Wadsworth is a city in

Medina County, Ohio Medina County () is a county located in the northeastern region in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 182,470. Its county seat is Medina, and its largest city is Brunswick. The county was created in 1812 and la ...

, United States. Founded on March 1, 1814, the city was named after General Elijah Wadsworth, a Revolutionary War hero and

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

officer who owned the largest share of the lands that became Medina County. The population of Wadsworth was 24,007 at the 2020 census.

History

A post office called Wadsworth has been in operation since 1823.

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 city has a total area of , all land. It is located just a few miles south of the

Saint Lawrence River Divide The Saint Lawrence River Divide is a continental divide in central and eastern North America that separates the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin from the southerly Atlantic Ocean watersheds. Water, including rainfall and snowfall, lakes, r ...

. Wadsworth is located approximately southwest of

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

and south of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Demographics

As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $48,605, and the median income for a family was $58,850. Males had a median income of $41,626 versus $25,805 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 $22,859. 5.4% of the population and 4.2% of families 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 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 5.6% of those 65 and older.

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 21,567 people, 8,609 households, and 5,803 families residing in the city. 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 9,320 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.9%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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, 0.7% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.1% 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 people of any race were 1.2% of the population. There were 8,609 households, of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% 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, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.6% were non-families. 28.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age in the city was 38.7 years. 25.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.2% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.1% male and 51.9% female. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 31.2% held a bachelor's degree or higher.

Arts and culture

The Blue Tip Festival is an annual event which includes a parade, amusement rides, foods, midway games, merchants, entertainment, and contests. The festival is named after the strike-anywhere blue tip matches which were once manufactured in Wadsworth until the 1980s. The city is served by the Wadsworth Public Library.

Education

The Wadsworth City School District is the single largest employer in the city. The district has benefited from the support of the community, which passed six of the last seven levies put before the voters. In addition, the district voters supported the Medina County Sales Tax (the first in Ohio), at a rate of 74% for the levy. Wadsworth High School and Wadsworth Middle School are members of 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 ...

. Other schools in the city of Wadsworth include Sacred Heart School, a Roman Catholic parochial school serving Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Media

Wadsworth is served by a daily newspaper, ''The Medina County Gazette'', which is published every day of the week except Sundays. In addition, the ''

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon Jo ...

'' and the ''

Cleveland Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' occasionally cover the city and Medina County. Wadsworth is served by numerous television and radio stations from both the

Greater Cleveland The Cleveland metropolitan area, or Greater Cleveland as it is more commonly known, is the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, United States. According to the 2020 census results, the six-county Cleveland, OH ...

, Greater Akron and Greater Canton areas.

Infrastructure

Wadsworth is served by the Wadsworth Municipal Airport, which is located 2 miles (3.22 km) southwest of the city. Skypark Airport is located 2 miles west of the city. I-76 traverses the city. State routes include OH-57, OH-94 and OH-261.

Notable people

Dwier Brown Dwier Brown (born January 30, 1959) is an American actor. In the 1989 film ''Field of Dreams'' he played John Kinsella, the father of Kevin Costner's character, and he played Henry Mitchell in '' Dennis the Menace Strikes Again'' in 1998. Brown ...

, actor in ''

Field of Dreams ''Field of Dreams'' is a 1989 American sports fantasy drama film written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson, and based on Canadian novelist W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel '' Shoeless Joe''. The film stars Kevin Costner as a farmer who builds a ...

'' *

Nancy Everhard Nancy Everhard (born November 30, 1957) is an Americans, American former actress. She became known for her roles in the films ''DeepStar Six'' (1989) and ''The Punisher (1989 film), The Punisher'' (1989). She also appeared in television series s ...

, actress * Scott Fletcher, MLB infielder * Michael Foreman,

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

* Ben Hess, NASCAR driver. * Drew Pearson,

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Award-nominated songwriter * Alban W. Purcell, 19th Century stage actor * Jim Renacci, former

U.S. representative 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 ...

for and Mayor of Wadsworth * Laura Spelman Rockefeller, wife of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

co-founder

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

* Bishop Sankey, NFL running back * Andy Sonnanstine, MLB pitcher * Wilbur H. Tousley, Wisconsin State Assembly and newspaper publisher * Carolyn Treffinger, children's author

References

External links

The Official City of Wadsworth website
{{authority control Cities in Ohio Cities in Medina County, Ohio Populated places established in 1814 1814 establishments in Ohio