West Liberty 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 ...

Logan County, Ohio Logan County is a county in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,150. The county seat is Bellefontaine. The county is named for Benjamin Logan, who fought Native Americans in t ...

, United States. The population was 1,770 at the 2020 census.

History

West Liberty was laid out in 1817. In 1833, West Liberty contained five stores, two taverns, one

tannery Tanning, or hide tanning, is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed. Historically, vegetable based tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound derived fr ...

, a merchant mill, a saw mill, a

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 ...

machine, and about 20 residential houses.

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 , all of it land. Flowing along the edge of town is the Mad River, a major source of running water in the area.

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 1,805 people, 736 households, and 436 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 799 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.1%

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 ...

, 1.3%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.2% from other races, and 1.7% 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 0.8% of the population. There were 736 households, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% 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, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.8% were non-families. 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the village was 41 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.1% were from 45 to 64; and 23.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 44.6% male and 55.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,813 people, 660 households, and 432 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 698 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.46%

, 0.17%

, 0.28% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.11%

, and 0.72% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population. There were 660 households, out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were

living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.98. In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.2 males. The median income for a household in the village was $38,819, and the median income for a family was $51,193. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $26,518 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 $19,083. About 4.9% of families and 5.3% 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 6.7% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

West Liberty town hall and fire department

A branch of the

Logan County District Library The Logan County District Library is a public library system that serves communities throughout Logan County, Ohio, United States. The system's central library, which is also its oldest and largest branch, is the Knowlton Library, located alon ...

serves the West Liberty community. In the elections of November 2007, Rebecca Hamilton and Greg Hostetler were elected to the village council, and Brad Hudson and Dean King were elected to the village's board of public affairs. Cindee Boyd was elected clerk-treasurer without opposition. No candidate filed for the position of mayor.Examiner Staff, The. "Village results", ''Bellefontaine Examiner'', 2007-11-07, p. 2.

Infrastructure

Transportation

U.S. Route 68 U.S. Route 68 (US 68) is a United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at U.S. Route 62 in Kentucky, US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its present eastern terminus is at Interstate 7 ...

, known as "Detroit Street", forms the main street in West Liberty. Forming the main east–west street is State Route 245, and its intersection with US 68 is one of the primary intersections of the village. At the far northern end of the village, State Route 508 begins from an intersection with US 68 and heads westward to De Graff.

Notable people

* Donn Piatt, writer and journalist *

Benjamin Piatt Runkle Benjamin Piatt Runkle (September 3, 1836 – June 28, 1916) was an American military officer, Episcopal priest, and Freemason, who is noted as being one of the seven founders of Sigma Chi fraternity. Prior to joining the clergy, he served in t ...

, founder of

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Villages in Logan County, Ohio 1817 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1817 Villages in Ohio