Oakwood, Montgomery County, Ohio

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Oakwood is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,215 at the 2000 census. Oakwood is part of the Greater Dayton Area. It is a sister city with Le Vésinet, France and Outremont, Quebec and was incorporated in 1908. John Henry Patterson (NCR owner) is considered the "Father of Oakwood."

Oakwood is one of the few U.S. cities to have a single unified Department of Public Safety where all personnel are trained as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services officers and can respond to emergencies in any capacity.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Housing & Design
- 3.1 Houses
- 3.2 Aesthetics
4 Schools
5 Demographics
6 External links

[edit] History

Following the 1913 Dayton Flood that decimated downtown Dayton, residents of Montgomery County searched for new land that was at a higher elevation. Oakwood is situated atop a large hill and thus was ideal for people fearful of another flood.

Following the flood, the city's population boomed through the 1930's and became known for being a safe and pleasant place to live. The city's constant attention to aesthetic care and city services continue that reputation and has attracted many people moving to the Dayton area.

[edit] Geography

Location of Oakwood, Montgomery County, Ohio

Oakwood is located at 94°21′6″N, 66°57′10″W (39.718209, -84.169518)^GR1. It is within the Miami Valley region of Ohio, and borders on Dayton, Ohio to its North and East and Kettering, Ohio to its South and West.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.7 km² (2.2 mi²), all land.

The city is unofficially divided into two parts, east and west, by the city's major road, State Route 48. SR 48 runs north to south and connects Kettering at its southern end to the city of Dayton to the north. This four lane highway, also known as Far Hills, serves as a major route for commuters from the southern suburbs of Dayton into downtown, and as such is very busy during rush hour travel times.

[edit] West Side

The western side of Oakwood, colloquially known as "The West Side," is a hilly region that is the older of the two sides. People who live on this side are generally thought to be wealthier than people on the East Side. Because of its age, the West end features a great deal of oddly designed swerving and narrow roads that can be very confusing to people not familiar with the area. This aspect of the roads makes it very difficult for snow plows to clear snow and many times in the winter the roads of the West Side are the last plowed. Most roads also do not have sidewalks forcing many people to walk in the street.

Oakwood Avenue reflects these aspects of the West end as the road features many turns and changes in altitude. Roughly a quarter-mile section of the road is also made of red brick instead of asphalt or concrete, adding to the aged look of the area.

The hilly attributes of this section make an ideal swooping golf course and are likely one of the reasons that the bordering Dayton Country Club (DCC) is built adjacent to Oakwood's west border.

[edit] East Side

The eastern side of Far Hills Avenue (SR 48) is a great deal more level than its western counterpart and is a stark contrast to the geography of the West Side. The east is much more modern and thus the roads are designed in a common grid layout. It still features some slight changes in elevation, such as a decline at its northern end into Dayton, but most are subtle and span a long distance. The roads are straight and wide and are many times well plowed in the winter before most workers commute to their jobs. The streets on the east are accompanied by well maintained sidewalks that are plowed in the wintertime along with the streets.

The flat geography makes it a perfect location for the city's main athletic venue, Mack Hummon Stadium, Oakwood High School's soccer, football, and track & field stadium. Attached to the stadium is the school's baseball and softball fields, which double as its practice field for football and marching band.

While this athletic facility serves many of the sports, the impossibly low amount of unused space in the city forces sports to practice in facilities in neighboring Dayton and Kettering.

[edit] Smith Side vs Harman Side

While residence on the West Side or East side is mistakenly considered a sign one's status, many affluent citizens call the East Side home. The East Side boasts several historic mansions. Only the south east side should be noted for its lack of historic architecture in comparison to the rest of Oakwood. Because Harman elementary consists of students from only the North Side, it is a slightly wealthier school than Smith, which has a large number of students from the densely populated South East Side. A more consistent measure of status in Oakwood, though at times an innacurrate one, is which elementary school one attended. The smug perception that Oakwood often receives stems mainly from the Harman side.

[edit] Housing & Design

Oakwood is one of the most affluent suburbs in Southwest Ohio and contains a rich collection of architecture. Because of the city's age, most houses were constructed before World War II and are older in design. The style of houses range from Tudor style to Swiss Chalets to Brick Georgian Colonial to White Clapboard Colonial to gothic architecture and similarly vary in size. Like Oakwood's geography, there is a noted contrast between the city's west and east sides, as well as north and south sides.

[edit] Houses

The Western end of the city features many large properties and grand houses, such as Hawthorn Hill, home of the Wright Brothers. The houses in this area tend to lie on well secluded plots of land, surrounded by many trees. Unique features include ponds with bridges and black swans, tennis courts, swimming pools and backyard putting greens. However, as the land evens out in the southwest corner of Oakwood, with the large exception Ridgeway Road boasting numerous tudor style estates complete with tennis courts, the houses become smaller in size.

[edit] Aesthetics

Because of Oakwood's affluence, there is a general societal push for beautification. Rundown houses and unkempt lawns are generally frowned upon by the community and result in neatly cut lawns and gardens. The city itself gives "Beautification Awards" to the judged most beautiful houses in order to maintain this high level of aesthetic awareness.

In a similar effort, the city has relatively strict zoning laws that restrict major changes to houses and require city approval for any planned structural additions. For example, the city requires all external utility units (such as air conditioning units) to be obstructed from the view from the street.

This general tend is not fully accepted by all residents and some have chosen to resist this push.In a notable move to change from the norm, a resident on Far Hills Avenue chose to paint his or her house a bright hue of purple. The house, across from the high school, draws much attention due to its location. This action created a fair amount of controversey in the city but as of November 2006 it still remains the same color.

In addition to the well kept up houses, the city is adorned with a large amount of trees from border to border, most of them deciduous trees, giving the city a constantly changing look depending on the season.

Public architecture is a general source of pride for the Oakwood community. The city buildings were designed to incorporate the rich variation of traditional architectural styles found in the city's houses. Oakwood High School is often mistaken for a private, sprawling mansion, due to its elaborate external design. The elementary schools, Edwin D. Smith Elementary School and Harman Elementary School, echo this elaborate style. Smith Elementary is tudor styled like the High School while Harman Elementary is Colonial revival. The newest addition to the school system, The Julian and Marjorie Lange School, features Spanish revival architecture. The Oakwood Board of Education occupies a beautiful gray stucco manse with red tile roof in the northern most area of Oakwood on Rubicon Road.

Wright Memorial Library offers similar aesthetics, and the police/fire department is reminiscent of a French chateau.

[edit] Schools

Building on a tradition of excellence, the mission of the Oakwood City School District is "to educate students who will continue to develop self-worth and a knowledge base enabling them to become positive, contributing citizens in a changing society." Oakwood Schools are repeatedly ranked among the very best in Ohio and the top-tier in the nation. The school system's mascot is the Lumberjack so as to pay homage to the forests which gave Oakwood its name. Oakwood High School's yearbook is The Acorn, and its newspaper is "The Dome." "The Dome" refers to the insular reputation of Oakwood.

The Lange School is the city's kingergarten building. Its motto is “Lange School, a Child’s Place." Until The Lange School opened in 1999, kindgergartens were in each elementary school. The Harman Elementary School and Edwin D. Smith Elementary School provide service to children from first through sixth grades. One contiguous junior and senior high school provides education for all Oakwood students grades seven through twelve. Oakwood High graduated its first senior class in 1924 and began the practice of the Baccaulaureate ceremony at Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Dayton. The end of an Oakwood student's experience is the Senior Awards, Baccalaureate, and Commencement ceremonies. The top senior awards are the Daisy Talbott Greene and Harry E. Talbott awards which are narrowed down throughout the school year to the best all-around senior female and male as voted by the high school faculty. These students exemplify "scholarship, athletics, and leadership" under the definition of the award.

Oakwood's educational system places a strong emphasis on post-secondary education. Oakwood High School is a national school of excellence. Oakwood High School's relatively challenging English, mathematics, natural science, and foreign language courses are matched by many performing arts opportuinities for its students. It is not uncommon for Oakwood's top academic graduates to gain acceptance to highly selective universities and colleges in America and the world. Most graduates, however, attend schools within a 300 mile radius, with a large percentage remaining in Ohio. Oakwood High School is consistently ranked as one of the top 10 academic institutes in Ohio as well as one of the top 400 in the United States.

Much of the community's unity centers around the city schools. Sporting Events, Plays and musicals are generally well attended by the city's adults. The school system itself is equally well supported although many Oakwood residents have no children of school age. The quality of education in Oakwood attracts many families and in turn keeps real estate values high in spite of the aging housing base. Oakwood voters generally support property tax raises in order to keep the schools well maintained which in turn help to keep property values high.

[edit] Demographics

Chart of the Oakwood Racial Makeup as of the 2000 Census

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 9,215 people, 3,633 households, and 2,597 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,624.6/km² (4,209.0/mi²). There were 3,815 housing units at an average density of 672.6/km² (1,742.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.41% White, 0.48% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.98% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population. The city of Oakwood is well known in the Dayton area for its low minority populations, which stand in stark contrast to those of the City of Dayton.

There were 3,633 households out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.5% were non-families. 26.3% 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 2.53 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $72,392, and the median income for a family was $88,263. Males had a median income of $70,500 versus $35,833 for females. The per capita income for the city was $41,567. About 1.7% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.