St. Henry, Ohio

Infobox Settlement
official_name = St. Henry, Ohio
settlement_type = Village
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location of St. Henry, Ohio


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

government_footnotes =
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
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established_date =

unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 3.7
area_land_km2 = 3.7
area_water_km2 = 0.0
area_total_sq_mi = 1.4
area_land_sq_mi = 1.4
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 2271
population_density_km2 = 609.3
population_density_sq_mi = 1578.2

timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_m = 296
elevation_ft = 971
latd = 40 |latm = 25 |lats = 7 |latNS = N
longd = 84 |longm = 38 |longs = 10 |longEW = W

postal_code_type =
postal_code = 45883
area_code = 419
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 39-69540GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1057982GR|3
website =
footnotes =

St. Henry is a village in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,271 at the 2000 census.

History

The village of St. Henry was first settled in 1836. The area consisted of virgin deciduous forests inhabited by wolves, deer and other forest fauna. The Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 had provided for the selling of land to individuals and had opened new areas of settlement north of the Ohio River. After the Treaty of Greenville was signed in 1795, Native Americans gradually abandoned the area. A few trappers and settlers began penetrating the forest along Native American trails and paths taken by General Anthony Wayne and General St. Clair during their military expeditions in the 1790's. Although Mercer County had early settlers at the turn of the 19th century, St. Henry's Granville Township was sparsely settled until the 1830's.

A great number of German emigrants left Germany in the 1830's and 1840's and journeyed to America. Land was one of the major reasons for departure; often the eldest son inherited all the family land rather than the land being divided among the children. Most ships would arrive in New York, although some ships arrived in Baltimore and New Orleans. Many Germans would travel to Cincinnati and head north. Life was difficult for those who travelled north of Cincinnati, as they had to build log cabins, hunt wildlife for food and clear the land to begin raising crops.

Among the early settlers were the Romer (then spelled Roemer) family, who emigrated from the Northern Germany town of Ehlerup, near Damme, in the province of Oldenburg, Germany, in 1834. Notably, Ehlerup is close to both Munster and Bremen, Germany, which are believed to be the German inspirations for both Minster and New Bremen, Ohio-both close to St. Henry.Among other early settlers included the Bruns, Beckmans, Langes, Borgelts, Wendels, Huelsmanns and Hemmelgarnns (all historic spellings).

Also from Germany, John Henry Lange, Sr., made his way to St. Henry via New York City, where he briefly worked in an iron factory, and Cincinnati, via a trip down the Ohio River. John Henry Lange, Jr., born in 1855, spoke of hearing his father tell of the wild condition of the country when he first settled in the area. On many occasions he had to drive deer out of his wheat field. He raised flax and kept sheep for wool, which women of the household spun and then wove into fabrics with which they made the clothing for the family. They were accustomed to going to church in wooden shoes. At first, they went 40 miles (likely to Piqua) to a mill to get flour for their bread.

In 1836, the Romer brothers made the decision to purchase land from the government and establish a town. On October 14th, 1836, Franz Romer purchased 80 acres from the land office in Lima, Ohio, for a total of one hundred dollars.

The religious convictions of the pioneers did not suffer in transit from Germany. The first isolated settlers had to go all the way to Minster to attend Mass. But soon, as settlement moved westward, a priest came out occasionally to celebrate Mass in private log cabins. By 1839, there were enough settlers in St. Henry to lead Archbishop John Baptist Purcell to grant permission for the formation of their own parish. Mass was celebrated once of month in the home of Henry Beckman.

The existing church was dedicated by Archbishop Purcell in 1842 to the honor of St. Henry, the pious Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor; and incidentally also honoring four of the first six church wardens: Henry Romer, Henry Bruns, Henry Wimmers, Henry Hemmelgarn, Gerard Beckman, and Bernard Romer.

Geography

St. Henry is located at coor dms|40|25|7|N|84|38|10|W|city (40.418715, -84.636054)GR|1. The Wabash River also starts near the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 2,271 people, 727 households, and 591 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,578.2 people per square mile (608.9/km²). There were 741 housing units at an average density of 514.9/sq mi (198.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.25% White, 0.70% from other races, and 0.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.23% of the population.

There were 727 households out of which 45.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.1% were married couples living together, 3.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.6% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.57.

In the village the population was spread out with 35.8% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 16.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 103.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $49,821, and the median income for a family was $56,650. Males had a median income of $40,325 versus $24,438 for females. The per capita income for the village was $18,294. About 2.8% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

t. Henry High School

The St. Henry Redskins Football team has won state titles in 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2004, and 2006 with two 2nd place finishes in 1996 and 1999. St. Henry Football is tied with Versailles with the most state championships in Ohio for a public school since the introduction of the current playoff system in 1972. St. Henry High School is part of the Midwest Athletic Conference.

St. Henry High School also holds four boys basketball state championships (1979, 1990, 1991, 2004), and three baseball state championships (1999, 2000, 2003).

St. Henry is the home to a few retired pro-athletes such as Jim Lachey, Jeff Hartings, and Bobby Hoying. Deceased ex-MLB slugger Wally Post grew up in St. Henry as well. Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback, Todd Boeckman, graduated from St. Henry High School in 2003.

References

Further reading

*Alig, Joyce. "A History of St. Henry, Ohio". Otto Zimmerman, 1972.

External links