Portsmouth, Ohio

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Portsmouth, Ohio
A view of the Carl D. Perkins Bridge from Alexandria Point in Portsmouth, Ohio
A view of the Carl D. Perkins Bridge from Alexandria Point in Portsmouth, Ohio
Location in the State of Ohio
Location in the State of Ohio
Coordinates: 38°44′35″N, 82°57′56″W
Country United States
State Ohio
County Scioto
Founded 1803
Incorporated 1815
Mayor Jim Kalb
Area  
 - City 28.6 km²  (11.1 sq mi)
 - Land 27.9 km²  (10.8 sq mi)
 - Water 0.8 km² (0.3 sq mi)
Population  
 - City (2000) 20,909
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)

Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States. The population was 20,909 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Scioto CountyGR6.

Contents

[edit] Geography

Portsmouth is at the confluence of the Ohio, Scioto and Little Scioto Rivers. Portsmouth is also a midway point between three major cities: Charleston, Cincinnati, and Columbus. All of which are around ninety miles and a two hour drive to get to. Much of the terrain is quite hilly due to dissected plateau around it. However, both rivers carve a river valley making Portsmouth nestle between the Scioto and Ohio Rivers.

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

Portsmouth's roots began in the 1790's when the small town of Alexandria was founded just west of where Portsmouth is today. Alexandria was flooded numerous times by the Ohio River and the Scioto River. In 1803, Henry Massie spotted a place to move the town away from the flood plains. He began to plot the new city by distributing the land and mapping the streets. Portsmouth was founded in 1803 and was established as a city in 1815. Alexandria soon disappeared and today a dirt race track sits where the town once stood.

Portsmouth quickly grew around an industrial base with the completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the construction of the N&W railyards and the B&O junction. This greatly benifited Boneyfidle (which is a west-end neighborhood in Portsmouth), where grand buildings were constructed with the wealth from the commerce. As time passed, much of the commerce began to move towards Chillicothe Street which is the main thoroughfare of Portsmouth. Today, Boneyfidle is a shadow of its former self. Another notable part of Portsmouth's history in the 1800's was its importance on the Underground Railroad. It was located on a route that continued north to Detroit and into Canada.

[edit] The Floods and the floodwalls

Even though the city was on higher ground, it was still prone to flooding. The city had great deal of flooding in 1884, 1913, and 1937. After the flood of 1937, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a floodwall protecting the city, which prevented two major floods in 1964 and 1997. In 1993, mural artist Robert Dafford began painting murals of Portsmouth's history on the floodwall. Most of the mural project was finished around 2003, and a baseball mural honoring Portsmouth's baseball heroes was completed in 2006.

[edit] Decline

By the 1950's, Portsmouth's population had climaxed at around 50,000. However, higher labor costs, instability caused by local labour unions, and foreign influence eventually caused most of the industry on which Portsmouth's economy was based to move out of the area. A major blow came in 1980 when the steel industry suspended local operations. With a current population of approximately 20,000, the city is not far removed from many small cities along the Ohio River valley, sharing many of the same problems in an era of unskilled labour outsourcing and population migration to more urban areas with the subsequent loss of both skilled and unskilled labour.

[edit] Government

[edit] City Government

The city charter was originally adopted on November 6, 1928. The city conducts business at their city hall which was constructed in 1935. City council meetings are held during the second and fourth weeks in the month. The city reverted from being run by a city manager to a mayor in 1988. The mayor is elected every four years. There are six wards in the city with elections of the wards every two years. The city hall has recently been in poor shape and a committee has been set up to find a new building for city hall which has lead to further controversy in the last few years, see below.

Ward City Councillor
First Ward Mike Mearan
Second Ward David Malone
Third Ward Bob Mollette
Fourth Ward Jerrold Albrecht
Fifth Ward Howard Baughman
Sixth Ward Martin Mohr


Portsmouth has not been immune to political corruption and many citizens consider it to be rampant at times. They recalled three city council members in 1980 after a shopping mall proposal was denied by city council[citation needed], recalled a city manager in 1981 for illegal actions[citation needed], and in 2004 recalled both the mayor and two council members over a proposal to move the city hall to the building of a former local department store[citation needed].

[edit] County Government

Portsmouth is the county seat for Scioto County. The courthouse is located at Sixth and Court Streets respectfully and was constructed in 1936. The county jail is located in the city where the rail depot used to be near U.S. 23 and was constructed in 2006. Before the construction, the county jail used to be at the courthouse.

[edit] Economy

Portsmouth was a city focused on industry and manufacturing until the 1970s when a number of companies closed down their factories over labour issues and foreign influences. Since the closure of these factories, Portsmouth has suffered a loss of jobs and revenue. The city is currently trying to promote service businesses, with the Southern Ohio Medicial Center currently being the biggest employer in the city of Portsmouth.

In November of 2002, the Portsmouth Uranium Enrichment Plant in nearby Piketon, Ohio was recognized as an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society. It had served a military function from 1952 until the mid-1960s when the mission changed from enriching uranium for nuclear weapons to one focused on producing fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. The Portsmouth Uranium Enrichment Plant ended enriching operations in 2001 and began to support operational and administrative functions and perform external contract work. All uranium enrichment in the area has been taken over by a sister plant located in Paducah, Kentucky. Uranium enrichment functions had previously been shared by the two plants. USEC interests in the area remain strong with the American Centrifuge Plant under construction in Piketon. This commercial uranium enrichment facility is expected to employ up to 500 people and reach an initial annual production level of 3.5 million SWU by 2010.

Portsmouth is also the home of Mitchellace Inc., the largest manufacturer of shoelaces in the world.

[edit] Transportation

Portsmouth is served by two major highways, U.S. 23 and U.S. 52. Other routes include Ohio 73, Ohio 104, Ohio 139, Ohio 140, and Ohio 335. Norfolk Southern offers a railyard for long distance shipping. Public transportation is offered through Access Scioto County External Link. Portsmouth also offers air services with Greater Portsmouth Regional Airport located in Minford, Ohio, which is 20 miles northeast of the city.

There's also Amtrak passenger service to the Portsmouth area under the Cardinal route. The passenger station is located in South Shore.

[edit] Education

[edit] K-12 schools

Portsmouth has one public and one private school system. Portsmouth City Schools has served the city since its foundings in the 1830's and is the public school in the city. Portsmouth City Schools is notable having a storied basketball tradition by winning four OSHAA State Basketball Championships in 1929, 1961, 1978, and 1988. In 2000, Portsmouth voters passed a much needed school levy which helped construct new schools for Portsmouth City Schools which opened for the 2006-2007 school year. Portsmouth Notre Dame has served the city's Catholics and others who want a higher education since 1852. It is also notable for its football team founded in 1929. It has won two State Championships in 1967 and 1970.

The are also has an open enrollment policy, so students may attend other schools in Scioto County.

  • List of Portsmouth City Schools
    • Garfield School-opened in 1920, now used for Scioto County MRDD
    • Harding Elementary-closed in 2006
    • Highland Elementary-opened in 1956/closed in 2000. Now home to CAO Head Start.
    • Lincoln Elementary-opened in 1923/closed in 2000
    • Linden Elementary-opened in 1927/closed in 1976
    • Massie Elementary-closed 1959
    • Roosevelt Elementary-opened in 1930/closed in 2006
    • Scudder Elementary-closed in the 1970's, now used for county education department
    • Wilson Elementary-closed in 2006
    • Grant Middle School-opened in 1910/closed in 2004. Demolished.
    • McKinley Middle School-opened in 1916/closed in 2006
    • Portsmouth High School-opened in 1910/closed in 2006. Currently being demolished (November 20, 2006).

Portsmouth City Schools moved to new schools for the 2006-2007 school year.

[edit] Universities

Portsmouth used to be home to Ohio University's Southern Campus, but it moved to Ironton, Ohio in the early 1980's and the former Ohio University buildings became home to Shawnee State University, which was founded in 1986. At the present time, the university is expanding and institutes an open-door policy.

[edit] Culture

[edit] Buildings and landmarks

Many historical buildings in Portsmouth have been demolished because of poor upkeep, other city improvements, or the completition of other buildings that replaced the landmarks. Landmarks that have been demolished include the old rail depot, churches dating back to the early 1900's, houses that dated back to the 1850's, Grant Middle School, and currently the old Portsmouth high school and elementary schools. Nevertheless, there are many buildings still standing in the city that date back to the early 1800s. Old churches still stand as a reminder of our past and identity, along with the Columbia Theater which has been given a major facelift, the old monastery which can be seen for miles, Spartan Stadium, and numerous buildings in the Boneyfidle Historic District which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Portsmouth Public Library, the city's only public library, was founded in 1879; it has branch libraries throughout Scioto County. The Southern Ohio Museum, founded in 1979, has over sixty exhibits on display including artwork by Clarence Holbrook Carter, China dolls, Native American artifacts, and works by local artists.

[edit] Professional Sports

Portsmouth had a series of semi-pro football teams in the '20s and '30s, the most notable being the Portsmouth Shoe-Steels, whose roster included player-coach Jim Thorpe.

From 1930-1933, Portsmouth was the home of the Spartans, the NFL franchise that became the Detroit Lions in 1934. The roster included Glen Presnell, the NFL's leading scorer of 1933. Presnell later would set an NFL record with his 54-yard field goal, which was a record for 19 years. Also on the roster was hall-of-famer Dutch Clark. In 1930, the Spartans played the Brooklyn Dodgers in the first night game in NFL history. In 1931, the Spartans were supposed to play the Green Bay Packers for the championship game, but the Packers refused to play. The Packers were named the champions anyway, but the next season the Spartans beat the Packers 19-0. The game became known as the "iron man game" because coach George Potsy Clark refused to use subsitutes as a protest of the NFL naming the Packers champions. They lost to the Chicago Bears in the 1932 Championship Game. The team was sold in 1934 and it became the Detroit Lions. The Lions won the Championship the next year, with a roster made up of mostly Spartan holdovers.

On the baseball front, the Portsmouth Explorers were one of the original teams in the Frontier League, a non-affiliated minor league baseball organization. The Explorers played in the league's first three seasons, from 1993 to 1995. In 1938, Portsmouth was also the home of the Portsmouth Red Birds, a minor leauge team owned by the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the late 90's Portsmouth was home to the Superstar Wrestling Federation before it's demise. More recently Revolutionary Chapionship Wrestling has made it's home in Portsmouth airing on local TV station WQCW. Revolutionary Championship Wrestling in Portsmouth has featured such wrestling stars as Big Van Vader, "The King" Jerry Lawler, Demolition Ax, "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, "Wildcat" Chris Harris, and Ivan Koloff.

[edit] Media

Portsmouth is a dividing line of numerous television markets which are Columbus, Cincinnati, and Huntington-Charleston markets. There is one local television station in Portsmouth which is WQCW, a CW affiliate. Local radio stations WIOI, WNXT, and WPAY serve the radio stations in the city. Portsmouth is also served by three newspapers. The Portsmouth Daily Times eternal link is the city's daily paper. The Community Common external link and the Scioto Voice external link are the bi-weekly newspapers in the area. The University Chronicle external link is the distributed local newspaper at Shawnee State University.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 20,909 people, 9,120 households, and 5,216 families residing in the city. The population density was 749.6/km² (1,941.4/mi²). There were 10,248 housing units at an average density of 367.4/km² (951.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.50% White, 5.00% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 9,120 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,004, and the median income for a family was $31,237. Males had a median income of $31,521 versus $20,896 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,078. About 18.3% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable people from Portsmouth

[edit] Sister cities

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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