Westerville, Ohio

Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware Counties in Ohio. It is a suburb of Columbus.

Geography

Westerville is located at (40.123496, -82.921432). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.1 km² (12.4 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 35,318 people, 12,663 households, and 9,547 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,100.6/km² (2,851.1/mi²). There were 13,143 housing units at an average density of 409.6/km² (1,061.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.54% White, 3.20% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.55% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.

Of the 12,663 households, 39.3% of those have children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.8% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $69,135, and the median income for a family was $82,163. Males had a median income of $55,053 versus $36,510 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,401. About 2.5% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

The Westerville Public Library is home to The Anti-Saloon Museum. A museum on prohibition, as Westerville was once the home of The Anti-Saloon League. The town itself was dry until recently when the sale of alcohol was legalized at several restaurants. *The town center is referred to as "Uptown Westerville". It is home to many locally owned stores. The store fronts along State Street are mainly the original architecture.
The town has 3 high schools: Westerville-North High School, Westerville South, and Westerville Central.
Sharon Woods and Inniswood Metro Gardens. Both have several miles of walking trails, the latter includes several exceptional gardens.
Otterbein College, a private four-year liberal arts college founded by the United Brethren Church in 1847 and home to over 3,000 students. The United Brethren Church has since merged with the Methodist Church and is now the United Methodist Church, with whom the college continues to be affialiated.
The Hanby House Museum, one block from the college, is the former home of Benjamin Russell Hanby (1833-1867), a United Brethren Pastor who is better known as a composer. The house is owned by the Ohio Historical Society and managed locally by the Westerville Historical Society. It is the only state memorial to a composer in the state of Ohio. Hanby's familiar hymns and songs include "Darling Nelly Gray", "Who is He in Yonder Stall?", and the Christmas favorite "Up on the Housetop." The Hanby House was also once a stop on the Underground Railroad and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Inniswood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve
Kaufman House, Ravine Drive.
Westerville is home to a smaller and lesser-known Hoover Dam.
Schneider's Bakery in Uptown Westerville, known for opening in the wee hours of the morning - around 1 to 1:30 am, depending on the day - and a common place to find Otterbein students on early-morning doughnut runs.
Cheryl's Cookies
Worthington Industries has a cylinder factory in Westerville (yes, why it's right at the corner of Maxtown & McCorkle!)
Westerville Visitors and Convention Bureau

Notable people from Westerville

Ki-Jana Carter - 1994 Heisman Trophy Runner-up (Penn State), 1995 #1 pick, NFL draft (Cincinnati Bengals).
Dan O'Brian - General Manager, Cincinnati Reds.
Butch Reynolds - 1988 Olympic Silver medalist, 4x400 meter relay. World record holder, 400 meters(1988).
Bob Kennedy - 2-time Olympian,(1992, 1996). American record holder: 3,000 meters (1998), 5,000 meters (1996).
John S. Kaufman - Ohio industrialist.
Evan W. Schear - Brigadier General, USAF(Ret.).
John Kasich - U.S. Congressman, 1983-2001, Candidate for Republican Presidential nomination, 2000.
Silas Martin - (1841-1906) Artist/Educator. Chairman of The Ohio State University Art Dept. 1898-1906. Was an art teacher of George Bellows.
Mandy Bruno, (Otterbein 2003) - Actress, Guiding Light.
Dennis L. McKiernan - Author/Novelist.
Robert Price - Educator/Author, foremost authority on Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman).
Benjamin Hanby - composer who wrote the Christams song "Up on the Housetop"
Andy Katzenmoyer - The Ohio State University football team, New England Patriots draft pick.

Photo gallery

Image:Everal_Barn_in_Heritage_Park_winter.jpg|Everal Barn in Heritage Park Image:Church_of_the_Messiah_Westerville_OH.jpg|The Church of the Messiah, a famous landmark in Uptown Westerville Image:Benjamin_Hanby_bw.jpg|Benjamin Hanby, composer of "Darling Nelly Gray" and "Up on the Housetop"

External links