Pickerington, Ohio

Pickerington, Ohio
—  City  —
The welcome sign located on Hill Road N. (OH-256)

Seal
Nickname(s): Picktown, Violet Capital of Ohio, The Purple City
Location of Pickerington, Ohio
Coordinates:
Country United States
State  Ohio
Counties Fairfield, Franklin
Founded 1815
Government
 • Type Mayor-council-manager
 • Mayor Mitch O'Brian
 • City Manager Bill Vance
Area
 • Total 7.4 sq mi (19.3 km2)
 • Land 7.4 sq mi (19.3 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation[1] 837 ft (255 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 18,291
 • Density 1,317.4/sq mi (508.6/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 43147
Area code(s) 614
FIPS code 39-62498[2]
GNIS feature ID 1061537[1]
Website ci.pickerington.oh.us

Pickerington is a city in Fairfield and Franklin counties in the central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1815 as Jacksonville. Pickerington was known as Jacksonville until 1827 when the citizens petitioned the state legislature to change the name to Pickerington in honor of its founder, Abraham Pickering. It is a suburb of Columbus. The population was 18,291 at the 2010 census. As land annexation, development, and in-migration in and around Columbus continues, the city of Pickerington (like many area suburbs) has generally followed suit.

The Ohio Secretary of State certified Pickerington as a city in 1991 and was designated as the "Violet Capital of Ohio" in 1996 by the Ohio Legislature. At 11.1 sq mi (29 km2), Pickerington is the second largest city in Fairfield County and is second in size only to Lancaster. The City of Pickerington is located just east of Columbus, Ohio. The city features a historic downtown shopping area, while Violet Township is home to rolling hills, long horses, forests, and fields.

Contents

Law and government

Pickerington uses the weak-mayor version of the mayor-council government, which constitutes an elected executive mayor position, an elected city council, and an appointed city manager position.

Mayor

The current mayor, Mitch O'Brien, was elected in November 2007. He ran against current city council member Heidi Riggs and won the popular vote, earning 56% of the total vote.

City council

The Pickerington city council is a seven-member body that is elected by rolling. There are four standing committees in the council: the finance committee, the rules committee, the safety committee, and the service committee.

Current council members with elected or re-elected year and position:

Administration

There are several positions appointed between the mayor and city council to aid in the day-to-day management of the city.

List of some appointed officials in alphabetical order:

Geography

Pickerington is located at (39.892168, -82.763837).[3]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 188
1890 290 54.3%
1900 263 −9.3%
1910 310 17.9%
1920 358 15.5%
1930 366 2.2%
1940 384 4.9%
1950 433 12.8%
1960 634 46.4%
1970 696 9.8%
1980 3,917 462.8%
1990 5,668 44.7%
2000 9,792 72.8%
2010 18,291 86.8%
US Census[4]

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 9,792 people, 3,468 households, and 2,687 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,317.4 people per square mile (508.8/km²). There were 3,573 housing units at an average density of 480.7 per square mile (185.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.18% White, 3.72% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.38% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.35% of the population.

There were 3,468 households out of which 48.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the city the population was spread out with 32.7% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $63,664, and the median income for a family was $71,161. Males had a median income of $51,155 versus $31,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,839. About 2.6% of families and 3.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

Pickerington Local School District

Pickerington Local School District consists of 14 buildings: two high schools, two junior high schools, three middle schools, and seven elementary schools. There are two new elementary schools and one middle school that were just built. One in the Sycamore area, and the others off of Toll Gate Road.

PLSD is made up of approximately 70.2% White, 20.9% African-American, 3% Asian, 1.6% Hispanic, .2% American Indian, and 5% multi-racial students. 10.2% of students are on a free/reduced lunch program. 9.6% are students with disabilities. The school district also has an average attendance rate of 97%.

History of PLSD

The legacy of the Pickerington Local School District began in Violet Township with the Ordinance of 1785. This ordinance set aside land for school purposes. At one time Violet Township was home to 19 one to two room schools spread across the township. The bulk of these schools later became combined into the Pickerington Local School District.

The first documented school in the Pickerington area was in 1812. It is believed that the log cabin housing the school may have been a settler’s cabin used on Sundays for church and school during the week.

In 1815 Abraham Pickering, whom the City of Pickerington is named after, donated a plot of land to be used for educational purposes. The Pickerington School House was built on this land, and in 1883, a new two-story, two room school was built to replace the original building. According to census data, in 1895 The Pickerington School educated 105 students. This site today is home to the Pickerington-Violet Township Historical Society, 15 E. Columbus Street.

The Violet Township Board of Education (VHTS) was created in 1905 as the first step in unification of the area schools. After two years of hard work, a charter from the state was in hand and the process for financing a building program was in place. Construction of the new Violet Township High School began in February 1907. The building would have six rooms plus a basement at a cost of $15,000. The VTHS class of 1909 was the first to graduate from this new school with a graduating class of four. In 1939 Violet Township Schools became Pickerington Local Schools and VTHS became Pickerington High School a year later.

Schools in Pickerington

Recreation

The Parks and Recreation Department offers a variety of events for the recreation of Pickerington residents and visitors. Various classes can be taken that cover a wide range of hobbies and activities, such as jewelcrafting, herbalism, archeology, and engineering. There are two sports programs, the Pickerington Youth Athletic Association and the Adult Sports League, with several sports offered, including capture the flag. There are two parks that belong to the department: Victory Park and Sycamore Creek Park. Both are located on Columbus Street, just south of Olde Town Pickerington.

On March 14, 2008, the department purchased the Swim Club, a local swimming pool, with non-tax revenue. There is no residency requirement to belong to the pool and there is no price increase for non-residents. The pool is the home of the Tigersharks swim team.

Another park, Pickerington Ponds, exists near Pickerington but is not within city limits.

Notable natives

References

External links