Circleville, Ohio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Circleville is a city along the Scioto River in Pickaway County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 13,485 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pickaway County^GR6.

Circleville hosts the Circleville Pumpkin Show every October, which draws over 400,000 visitors each year. The city's water tower has been painted to look like a giant pumpkin in honor of this festival.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Famous residents
5 External links

[edit] History

Circleville was founded in 1810. It derived its name from the circular portion of a large Hopewell culture earthwork upon which it was built. The original town plan integrated Circleville into the preexisting land with a street layout of concentric circles. An octagonal courthouse stood directly in the center.

Dissatisfaction rose with Circleville's layout, however, and in 1837, the Ohio General Assembly authorized the "Circleville Squaring Company" to convert it into a conventional grid. By 1856, this had been completed in several phases. No remaining traces of the original earthworks remain, though a few old buildings retain curved walls that were part of the original circular layout.

[edit] Geography

Circleville is located at 39°36′11″N, 82°56′21″W (39.602990, -82.939272)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.5 km² (6.7 mi²). 17.1 km² (6.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.78%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 13,485 people, 5,378 households, and 3,581 families residing in the city. The population density was 786.5/km² (2,037.2/mi²). There were 5,706 housing units at an average density of 332.8/km² (862.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.36% White, 2.54% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 5,378 households out of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,572, and the median income for a family was $41,943. Males had a median income of $32,342 versus $26,115 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,220. About 11.1% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Famous residents

Ted Lewis, a vaudeville performer, who was well known for his top hat, cane and clarinet and who sang, “Me and My Shadow” was born and raised in Circleville. There is a and a Ted Lewis Museum which exhibits his memorabilia, as well as a local park that bears his name.
Caleb Atwater, the “Father of Ohio’s Public School System” lived in Circleville for many years.