentucky.

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 1,644 people, 598 households, and 403 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 671 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.4%

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 ...

, 1.6%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.1% 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 1.0% of the population. There were 598 households, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% 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, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.6% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age in the village was 35.5 years. 24.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.2% were from 25 to 44; 22.7% were from 45 to 64; and 13.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 52.3% male and 47.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,744 people, 705 households, and 473 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 761 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.59%

, 0.92%

, 0.40% Native American, 0.29% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population. There were 705 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were

living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.03. In the village, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $33,385, and the median income for a family was $42,368. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $24,453 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 $16,685. About 10.3% of families and 14.9% 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 19.2% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

Public services

Public safety

The public is served by Mechanicsburg Police Department and the Mechanicsburg Division of Fire and EMS. The police department is a full-time department. The fire department is a combination of career, part-time paid employees and volunteers.

Education

Local children attend the schools of the Mechanicsburg Exempted Village School District. The area is served by th
Mechanicsburg Public Library

Notable people

* Sue Ernest Hewling, Orchestra leader and professional whistler * John Foley Horr, Civil War Officer, Collector of Customs, Federal Marshal * David Martin Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court * William B. Saxbe, politician

References

External links

{{Champaign County, Ohio Villages in Union County, Ohio 1814 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1814 Villages in Ohio