New Richmond, also known as New Richmond on the Ohio, 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 ...

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 ...

and Pierce townships in Clermont County,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, founded in 1814, along 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 ...

. The population was 2,727 at the 2020 census.

Geography

New Richmond is located within Ohio Township, with the exception of the Beckjord Power Station, which lies within Pierce Township. 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.

History

New Richmond was once the largest and most flourishing village in Clermont County. Located along the banks of the Ohio River, it had a superior location about twenty miles east and south of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. Present-day New Richmond was surveyed on June 3, 1778, consisting of Robert Beal's survey No. 847 (purchased by Gen. William Lytle and sold to Thomas Ashburn in 1813) and David Jackson's survey No. 1539 (purchased by Jacob Light in 1804). Light laid out the village on September 19–22, 1814, reportedly with the help of his nephew, who suggested the name of his hometown of

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. In February 1816, Ashburn platted the village of Susanna (named for his second wife) adjoining the upper east side of New Richmond. Among the principal features of Susanna was a large promenade along the Ohio River which still exists today as Captain Ernest Wagner Park. In 1817, the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Colu ...

formed Brown County out of Clermont County's eastern half, leaving Clermont County's courthouse in Williamsburgh at the far eastern edge of the county. In 1823, despite opposition in Williamsburgh, the General Assembly moved the county seat to New Richmond. No courthouse was ever built there; only a year later, a central location for the county seat was found in Batavia. Although New Richmond and Susanna complimented each other, the General Assembly passed an act on January 11, 1828, that merged them as the Village of New Richmond. In 1833, New Richmond contained one

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 ...

, one saw mill, two

carding In Textile manufacturing, textile production, carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passi ...

machines, ten stores, two churches, and 120 residential houses. The residents of New Richmond took an early stance against slavery. The

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

James G. Birney began publishing '' The Philanthropist'' in New Richmond until moving it to Cincinnati in 1836. New Richmond was a busy hub of

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

building with names such as ''Allegheny'', ''Zephyr'', Lancasters ''No. 1'', ''No. 2'', ''No. 3'', and ''No. 4'', ''William Tell'', and ''Clermont''. Most of New Richmond lies on the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

of the Ohio River, making it vulnerable to severe flooding. Some of the first recorded floods occurred in 1898, 1907, and 1913. In the Great Flood of 1937, the worst natural disaster in New Richmond's history, the village lost 250 homes out of 415 total. Floods in 1955, 1964, 1967, 1997 and 2018 again devastated the village. The March 1997 flood sent of floodwaters "the color of coffee with milk" up Center Street and into the homes of about two-thirds of the village's population of 2,500. Houses were found covered in "several feet of river slime", and the New Richmond School District closed for at least a week. Residents relied on personal boats for transportation between rooftops or for evacuation. Governor

George Voinovich George Victor Voinovich (July 15, 1936June 12, 2016) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 1999 to 2011. He previously served as the 65th governor of Ohio from 1991 to 1998 and as the 54th mayor of Clev ...

visited New Richmond High School, which was being used as a

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

shelter for flood victims. On March 2, 2011, the Clermont County Commissioners denied a petition by New Richmond to withdraw from Ohio township by forming a

paper township The term paper township refers to a civil township under Law of Ohio, Ohio law that nominally exists for certain purposes but does not act as a functioning unit of civil government. Such townships usually exist on paper as a legal fiction due to ...

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 2,582 people, 980 households, and 658 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 1,133 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.6%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 1.5% 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 1.5% of the population. There were 980 households, of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% 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, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.9% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age in the village was 36.7 years. 28.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 28.4% were from 45 to 64; and 10.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.1% male and 49.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,219 people, 788 households, and 580 families residing in the village. The

was . There were 888 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.26%

, 2.34%

, 0.14% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population. There were 788 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were

living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.25. In the village, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $40,000, and the median income for a family was $44,271. Males had a median income of $34,318 versus $24,792 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 city was $16,744. About 14.3% of families and 17.7% 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 22.0% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The village maintains its own police and fire departments.

Education

Th
New Richmond Exempted Village School District
consists of four schools: Locust Corner and Monroe Elementary Schools; New Richmond Middle School; and New Richmond High School. The district has been rated Excellent by th
Ohio Department of Education
for the 2009–2010 school year. New Richmond has a public library, a branch of the Clermont County Public Library.

Recreation

Community associations for

knothole Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, girls fastpitch

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, football, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

exist in New Richmond. On February 17, 2021, the ''

Showboat Majestic ''The Majestic'' is a historic riverboat that is moored on the Ohio River at Greenup, Kentucky. Built in 1923, she was the last floating theater to be built in the United States, and one of its longest-lived. She was declared a National Historic L ...

'' left its home moor at the site of the Moyer Winery near

Manchester, Ohio Manchester is a village in Manchester Township, Adams County, Ohio, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,839 at the 2020 census. History The community was originally founded in 1790 as Massie's Station for Nathaniel Ma ...

and arrived to its new mooring location in the village as part of the villages
Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA)
', an economic tourist area where persons over 21 can possess and consume alcohol along the Ohio River. On June 28, 2022, the New Richmond Village Council voted to revoke owner Joe Brumley's license to moor the ''Showboat Majestic'' at New Richmond and gave Brumley 90 days to have her removed, citing lack of progress in Brumley's development of the showboat's riverfront attraction.

Notable people

* Edgar R. Aston – soldier during the

Apache Wars The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the Southwestern United States, southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as l ...

and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient * Todd Benzinger – professional baseball player,

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, Cincinnati Reds * James G. Birney – abolitionist and two-time Liberty Party presidential nominee * Earl Cranston – a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

* Albert P. Forsythe – Greenback member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

* Lauder William Jones – chemist *

Mary Lumpkin Mary Lumpkin (1832–1905) was an American former slave and owner of the property on which stood Lumpkin's Jail, a notorious slave jail. Mary was purchased by Robert Lumpkin around 1840 and made to act as his wife. She had the first of her se ...

– enslaved woman, liberator * Tom Niehaus – Former President of the Ohio Senate * Hank Schenz – professional baseball player,

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, * Rose Vesper - Ohio House of Representatives from 1993-2000 for the 72nd District

References

External links

Village website

Opera Hall, New Richmond, Ohio

New Richmond School District
{{Authority control Villages in Clermont County, Ohio Ohio populated places on the Ohio River Populated places established in 1778 Villages in Ohio