Worthington, Ohio

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Worthington, Ohio
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

imagesize =
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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Worthington within Ohio

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mapsize1 = 250px
map_caption1 = Location of Worthington within Franklin County

subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Ohio
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Franklin

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
leader_title1 =
leader_name1 =
established_title =
established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 14.7
area_land_km2 = 14.7
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 5.7
area_land_sq_mi = 5.7
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 14125
population_density_km2 = 963.2
population_density_sq_mi = 2494.6

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_m = 263
elevation_ft = 863
latd = 40 |latm = 5 |lats = 29 |latNS = N
longd = 83 |longm = 1 |longs = 15 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 43085
area_code = 614
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 39-86604GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1056581GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Worthington is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 14,125 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1803 by the Scioto Company led by James Kilbourne, who was later elected to the United States House of Representatives. The city was named in honor of Thomas Worthington, future governor of Ohio. Worthington is a northern suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

History

First settlement

On May 5, 1802 a group of prospective settlers founded the Scioto Company at the home of Rev. Eber B. Clark in Granby, Connecticut for the purpose of forming a settlement between the Muskingum River and Great Miami River in the Ohio Country. James Kilbourne was elected president and Josiah Topping secretary (McCormick 1998:7). On August 30, 1802 James Kilbourne and Nathaniel Little arrived at Colonel Thomas Worthington’s home in Chillicothe, Ohio. They tentatively reserved land along the Scioto River on the Pickaway Plains for their new settlement (McCormick 1998:17).

On October 5, 1802, the Scioto Company met in Granby, Connecticut and decided not to purchase the lands along the Scioto River on the Pickaway Plains, but rather to buy land convert|30|mi|km farther north from Dr. John Stanbery and his partner, an American Revolutionary War general, Jonathan Dayton. Sixteen thousand acres (65 km²) were purchased along the Whetstone River (now known as the Olentangy River) at $1.50 per acre (McCormick 1998:19-27). This land was part of the United States Military Lands surveyed by Israel Ludlow in 1797 and divided into townships convert|2.5|mi|km square (McCormick 1998:29-30).

Organization

On May 7, 1803 James Kilbourne arrived at what is now Worthington to inspect the Scioto Company’s purchase. A work party of seven hired laborers, paid $12 per month each, soon began work clearing the forest (McCormick 1998:29).

On August 10, 1803 the Scioto Company voted to name the village for Thomas Worthington, one of Ohio's first two senators, and for each member to contribute $2 (about four days wages) to support a library.

In September 1803 the first settlers departed Connecticut by horse. Ezra Griswold was the lone settler who traveled by oxcart. With this he is officially the first settler of Worthington, beating his fellow Company men to the site. By December 1803, Worthington was divided into 160, three quarter acre city lots with a five acre public green in the center of the village. Thirty seven persons bid between $53 and $0.25 to select a lot. Those who bid nothing were given a choice of the remaining lots. Farm lots, ranging from 20 to convert|130|acre|km2 and averaging 93 acres, were sold off in the same way. Both the Episcopal Church and Worthington Academy were given an 80 acre farm lot and 20 acre wood lot to provide financial support.

Dissolution of the Company

By August 11, 1804 the plat maps were completed, payments or notes promising payments collected and deeds prepared for all sixteen thousand acres (65 km²) of the Scioto Company’s purchase (McCormick 1998:71). On January 28, 1805, having completed its work of apportioning land and establishing the church, school and library, the Scioto Company was dissolved (McCormick 1998:76).

Incorporation

On February 20, 1808 the Worthington Academy was incorporated by the Ohio legislature and a brick building was constructed facing the northeast quadrant of the public square. Its bell now adorns Kilbourne middle school. That same year James Kilbourne erected a commercial building for a newspaper. This building still stands at 679-681 High Street as the oldest commercial building in continuous use in the state.

In 1811, Ezra Griswold built a large south-facing brick tavern on the lot north of the northeast quadrant of the public square. That same year, the Orange Johnson house was constructed north of the Village Green.

War of 1812

During the War of 1812, several Worthington militia marched north with General William Hull's army and were surrendered at Detroit on August 12, 1812. Orders issued by General William Henry Harrison from "Northwest Army Headquarters, Worthington, Ohio" on October 28, 1812 indicate the commander, like his supply wagons, was using the road north from the capital. On September 7, 1814, Zophar Topping died while serving with Indian scouts. He was Worthington's only casualty during the war.

Growth

On May 24, 1813 James Kilbourne took a seat in the United States House of Representatives.

On August 25, 1817 President James Monroe visited Worthington. Also in 1817, Philander Chase moved to Worthington to become the first rector of St. John's Episcopal Church. He concurrently served as rector of Episcopal churches in Columbus and Delaware and as principle of the Worthington Academy. In June 1818, Rev. Chase was elected Bishop of the newly organized Episcopal Diocese of Ohio.

The period from the 1820s to the Civil War was a time of slow growth for the sleepy village. In 1820 Aurora Buttles erected a Masonic hall. In 1826 the Columbus and Sandusky Turnpike was incorporated (now U.S. Route 23) to connect the center of the state to Lake Erie, further cementing the importance of High Street.

Civil War

In September, 1861 Captain William Piney and 14 members of the "Olentangy Reserves" muster into Company E of Thomas Worthington Jr.'s 46th Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment, which trains at Camp Lyon on the old Worthington Manufacturing Co. site southwest of the village. This unit suffered forty percent casualties at the battle of Shiloh in April, 1862.

Post-war growth

In 1866 the Bishop House was converted to the Union Hotel (Worthington Inn) by the Lewis family. In 1873 the Worthington School located at Evening Street and State Route 161 was completed. The first Worthington High School class graduated in 1880 (including 2 girls).

In 1931, the only Roman Catholic pontifical college outside of Italy, the Pontifical College Josephinum relocated just north of Worthington where it exists today.

Geography

Worthington is located at coor dms|40|5|29|N|83|1|15|W|city (40.091513, -83.020905)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.7 km²), all of it land.

The cities of Worthington and Riverlea form an enclave of Columbus.

Highways that pass through or adjacent to Worthington include Interstate 270, United States Route 23, Ohio State Route 161, and Ohio State Route 315.

Interstate 71 and Ohio State Route 710 pass just to the east of the city.

Except for a small border with Perry Township (Brookside Estates) on the west, Worthington is completely surrounded by Columbus.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 14,125 people, 5,692 households, and 4,052 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,494.6 people per square mile (963.5/km²). There were 5,845 housing units at an average density of 1,032.3/sq mi (398.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.97% White, 1.71% African American, 0.12% Native American, 2.77% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.98% of the population.

There were 5,692 households out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $68,568, and the median income for a family was $83,074. Males had a median income of $59,258 versus $39,424 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,495. About 1.4% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.

Library

The Worthington Public Library serves the community with three branches. In 2005, the library loaned more than 1.9 million items to its 61,000 cardholders, making it the 16th busiest library in Ohio. cite web |url=http://winslo.state.oh.us/publib/05circ.xls |title=2005 Ohio Public Library Statistics:Public Libraries Ranked by Circulation |accessdate=October 3 |accessyear=2006 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=State Library of Ohio |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate=] Total holding are over 436,000 volumes with nearly 500 periodical subscriptions. cite web |url=http://winslo.state.oh.us/publib/2005_stats_by_county.xls |title=2005 Ohio Public Library Statistics:Statistics by County and Town |accessdate=october 3 |accessyear=2006 |author= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=State Library of Ohio |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate=]

Notable persons from Worthington

* Gary Berry, Green Bay Packer defensive back 2004-2005 (currently inactive).
* Susan Diol, actress who graduated from Worthington High School.
* Maggie Grace, actress.
* Rachael Harris, actress and comedian.
* Betty Montgomery, Former Ohio Attorney General and Auditor, grew up in Worthington.
* Bart Overly, architect.
* Troy Perkins, DC United goalkeeper and 2006 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year.
* Jack Plotnick, actor.
* Claire Shipman, ABC news correspondent.
* Jayme F. Staley, Democratic Political Consultant
* Dana Tyler, New York City's CBS news anchor.
* Ingo Partecke German author, spent one year living in Worthington
* Watershed (Columbus Ohio band): musicians Colin Gawel, Joe Oestreich, and Herb Schupp are all from Worthington.
* Ohio State basketball coach Eldon Miller and Ohio State football coach Earle Bruce both resided in Worthington during their respective tenures as coaches.
* James Meaney, author
* Stew Jamieson, Professional golfer, has played on the Ohio University tour for 2 years
* Tony Hoffman, author and activist.

ister city

*flagicon|Japan - Sayama, Saitama, Japan

See also

* Colonial Hills (Subdivision of Worthington, Ohio)
* Harding Hospital
* [http://64.71.57.101/nworthington.htm The history of railroads in Worthington]
* [http://www.ohiorailwaymuseum.org/ Ohio Railway Museum]
* Pontifical College Josephinum
* Potter Lumber
* Worthington Christian High School
* Thomas Worthington High School
* Worthington Kilbourne High School
* Worthington Estates
* [http://www.tallgeorge.com/Worthington_foods.htm Worthington Foods]
* Worthington Industries
*Worthington Park
*Polaris Area

References

* McCormick, Virginia E. & McCormick, Robert W. "New Englanders on the Ohio Frontier. Migration and Settlement of Worthington, Ohio", The Kent State University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-87338-586-1
* McCormick, Jennie. [http://www.worthingtonmemory.org/Timeline.cfm "Timeline prepared for Worthington's 2003 Bicentennial"] , 2003.

External links

* [http://www.healthyworthington.org Healthy Worthington Coalition]
* [http://www.worthingtonlibraries.org/ Worthington Public Library website]
* [http://www.worthington.org/history/ Worthington Historical Society]
* [http://www.worthingtonmemory.org Worthington Memory Project]
*Mapit-US-cityscale|40.091513|-83.020905