Swanton is a village located in Fulton and Lucas counties in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. The population was 3,897 at the 2020 census. Total area is .

History

A post office called Swanton has been in operation since 1827. The village takes its name from nearby Swan Creek. In the heyday of steam power, Swanton was home to the A. D. Baker Company, a manufacturer of steam powered traction engines and road contractors' equipment. It was at the Baker Company that an improved valve gear for steam engines was developed. A Baker employee named Gifford is credited with the initial idea, which was subsequently developed into the Baker valve gear and patented in 1903. Baker valve gear was eventually manufactured by The Pilliod Company, another Swanton business. Baker valve gear from Pilliod saw widespread use on U.S. steam locomotives for railroads in the first half of the 20th century. On February 15, 1992, Air Transport International Flight 805 crashed in Swanton, killing all four people on board. On June 6, 2019, a vehicle left parked on the tracks next to the Main Street railroad crossing resulted in a derailment that knocked out power to the town and much of the surrounding area, and hampered traffic on one of the main rail lines linking the Midwest to the East Coast.

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.

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 3,690 people, 1,409 households, and 1,018 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 1,498 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.1%

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 ...

, 0.9%

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, 0.1% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.3% 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 3.5% of the population. There were 1,409 households, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.8% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the village was 38 years. 26% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.9% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 13.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,307 people, 1,241 households, and 903 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 1,292 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.43%

, 0.18%

, 0.18% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.39% of the population. There were 1,241 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were

living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.05. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% 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 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the village was $44,127, and the median income for a family was $55,313. Males had a median income of $40,746 versus $32,207 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 $20,160. About 1.5% of families and 4.6% 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 1.4% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

* Swanton Memorial Park is home to one of E. M. Viquesney's " Spirit of the American Doughboy" statues. The sculpture was one of several donated as a gift by France to U.S. cities that had lost many soldiers during World War I. It is described as a "Figure of a World War I infantryman advancing through the stumps and barbed wire of No Man's Land. He holds a grenade in his raised proper right hand and a rifle in his proper left hand." The Smithsonian Institution Research Information System lists the statue as being installed in 1926, "administered by City of Swanton, Parks Division, Swanton, Ohio." * Memorial Park is home to recreation facilities including several baseball diamonds. Ai Creek runs through the park. It also has soccer fields, sand volleyball courts, tennis/pickleball courts, basketball courts, and playgrounds. Land was donated for use by the McNeill family. * Pilliod Park is located next to Swanton Public Library and is home to Swanton's red caboose, several

gazebo A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal or Gun turret, turret-shaped, often built in a park, garden, or spacious public area. Some are used on occasions as bandstands. In British English, the word is also used for a tent-like can ...

s, and a paved walkway. During the winter holiday it is home to Swanton's festive light display. * Rotary Park is an offshoot of Pilliod Park. * Oak Openings Metropark is partially located in the Village of Swanton, most notably The Cannaley Treehouse Village and much of the Beach Ridge mountain bike trail.

Education

Public education in Swanton is administered by the Swanton Local School District. St. Richard Catholic School is a private institution. Swanton Public Library is the village's lending library.

Arts and culture

Swanton is home to an annual Corn Festival, occurring in August. The festival has a parade, volleyball competition, singing contest, car show, a resident caricaturist, much food and other festivities, along with the annual All Class high school reunion. The Swanton Fine Art Exhibit is held each year at Valleywood Golf Club. The Swanton Art Walk, with various artist exhibits and vendors, and the Swanton Downtown Market were inaugurated in 2022.

Notable people

* Roy Beecher, MLB pitcher * Emerson Cole, NFL fullback and wide receiver * Karl Koepfer, NFL player * Richard B. McQuade Jr., attorney and federal judge * Paul Schudel,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

football player and coach

References

External links

Village website

Swanton Public Library

Swanton Local School District

Swanton Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control Villages in Fulton County, Ohio Villages in Lucas County, Ohio Villages in Ohio