Plymouth, Ohio

Plymouth is a village in Huron and Richland counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,852 at the 2000 census.

The Richland County portion of Plymouth is part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Huron County portion is part of the Norwalk Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Plymouth is located at (40.996121, -82.666746)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²), of which, 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.89%) is water.

The east/west main street in downtown Plymouth is known as East Main and West Broadway and in the surrounding unincorporated areas is known as Base Line Road, as it divides Richland and Huron Counties. This puts the village in dual political geographies. This presents several difficulties such as taxes, laws and law enforcement. While the village has its own police force, half shares jurisdiction with the Huron County Sheriff's Department and half with the Richland County Sheriff's Department.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 1,852 people, 678 households, and 536 families residing in the village. The population density was 834.4 people per square mile (322.1/km²). There were 744 housing units at an average density of 335.2 per square mile (129.4/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.16% White, 0.22% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.59% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.

There were 678 households out of which 40.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the village the population was spread out with 31.0% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $36,994, and the median income for a family was $40,559. Males had a median income of $35,737 versus $23,807 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,474. About 10.4% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

History

Plymouth was formerly the headquarters of the Plymouth Locomotive Works, a builder of industrial railroad locomotives. The factory closed in 1999. The company designed and built an automobile named Plymouth in the early part of the century, but it was not mass produced, but there were trucks and tractors produced by Commercial Motor Truck Company under the Plymouth name in the same period.^[4] Later, Chrysler Motors developed the Plymouth Automobile Division, but thought the Ohio company had infringed on their name. A court battle ensued over the ownership of the name Plymouth, which Chrysler lost when it was determined the original Plymouth car preceded Chrysler's by several years. During the Depression, the Plymouth Locomotive plant designed and built the famous Silver King (originally the Plymouth) tractor, a somewhat maligned favorite of local farmers and known for its fast road gear. The tractors were produced until the 1950s when it was sold to Mountain State Engineering in West Virginia and then discontinued. The village hosts the annual Silver King Festival during the first week of August when restored Silver Kings tractors from around the world are displayed.

Education

Plymouth is located within the Plymouth-Shiloh Local School District. The district administers three public schools in Plymouth including Plymouth-Shiloh Elementary School, Shiloh Middle School, and Plymouth High School.^[5]

Notable natives and residents

• David Ross Locke, a journalist and early political commentator during the American Civil War
• Eleanor Searle Whitney McCollum, the spouse of Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and founder of the Heritage Center Museum, and the Searle House Bed and Breakfast, a memorial to her mother and father
• John M. C. Smith, a U.S. Representative from Michigan

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
4. ^ The Model G truck had 50 horsepower, friction transmission, dual chain drive, 1000-6000 lb payload or 9-20 seats. Clymer, Floyd. Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925 (New York: Bonanza Books, 1950), p.67.
5. ^ Great Schools.com. "Plymouth-Shiloh Local School District Profile". http://www.greatschools.net/schools.page?district=547&state=OH. Retrieved 2007-11-26.