Lorain, Ohio

City of Lorain
—  City  —
Seal
Location within the state of Ohio
Coordinates: 41°26′54″N 82°10′8″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Lorain
Founded	1807
Government
• Mayor	Chase M. Ritenauer (D)
• President of Council	Joel Arredondo(D)
Area
• Total	24.2 sq mi (62.8 km2)
• Land	24.0 sq mi (62.2 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation	610 ft (186 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	64,097
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	44052-44055-44053-44054
Area code(s)	440
FIPS code	39-44856
GNIS feature ID	1077529
Website	http://www.cityoflorain.org

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland.

As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 64,097, making it Ohio's 10th largest city. It was first settled in 1807 and was originally named Charleston.

Ford Motor Company had the Lorain Assembly Plant in the city, mostly known for assembling the Ford Econoline (E-series) van, Ford Torino and Mercury Montego, and beginning in 1975 the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar (through 1997); the plant ceased all production on December 14, 2005. The sprawling United States Steel Mills, portions recently acquired by Republic Steel, stretch for nearly 3 miles on the city's south side. These mills have operated in the city since 1895 and continue to employ thousands of local residents. Though the blast furnaces were idled in late 2008, Republic announced in December 2011 that they would be building electric arc furnaces to once again make steel in Lorain.

Geography

Lorain, part of the Cleveland–Elyria–Mentor metropolitan area, is located at 41°26′54″N 82°10′8″W (41.448241, -82.168862).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.2 square miles (63 km²), of which, 24.0 square miles (62 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) of it (0.95%) is water.

The Charles Berry Bridge is located in Lorain, which is the 2nd largest bascule bridge in the world.

Name and History

• The City of Lorain originally began as the small village named "Mouth of Black River", named at that time for its exact location on the west side of the mouth of the Black River (formerly called the 'Reneshoua River' and 'La Riviere de la Cuiliere'). The village began to take form about 1820, primarily through the efforts of pioneer settler John S. Reid, and expanded by his son and sons-in-law who renamed the village "Charleston" in 1836, but it was shortly later again name-changed to simply "Black River" village.
  

  

  1834 Plat Map for the village of "Mouth of Black River". click for more info.
• By 1874, the village had grown considerably, and so was incorporated as 'Lorain', named for the County in which it is located. (The original records for the County do not seem to indicate why the County's name had earlier been chosen as "Lorain"; this County being at that time, 1822, still under the jurisdiction of Huron County. However, the residents who had chosen the new County name "Lorain" (which became independent in 1824), had no direct connection to the Alsace-Loraine area of France, which later historians had theorized.)
• The city eventually expanded to encompass land on the east side of the river, including land which had been previously owned and occupied in 1807 by members of the Nathan Perry family of Cleveland, Ohio. Therefore, and because the Perry family are such well-known pioneers of Cleveland, some historians have attributed that family as the first pioneers of the City of Lorain; however, the Perry family did not establish the actual original village of Mouth of Black River. Nathan Perry, Jr., who ran an Indian-trading-post shanty on the east side of the river, only did so for a couple of fair-weather seasons, but then permanently moved back to Cleveland in Fall 1808. But the much later village of "Mouth of Black River" on the opposite (west) side of the river, was established by John S. Reid (born John S. Van Reide), and his family. John had first arrived to the area of the Black River in 1809, and helped to clear many of the area roads through the wilderness, including the Lake Road from the Black River to the Huron River. John finally permanently moved his family to the Black River's mouth in 1811. In 1812 he ran the first U.S. post-office here from his blockhouse/tavern, and the future village of Mouth of Black River settlement then sprang up around Reid's location, and was accelerated in the 1820's due to prospects of a canal (about 1823) and early railroad (about 1833) going through it, although neither project occurred. The main commerce that kept the little village alive in its earliest years, was the grain-shipping industry, as well as being a very early ship-building port beginning in 1819.
• John S. Reid's son Conrad Reid, was the first mayor after the city became named 'Lorain'.

[source: County records and property-deeds of Huron County and Lorain County Ohio; and History of Lorain County, Williams 1879]

Politics

See also: List of mayors of Lorain, Ohio

Politics in the City of Lorain have traditionally been closely tied to the local Democratic Party. However, through the years Republicans occasionally have been able to win offices. Since the late 1990s Lorain has elected all Democrats to city council, but in 1999 a Republican - Craig Foltin - was elected mayor. In 2003, the voters re-elected Craig L. Foltin.

Lorain is one of the largest cities in Ohio to not have a charter. The city of Lorain functions under a Statutory government. This provides for a Mayor-Council form with until recently 3 at-large seats and 8 wards.

As of the 2008 General Election, the number of residents registered to a political party were:

• Democrats: 16,168
• Republicans: 2,346

The city is home to the Lorain Municipal Court, which serves the cities of Lorain and Sheffield Lake as well as Sheffield Township.

Demographics

Broadway, Downtown

As of the census of 2010, there were 64,097 people, 26,434 households, and 17,975 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,858.1 people per square mile (1,103.5/km²). There were 28,231 housing units at an average density of 1,175.5 per square mile (453.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.90% White (55.00% non hispanic white), 17.64% African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 8.00% from other races, and 5.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.52% of the population, mostly made up of Puerto Ricans.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.3% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,917, and the median income for a family was $39,454. Males had a median income of $34,120 versus $23,065 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,340. About 14.2% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.5% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	1,595		—
1890	4,863		204.9%
1900	16,028		229.6%
1910	28,883		80.2%
1920	37,205		28.8%
1930	44,512		19.6%
1940	44,125		−0.9%
1950	51,202		16.0%
1960	68,932		34.6%
1970	78,185		13.4%
1980	75,416		−3.5%
1990	71,245		−5.5%
2000	68,652		−3.6%
2010	64,097		−6.6%

Culture

Over 70 different nationalities live in the Lorain area. Many were originally attracted by work in the steel mills and ship yards. Lorain is sometimes referred to as Steel City mainly because of its well-known steel mill. Downtown Lorain was devastated by a tornado in 1924 and as part of an initiative to rebuild the downtown several historic buildings were constructed, including the Lorain Palace Theatre which opened in 1928 and continues to operate today. One of the highlights of the summer season is the Lorain International Festival.

Pictures

• 

  Broadway, looking north, about 1908

• 

  Aerial view, looking north, 1908-1918

• 

  "At the loop", 1913

• 

  Aerial view of the harbor at Lorain, Ohio. View is to the southeast.

Notable natives and residents

• Terry Anderson, journalist and former Lebanese hostage
• Don Barden, Detroit businessman and owner of several large U.S. based casinos, Served 2 terms as Lorain's first black city councilman.
• Charles J. Berry, Corporal, winner of the Medal of Honor during World War II
• Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize–winning book critic
• Stevan Dohanos, artist
• Robert Galambos (1914–2010), researcher who discovered how bats use echolocation.
• Quincy Gillmore, General
• William Hanley, author
• Raymont Harris - NFL running back
• Lofton Henderson, Major, a hero of the Battle of Midway
• Ernest J. King, Fleet Admiral, Chief of Naval Operations and Fleet Admiral of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in World War II
• Ray Lawrence, bandleader, record company executive, record producer and personal manager.
• Jason Molina, singer-songwriter
• Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize laureate author
• Chad Muska, professional skateboarder, was born there, currently resides in the Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
• Don Novello, aka Father Guido Sarducci
• Ward Van Orman, three time winner of the Gordon Bennett Race
• Robert F. Overmyer, Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, test pilot and astronaut
• Martha Piper, former chancellor and president of the University of British Columbia
• Helen Steiner Rice, author and poetPam Robinson, co-founder of the American Copy Editors Society, a national journalism organization
• Vince Villanucci, NFL player
• Eric Watling, Professional traveler
• Michael Gonzalez, Co-founder of Splashing Colors inc
• General Johnnie Wilson
• Matt Wilhelm, Elyria Catholic graduate, NFL Linebacker, Ohio State National Champion and Super Bowl Champ
• Colonel Douglas P. Yurovich, United States Marine Corps, CAG 9

External links

• City of Lorain
• Ohio Business College Lorain Campus
• Black River Historical Society - The Museum of the City of Lorain
• Lorain, Ohio Business & Living
• Local Announcements, Business Listings and Events Calendar
• Lorain travel guide from Wikitravel