| Kenton, Ohio | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Aerial view of Kenton from the southwest | |
| Location of Kenton, Ohio | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Ohio |
| County | Hardin |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gary Ritzler |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.6 sq mi (11.8 km2) |
| • Land | 4.5 sq mi (11.6 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2) |
| Elevation[1] | 991 ft (302 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 8,262 |
| • Density | 1,836/sq mi (712.2/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 43326 |
| Area code(s) | 419 567 |
| FIPS code | 39-39886[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1064929[1] |
| Website | http://www.kentoncity.com/ |
Kenton is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Ohio, United States,[3] along the Scioto River. The population was 8,262[4] at the 2010 census. It is named for Kentucky/Ohio frontiersman, Simon Kenton. It is the seat of Hardin County.
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Kenton is located at (40.646555, -83.608706)[5].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (12 km2), of which, 4.5 square miles (12 km2) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (1.97%) is water.
In 1845 Kenton was incorporated as a village, and became a city in 1886. Kenton is named after frontiersman Simon Kenton. It started out as a center for agriculture trade, then in the late 19th century developed industry common to 19th century America.[6] Kenton was home to the Gene Autry toy cap gun manufacturing plant for some time.[7]
As of the census[4] of 2010, there were 8,262 people, 3,351 households, and 2,092 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,836 people per square mile (712.2/km²). There were 3,773 housing units at an average density of 838.4 per square mile (325.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.2% White, 0.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.90% of the population.
There were 3,351 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.4 and the average family size was 2.97.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 20, 6.5% from 20 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.2 years. For every 100 females there were 88.8 males.
2010 Data for income was unavailable, the following is 2000 census data. The median income for a household in the city was $29,065, and the median income for a family was $37,170. Males had a median income of $31,225 versus $19,413 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,324. About 11.6% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 17.2% of those age 65 or over.
Kenton is home to the Kenton City School district. There are three elementary schools, Espy, Northwood, and Hardin Central, Kenton Middle School, Kenton High School, and Westview, a kindergarten. Simon Kenton, a special education school, is run by a different Board of Education and is connected with Harco Workshop for Developmental Disabilities.
The local high school is Kenton High School, with the nickname, the "Wildcats". The Wildcat football team won consecutive state championships in 2001 and 2002 in division IV and runner-up in 2003 in division III.[8][9]
There are two media outlets currently operating in Kenton: WKTN, a radio station; and The Kenton Times, a daily newspaper.
Kenton has a variety of attractions and available activities. The Hardin County Courthouse is a historical site in the center of Kenton. Kenton is home to one library, the Mary Lou Johnson Hardin County District Library (http://www.mljlibrary.org). It has two museums; The Hardin County Historical Museum and The Organette House Mechanical Music Museum. In terms of entertainment, Kenton has the Kenton Theater or the Hi-Road Drive in. For fun you can also go to the local YMCA to play basketball, lift, or swim. There is also an outdoor pool that is now run by the YMCA during the summer months. There are many one of a kind options to eat such as BR Brunsons, a homestyle restaurant. There is also En Lai, a Chinese Restaurant, Salsa's Mexican Restaurant, Michael Angelo's Pizza and Jolene's Cozy Cafe, among many others. Kenton also has a large Amish population where you can buy produce, baked goods, and get furniture. The week of Labor Day is the duration of the Hardin County Fair.
The movie Unstoppable is loosely based on the "Crazy Eights" unmanned train incident in 2001 which ended in Kenton. The train, led by CSX Transportation SD40-2 #8888, left its Walbridge, Ohio rail yard and rumbled on a 66-mile journey through northwest Ohio with no one at the controls, due to the throttle being applied on full instead of a brake. Two of the train's tank cars contained thousands of gallons of molten phenol, a toxic ingredient of paints and dyes harmful when it is inhaled, ingested, or comes into contact with the skin. For two hours, the train traveled along at speeds up to 47 miles per hour until the crew of a second train coupled onto the runaway and slowly applied its brakes. Once #8888 was slowed down to a speed of 11 miles per hour, a CSX employee, trainmaster Jon Hosfeld, ran alongside the train and climbed aboard, shutting down the locomotive. The train was stopped just southeast of Kenton.
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