Paulding 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 and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Paulding County, Ohio, United States.
It is located predominantly in
Paulding Township about southwest of
Toledo. The population was 3,555 at the
2020 census.
History
Paulding was a planned community, founded in 1848 at the center of the county, and named after the county by speculators who expected to profit by moving the county seat. In 1851, the county seat was moved from
Charloe, which had been the county seat for a decade; prior to that, court was held at New Rochester.
The town square is devoted to the
courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...
, an orange brick structure surrounded by trees upon a spacious lawn. In the centennial year of 1876, the county commissioners determined to build a new courthouse, and visited many courthouses, finally deciding to erect a duplicate of the courthouse in
Adrian, Michigan
Adrian is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Lenawee County, Michigan, Lenawee County. The population was 20,645 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Adrian lies in Michigan's 5th congressional district. The c ...
at a cost of $40,000. The courthouse was finished in 1886.
Built in the 1910s, the
Paulding County Carnegie Library was the first
Carnegie library to serve an entire county instead of a single city.
[Renck, Melissa. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Paulding County Carnegie Library''. ]National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
, 1982-09-30, 3.
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 723 feet above sea level.
Climate
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 3,605 people, 1,510 households, and 957 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 1,718 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.6%
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 ...
, 2.4%
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 ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian, 2.8% from
other races, and 2.6% 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 8.5% of the population.
There were 1,510 households, of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% 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, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.93.
The median age in the village was 38.4 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.4% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 16% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 46.6% male and 53.4% 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 3,595 people, 1,466 households, and 988 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 1,583 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 91.04%
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 ...
, 2.56%
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 ...
, 0.22%
Native American, 0.28%
Asian, 3.81% from
other races, and 2.09% 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 6.93% of the population.
There were 1,466 households, out of which 33.0% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $35,943, and the median income for a family was $41,962. Males had a median income of $33,042 versus $22,103 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 $17,383. About 6.3% of families and 9.0% 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 12.1% of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Paulding is largely a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
.
At one point, Paulding had a factory processing sugar from beets, and another processing ketchup from tomatoes, but both factories have ceased production and neighboring farms no longer produce those crops. At one point, Paulding boasted of three local elevators - Equity Exchange, Paulding Grain and Seed, and the Farm Bureau - but the loss of rail service, most grain is trucked elsewhere. Paulding was once home to Betty Zane popcorn, but that disappeared in the early 20th century.
Many manufacturing facilities have come and gone, producing such products as glass mailboxes, ink wells, and brake linings. A number of small factories exist, but the largest single employer in the Village is the government, with Paulding Exempted Village Schools being the largest organization. Many residents commute to industrial jobs, often in neighboring counties.
Education
Paulding High School sports participate in the
Green Meadows Conference, an athletic body sanctioned by the
Ohio High School Athletic Association
The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...
(OHSAA).
The school on Water Street is one of the largest schools in the state providing elementary education. In many districts, elementary schools are kept small so students can walk to school. The graduating class of 1970 included the last Paulding students who experienced a one-room schoolhouse, as they had attended the first grade at Emerald. That was a fairly pleasant transition, unlike 1971, when many county residents were outraged to learn Dr. Martin Essex of the Ohio State Board of Education had revoked the charters of 4 of the 6 Paulding County schools, asserting that they were too small to offer a good education. Auglaize-Brown asked to join the Paulding Exempted Village School district, while the Grover Hill, Blue Creek, and Payne Local School Districts merged into the new Wayne Trace school district.
Media
The dominant daily newspaper is the Defiance Crescent-News with some readers choosing the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Toledo Blade, and Lima News, in that order. The local weekly is the Paulding County Progress. Paulding residents are part of the
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...
television market. The local radio station is
WMYW-FM broadcasts at 102.7 FM.
WPAU is an online streaming radio station offering a commercial-free format of
oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.
Since 2 ...
and
Paulding County high school sports. Also licensed to Paulding is
WKSD 99.7 FM, a commercial oldies and
sports radio
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...
station based in
Van Wert.
Transportation
Paulding is at the intersection of
US Highway 127 and
State Route 111 and the terminus of
State Route 500. It was formerly on the
Cincinnati Northern Railroad, but the tracks were removed in the 1980s.
Notable people
*
Jesse B. Jackson, American Consul and witness to the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
*
David Smith, sculptor (born in Decatur, grew up in Paulding)
References
External links
Village website
{{authority control
Villages in Paulding County, Ohio
County seats in Ohio
Populated places established in 1848
1848 establishments in Ohio
Villages in Ohio