Mount Gilead, Ohio

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Mount Gilead State Park.

Mount Gilead is a village in Morrow County, Ohio. The elevation is 1,081 feet above sea level. Shawnee people hunted in the surrounding forest before white settlers arrived in 1824. Mount Gilead was established in 1832. The population was 3,290 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morrow County. The center of population of Ohio is located in Mount Gilead [1].

Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States, was born near Blooming Grove, Ohio, northeast of Mount Gilead. As a college student, Harding began to seriously learn the newspaper and printing trade in Mount Gilead by working at the downtown Union Register. Satirical author Dawn Powell was born and raised in the village. Notable persons that resided in Mount Gilead were social reformer Victoria Woodhull and actor Tom Poston.

Located in the center of the village is Morrow County's historic, World War I Victory Memorial Shaft, unique in the United States, and Mount Gilead State Park is nearby on State Route 95. Other areas interesting to the tourist include Amish farms, shops and stores east of Mount Gilead near Chesterville and Johnsville.

The Morrow County Hospital is located at 651 West Marion Road on the west side of the village. The Hospital offers a wide variety of outpatient services and a 24 hour emergency department.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Notable Natives
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Mount Gilead is located at 40°33′8″N, 82°49′54″W (40.552090, -82.831587)^GR1. It is considered to be a part of "Central Ohio."

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²). 8.2 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.31% is water.

Victory Memorial Shaft.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,290 people, 1,291 households, and 843 families residing in the village. The population density was 399.5/km² (1,035.7/mi²). There were 1,354 housing units at an average density of 164.4/km² (426.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.78% White, 1.06% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.30% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 1,291 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% 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 2.91.

Morrow County Courthouse.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $31,894, and the median income for a family was $42,529. Males had a median income of $35,714 versus $22,425 for females. The per capita income for the village was $19,064. About 10.1% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

Old Morrow County Jail.

[edit] Notable Natives

Tim Belcher - former Major League Baseball pitcher of 14 seasons (hometown Sparta, Ohio)
Dawn Powell - American novelist, born at 53 West North Street in downtown Mount Gilead