Lima, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Lima is a city in and the county seat
of Allen County, Ohio
, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern
Ohio along Interstate 75
approximately 72 miles (115.9 km) north of Dayton
and 78 miles (125.5 km) south-southwest of Toledo
.
As of the 2010 census
, the city had a population of 38,771. It is the principal city of and is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area
, which is included in the Lima-Van Wert
–Wapakoneta
, Ohio Combined Statistical Area. Lima was founded in 1831.
The Lima Army Tank Plant
, built in 1941, is the sole producer of the M1 Abrams
.
, the Shawnee
were the most prominent residents of west central Ohio, growing in numbers and permanency after the 1794 Treaty of Greenville
. By 1817, the United States had created the Hog Creek Reservation for the local Shawnee, covering portions of what would become Allen
and Auglaize counties
, and including part of present-day Lima.
The creation of the Shawnee reservation freed other lands in the area for settlement, and in February 1820, the Ohio legislature formally established Allen County. In 1831 the Shawnee were forced to surrender all their land in the area to the United States and relocated to Kansas
, opening all of Allen County to white settlement. The Ohio legislature mandated that a county seat
be established. "Lima" was the result.
Also in 1854, a cholera
outbreak in Delphos
(a town in Allen County northwest of Lima) spread throughout west central Ohio. Countywide problems caused by the contaminated water supply were not solved until 1886 when Lima started a municipal water system. Lima's role as a regional center for industry began early. The Lima Agricultural Works began operations in 1869. The company changed names and types of manufacturing through the years. In 1882, under the name Lima Machine Works, the industry built the first Shay-geared locomotive
.
Stimulated by the economic boom in nearby Findlay
, in 1885 Lima businessman Benjamin C. Faurot drilled for natural gas at his paper mill
. On May 19, oil was discovered instead of gas. The oil well never realized enormous profits, but it triggered Lima's oil industry, bringing John D. Rockefeller
's Standard Oil
to the city. Lima's oil field was for about a decade the largest in the US.
Economic development brought money for arts and entertainment. Benjamin Faurot's Opera House opened in 1882, a nationally renowned structure so impressive that New Yorkers used it as a model for their own theaters. In 1907, Lima built its first movie theater.
In the early 20th century, Benjamin A. Gramm and his close friend Max Bernstein
formed the Gramm-Bernstein Company
, which became a pioneer in the motor truck industry. During WWI, Gramm created the "Liberty truck
", which was welcomed upon its arrival in Washington, D.C., by President Woodrow Wilson
. Thousands were sent to Europe to help the Allied war effort.
, who reported to the mayor. Lima proved itself to be very much in the Progressive tradition with these changes, after flirting with radicalism in 1912 when the voters elected a Socialist mayor.
The darker side of the progressive era revealed itself in the prominence of the Ku Klux Klan
in the city. It was a center for the Black Legion
, a notoriously violent subset of the Klan. On August 1, 1923, a KKK parade in Lima drew a crowd estimated at 100,000 people.
Economically, the 1920s were a time of industrial expansion in Lima. In 1925, Lima Locomotive Works, Inc.
built the "Lima A-1", a 2-8-4 model that became the prototype for the modern steam locomotive. The Locomotive Works also created a new division, the Ohio Power Shovel Company. In 1927, local industrialist John E. Galvin helped found Superior Coach Company
. It became the world's largest producer of school buses and funeral coaches within two decades. In 1930, eight railroad companies served Lima.
. In 1933, Lima again reorganized its government. The citizens adopted a "strong mayor" model to replace the city manager of the 1920s. Despite the hardships of the decade, Lima residents supported the construction of a hospital to serve the area. Lima Memorial Hospital, named in honor of WWI veterans, opened on Memorial Day
, 1933.
The Lima area was not safe from the increased crime rate of the 1930s. In 1933, gangster John Dillinger
was in the Allen County Jail, arrested for robbing the Citizens National Bank in nearby Bluffton, Ohio
. Dillinger's cohorts broke him out of jail, killing Allen County Sheriff Jess Sarber in the process. The murder and jailbreak put Dillinger at the top of the FBI's ten most wanted list. His was not the only crime outfit to plague Lima during the decade. In 1936, the notorious Brady Gang robbed a local jewelry store twice.
The Great Depression slowed the pace of industrial expansion. In 1930, a Lima directory listed 93 industrial employers with some 8,000 employees. By 1934, industrial employment was reduced by half. In 1935, Westinghouse located a Small Motor Division in Lima to build fractional horsepower electric motors. The thirties were a decade for organizing labor in Lima. By 1940 there were at least fifty labor unions representing local workers.
to manufacture centrifugally cast gun tubes. In November 1942, United Motors Services took over operation of the plant to process vehicles under government contract. The plant prepared many vehicles for Europe, including the M5 light tank and the T-26 Pershing tank
. At its peak during the war, the Lima Tank Depot (now the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, operated by General Dynamics
), employed over 5,000 people.
during the 1950s. Lima's industrial production grew in the decade. During the Korean War
, the Lima Tank Depot resumed manufacturing, at a level expanded from WWII standards.
. With the passage of the city income tax
in 1966, Lima constructed a new facility for the Lima Police Department. Also during the 1960s, The Ohio State University
established a regional campus in Lima.
Civil rights issues had rocked Lima in the 1950s, perhaps most prominently in the efforts to desegregate
the city's only public swimming pool in Schoonover Park. Civil unrest continued in the 1960s and into the 1970s. In January 1969, a crude oil line in south Lima ruptured, causing 77,000 gallons of oil to escape into the city's sewer system. Explosions and fire erupted from sewers as 7,000 residents were evacuated. Governor Jim Rhodes
ordered the Ohio National Guard
into the area to maintain order. In August 1970, further conflict erupted when a black woman was killed by police as she tried to prevent the arrest of a juvenile. Several officers were wounded in the violence that followed. Mayor Christian P. Morris declared a state of emergency
and the National Guard was again called in to aid local police.
" decline affecting all of Ohio. In April 1971, the last passenger train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
stopped in Lima. In 1973, Lima's District Tuberculosis
Center, which served five counties, closed its doors. Superior Coach Company
, once the nation's largest producer of buses, closed in 1981. Also in 1981, Clark Equipment shut down. In 1985, Airfoil Textron closed. Sundstrand (formerly Westinghouse) closed in 1995. By the mid 1990s, Lima had lost more than 8,000 jobs. Lima's population dropped from 52,000 in the 1970s to 45,000 in 1999. Lima's plight and its subsequent efforts to re-define itself were captured in the PBS documentary Lost in Middle America.
.
Ford Motor Company also calls Lima home to the 2400000 sq ft (216,000-sq.-m.) facility, which has about 1,600 total employees, to make its new all-aluminum, 3.5-liter Duratec 35 V6 engine.
Lima is also the headquarters of Kewpee Restaurants
, as well as home to three of the last five Kewpee restaurants in existence. The others are located in Racine, Wisconsin
, and Lansing, Michigan. Another restaurant familiar to many Lima area residents was the Susie-Q Ranchhouse restaurant; owned and operated by area businessman Gerald Fickel and his wife Ellen. The Susie-Q Ranchhouse was in operation from 1947 to 1987. In the midst of the racial tensions of the 1950s and 1960s the Susie-Q Ranchhouse was the first Lima local restaurant known to have allowed blacks into the normally white establishment.
, and the YWCA survived. Today, the city includes twenty-four buildings and one historic district
that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, including the Allen County Courthouse, the post office
, the Hotel Argonne , and the Neal Clothing Building
.
, a city forty miles north of Lima. The discovery of natural gas deposits there in 1884 led to national marketing efforts advertising free gas, as Findlay's business leaders tried to "boom" the town. In 1885, Benjamin C. Faurot of Lima was one of hundreds of businessmen who visited Findlay to see the seemingly unlimited supply of natural gas burning day and night. Faurot owned the Lima Paper Mill. He spent $2,500 on energy consumption annually. Water for his operation was also a problem. So Faurot decided to drill in Lima – for gas or water. Faurot's first oil, found along the Ottawa River on May 19, 1885, was more accidental discovery than deliberate scientific experiment.
During the first week, the well produced more than 200 barrels (31.8 m³) of oil. Faurot quickly organized local businessmen into a syndicate that would purchase oil leases from farm owners. The company was called the Trenton Rock Oil Company, and by 1886, had 250 wells from Lima to St. Marys, Ohio
, and west to Indiana
.
When the news broke that northwest Ohio had oil, Standard Oil
of Cleveland decided to build a refinery
in Lima. Unlike Pennsylvania
's oil, northwest Ohio's "sour crude" was high in sulfur
content, smelling like rotten eggs, and customers shunned it. Lima's new Solar Refinery was charged with solving the sulfur problem. Until then, Standard bought and stored as much northwest Ohio crude as was possible to maintain their monopoly. It dropped the price of crude from more than sixty cents a barrel to forty cents in an attempt to discourage further production.
Oil drilling fever hit northwest Ohio and "boom towns" sprang up over night. Additional crude glutted the market, and trying to slow production, Standard Oil lowered its price to fifteen cents a barrel. This decision had little effect on the large producers elsewhere, but the smaller Lima producers, whose oil wells could not keep up, found themselves severely hampered. Fourteen independent Lima producers formed a combine – the Ohio Oil Company. Eventually, it became Marathon Oil
, still located in Findlay, Ohio.
Lima's Solar Refinery General Manager John Van Dyke and Herman Frasch, Standard's chemist, solved the distillation problem for sour crude by devising a method for removing the sulfur. The gamble that John D. Rockefeller
took building pipelines and storage tanks for Ohio's sour crude paid off. By 1901, the excitement about Ohio oil slowed with the news of a Beaumont, Texas
, gusher producing 100000 oilbbl/d.
In 1911, the courts declared Standard Oil Trust a monopoly and broke it into several companies. Between 1887 and 1905, the Lima Oil Field was a world-class producer, yielding 300 Moilbbl. Lima was also a pipeline center. Within three years of the discovery of oil, a trunk line reached Chicago. Lima oil lit the buildings of the 1893 World's Fair
. Production peaked in 1904, and then dropped off rapidly. By 1910, the field was regarded as virtually played out. Still, the Lima Refinery has survived, continuing to operate for more than 125 years under a succession of owners—Solar Refining Company (1886), a subsidiary of Standard Oil
until the breakup in 1911, SOHIO (1931), British Petroleum (1987), Clark USA (1998), Premcor
(2000), Valero Energy Corporation (2005), and most recently Husky Energy
(2007).
work ethic
defined Lima. Nothing played a bigger part in shaping the city's self-image than its connection to railroads and railroading – as a Midwestern rail hub and even more as home to the Lima Locomotive Works
, whose products for more than 70 years carried the city's name globally.
The first locomotive
appeared in Allen County
in 1854, brought in from Toledo
as freight on the Miami and Erie Canal
. Named the Lima, the engine was used on construction of the county's first railroad, the Ohio and Indiana
. East-west passenger service to Lima began in 1856, when the Ohio & Indiana consolidated with the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago. North-south passenger service began in 1858 on the Dayton & Michigan Railroad. Machine shops for the Dayton & Michigan were built in Lima by 1860, and for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad
by 1880. By the early years of the 20th century, the railroad shops employed 1,000 people in Lima.
In 1906, an average of 143 trains and 7,436 cars, carrying 223,080 tons of freight, passed through Lima every 24 hours. In addition, 49 steam and 28 electric trains landed passengers in Lima daily. Lima service on the electric interurban Ohio Western Railway began in 1902 and Lima became the hub of an interurban network that reached Toledo
, Cleveland and Cincinnati as well as Fort Wayne, Indiana
. In 1920, Lima was served by five steam railroads and Allen County by eight, in addition to five electric interurban lines.
For years, Lima was a crossroads for famous passenger trains including the Commercial Traveler, the Clover Leaf
and the Erie Limited. The train that in 1912 became known as the Broadway Limited
stopped in Lima from its inception in 1902 until 1990. Standard-bearer of the Pennsylvania Railroad
in its "speed wars" with the New York Central's
20th century Limited
, the Broadway Limited catered to a rich and glamorous clientele, offering strictly first-class service between New York City and Chicago. At its peak, the Broadway Limited regularly averaged 60 mi/h on its 900 miles (1,448.4 km) run. On a westbound run in the early morning of June 12, 1905, making up time after being held up by mechanical problems, the train was clocked just east of Lima at 127 mi/h.
Railroads began to cut back passenger service to Lima during the Great Depression
. Electric interurban service ceased in 1937. After a brief boom for railroads during WWII, passenger service declined sharply in the 1950s. The Nickel Plate Road ended scheduled passenger service to Lima in 1959, the Erie-Lackawanna in 1970 and the Baltimore & Ohio in 1971. Freight still moves over most of the historic rail routes in and out of the city, but the last passenger train to stop in Lima was the Broadway Limited, then operated by Amtrak
, on November 11, 1990.
The enterprise that became the locomotive works – "the Loco," as it was commonly called in Lima – had its beginnings in 1869 when John Carnes and four partners bought a machine shop that was called the Lima Agricultural Works. The company initially manufactured and repaired agricultural equipment, then moved into the production of steam power equipment and sawmill
machinery. The shop designed its first narrow-gauge steam locomotive in 1878. The same year, the shop first worked on a geared locomotive designed by Michigan
lumberman Ephraim Shay
. The Shay locomotive
was built for steep grades, heavy loads and tight turns. In 1881, Shay granted the Lima works an exclusive license to manufacture his locomotives. By 1882, locomotives were the company's main product. In time, the Lima Locomotive Works – a name formally adopted in 1916 – would produce 2,761 Shay locomotives, which were sent to 48 states and 24 foreign countries. As of 2005, some were in use 100 years after they were shipped.
By 1910, the company was moving aggressively into direct-drive locomotives for general railroad use. A new "super power" design, introduced in 1925, enabled Lima to capture 20% of the national market for locomotives. The "super power" locomotive was created by mechanical engineer William E. Woodard. Designed to make more efficient use of steam
at high speed, it became, in the words of railroad historian Eric Hirsimaki, "one of the most influential locomotives in the history of steam power." Later years saw the introduction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
2-6-6-6, one of the largest locomotives ever built, and the glamorous Southern Pacific
"Daylights," designed to complement the Pacific Coast scenery.
The locomotive works dabbled in other product lines. It produced railroad cars in the early years and acquired the Ohio Power Shovel Company in 1928. During WWII, the plant produced 1,655 Sherman tanks. Employment grew from 150 in the 1890s to 1,100 in 1912 and 2,000 in 1915, peaking at 4,300 in 1944. Over the course of its history, the Locomotive Works was a microcosm of the community, a place where each successive wave of newcomers took its place in turn. First the Germans and Italians, later African-Americans and ultimately women joining the work force during WWII. Labor organizing efforts were under way at the plant at least by the 1890s.
Post-war mergers attempting to keep the plant operating created the Lima-Hamilton Corporation in 1947 and later Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton in 1950. The last steam locomotive
built at the plant, Nickel Plate No. 779, was delivered May 13, 1949. It is now on display in Lima's Lincoln Park. The final diesel locomotive, built by Lima-Hamilton, was delivered in 1951. After the end of locomotive production, the plant continued to produce cranes and road building equipment. The plant was sold to Clark Equipment in 1971. Clark employed 1,500 as late as 1974, but the plant closed permanently in 1981. As of 2006, the Lima Locomotive Works plant has been razed.
Currently, there are only a handful of railroads that serve Lima. The Chicago, Fort Wayne, and Eastern and the Indiana and Ohio railroad are owned by RailAmerica
and are in the north and east parts of town. CSX Transportation
runs through town frequently and the Norfolk Southern Railway
has one train each day to Lima. The R.J. Corman Railroad/Western Ohio Line runs southwest from of town.
Lima also hosts Procter and Gamble's Tide and Downy plant.
Lima has been a regional medical center since its earliest days. Currently, the city's two hospitals serve a 10-county area of northwest and west central Ohio. St. Rita's Medical Center
, a level 2 trauma center, with nearly 4,000 employees as of June 2006, is Allen County's largest employer while Lima Memorial Health System
ranks third. In 2005, St. Rita's embarked on a $130 million expansion expected to create up to 500 more jobs, this new addition is known as "The Medical Center of the Future".
The Roman Catholic church Sisters of Mercy
opened St. Rita's in December 1918, in the midst of a national (and global) influenza epidemic. Since then, the hospital has grown dramatically, with major expansions launched in 1945 and 1967. The hospital has also created satellite facilities in the surrounding towns of Ottawa
, Delphos
and Wapakoneta
. SRMC also houses a separate hospital with the walls of the main facility. This "interior" facility, "Triumph", was implemented to serve poverty-level citizens who are unable to afford continuing care otherwise. In July 2008, St. Rita's Medical Center purchased Lima Allen County Paramedics. Lima Allen County Paramedics was established in 1964 and since then has been a vital private emergency and non-emergency ambulance service in the area.
Lima Memorial Health System, formerly Lima Memorial Hospital, a level 2 trauma center, can trace its roots to 1899, when it began as Lima City Hospital. Formed by the Pastors Union of Lima, the 13-bed facility was the first community hospital in northwest Ohio. During the Great Depression
, the city of Lima helped to finance a larger hospital, which opened on Memorial Day
1933 on the city's east side. The region's first open-heart surgery was performed at Lima Memorial on April 22, 1997. In 1999 LMHS entered into a Joint venture with Blanchard Valley Health Association ("BVHA") and ProMedica Health System
. Lima Memorial Health System is currently undergoing an extensive remodel phase. The eight story patient tower is being converted to all private rooms, and all cardiac services will be combined to one area. A new surgery center is under construction at this time, and the installation a level 2 neonatal ICU is in the works.
For decades, Lima also had two other hospitals with strikingly different missions. The Ottawa Valley Hospital, which opened in 1909 as the District Tuberculosis
Hospital, was one of the first in the state dedicated to the treatment of tubercular patients. The hospital treated patients from seven to 90 years old, at a time when tuberculosis was nearly always fatal. The average stay was three to five years. As treatment improved, the hospital closed, though the building was used until 1973.
A longer and stranger history is attached to the facility originally known as the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Situated on 628 acres (2.5 km²) three miles (5 km) north of downtown Lima, the hospital was constructed between 1908 and 1915. Built at a cost of $2.1 million, it was the largest poured-concrete structure in the country until supplanted by the Pentagon.
For much of its history, Lima State Hospital functioned largely as a warehouse. Patients sometimes staged dramatic protests against the conditions of their confinement, and frequently escaped (more than 300 escapes by 1978). Conditions improved significantly after 1974 as a result of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of the patients. In a landmark ruling, US District Judge Nicholas J. Walinski spelled out detailed requirements for assuring each patient's rights to "dignity, privacy and human care." In its last years, the state hospital was used for the filming of a made-for-television movie about the Attica Prison riots
in New York.
Starting in 1982, Lima State Hospital became a medium-security prison, the Lima Correctional Institution. The prison closed in 2004, though a smaller prison on the site, the Allen Correctional Institution, remains.
, the city has a total area of 12.9 square miles (33.4 km²), of which 12.8 square miles (33.2 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (0.78%) is water.
The Ottawa River
flows through the city. Locals sometimes refer to the river as "Hawg Creek". This resembles a traditional local name used dating back to the Hog Creek Shawnee
community that existed between Lima and present Ada, prior to the Shawnee removal
of 1831. This removal made possible the official founding of "Lima" as a formal town in that year.
Lima is at the intersection of State Route 309 (the original Lincoln Highway
) and Interstate 75, which replaced U.S. Route 25, one of the routes of the Dixie Highway
.
, and 2.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.
There were 15,410 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% 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 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,067, and the median income for a family was $32,405. Males had a median income of $29,149 versus $22,100 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,882. About 19.2% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over. The percentage of college graduates is 9.5%, according to the US Census Bureau. The city has the highest crime rate for a city its size (20–60,000) in Ohio and also the 9th highest per capita in 2006, according to the FBI.
. There are also two other sister city projects in progress.
Harima, Hyōgo
, Japan
makes a reference to Lima, Ohio in The Thomas Crown Affair
, however, he mispronounces it.
The musical
comedy television series Glee
is set in the fictional William McKinley High School (WMHS) in Lima, Ohio.
The fictional killer of Buckwheat in 1983 episodes of Saturday Night Live, John David Stutts, was reported to be from Lima, Ohio.
Seven Days which aired on the UPN Network from October 7, 1998 – May 29, 2001, & starred Jonathan LaPaglia
as Lt. Frank B. Parker; aired an episode entitled "Vows" that aired on Wednesday October 28, 1998. John Allen Nelson
's character Mike Clary in the episode (who is dating Parker's ex), is from Lima, Ohio.
In October 2009, Scott Van Pelt makes a reference about Ryen Russillo being given directions to a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Lima, Ohio instead of Kirk Herbstreit's home on the Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN 2.
The Client in the Charlie's Angels
episode "Angels in Springtime" mentions that she is from Lima, Ohio.
, and began annual concerts for school children.
In 1967, Joseph Firszt became Music Director/Conductor, beginning a twenty-nine year tenure with the Orchestra. Under his guidance the Orchestra grew from 50 volunteer musicians to 75 paid musicians presenting a full series of six subscription concerts and several community concerts each year. School programs, master classes and joint sponsorship of the Lima Area Youth Orchestra are some examples of the impact Firszt made with the LSO.
Crafton Beck became Music Director/Conductor after Firszt's retirement in 1996. During his tenure, Beck has expanded the reach of the Orchestra throughout the West Central region of Ohio. The LSO now presents six subscription concerts, a family concert, two or more Mozart by Candlelight concerts and an annual New Year's Eve Pops concert.
The Lima Area Youth Orchestra, affiliated with the LSO and the Lima Noon Optimists, is a symphony orchestra composed of secondary school students from around the Lima area. Its season runs roughly the length of the school year, with one public performance in early April. The Youth Orchestra is currently under the direction of David Stein, Lima Senior High string instructor. Former Youth Orchestra conductors include Lloyd Butler, a lecturer and conductor of music at Ohio Northern University
in Ada, Ohio
, (2005–2009) and Dr. Edwin L. Williams, former chair of the music department at Ohio Northern. Dr. Williams conducted the Youth Orchestra for over 30 years until his death on July 14, 2005.http://www.limayouthorchestra.org/
In the film Crazy Heart it is mentioned by Bad Blake played by Jeff Bridges.
High Schools
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Allen County, Ohio
Allen County, Ohio
Allen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its population was 106,331 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta Combined Statistical Area....
, United States. The municipality is located in northwestern
Northwest Ohio
Northwest or northwestern Ohio consists of multiple counties in the northwestern corner of the US state of Ohio. This area borders Lake Erie, southern Michigan, and eastern Indiana. Some areas in northwestern Ohio are also considered the Black Swamp area. The Toledo metropolitan area is also part...
Ohio along Interstate 75
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. It travels from State Road 826 and State Road 924 in Hialeah, Florida to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the Ontario, Canada, border...
approximately 72 miles (115.9 km) north of Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
and 78 miles (125.5 km) south-southwest of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
.
As of the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
, the city had a population of 38,771. It is the principal city of and is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area
Lima, Ohio metropolitan area
The Lima Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of one county – Allen – in Northwest Ohio, anchored by the city of Lima. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 108,473 .-History:The Lima metropolitan area was first...
, which is included in the Lima-Van Wert
Van Wert, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,690 people, 4,556 households, and 2,947 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,803.8 people per square mile . There were 4,927 housing units at an average density of 831.4 per square mile...
–Wapakoneta
Wapakoneta, Ohio
Wapakoneta is a city in and the county seat of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States with a population of 9,474 as of the 2000 U.S. census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan S A, which is included in the Lima-Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio CSA...
, Ohio Combined Statistical Area. Lima was founded in 1831.
The Lima Army Tank Plant
Lima Army Tank Plant
The Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, also known as the Lima Army Tank Plant is a tank plant located in Lima, Ohio. It is a Government-Owned, Contractor Operated facility currently operated by General Dynamics Land Systems....
, built in 1941, is the sole producer of the M1 Abrams
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...
.
Shawnee
In the years after the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, the Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
were the most prominent residents of west central Ohio, growing in numbers and permanency after the 1794 Treaty of Greenville
Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville was signed at Fort Greenville , on August 3, 1795, between a coalition of Native Americans & Frontiers men, known as the Western Confederacy, and the United States following the Native American loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It put an end to the Northwest Indian War...
. By 1817, the United States had created the Hog Creek Reservation for the local Shawnee, covering portions of what would become Allen
Allen County, Ohio
Allen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its population was 106,331 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta Combined Statistical Area....
and Auglaize counties
Auglaize County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,611 people, 17,376 households, and 12,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 18,470 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
, and including part of present-day Lima.
The creation of the Shawnee reservation freed other lands in the area for settlement, and in February 1820, the Ohio legislature formally established Allen County. In 1831 the Shawnee were forced to surrender all their land in the area to the United States and relocated to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, opening all of Allen County to white settlement. The Ohio legislature mandated that a county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
be established. "Lima" was the result.
Leadership and growth
Since 1831, Lima has been the center of government for Allen County, the first of its three courthouses erected in the city's first year. The foundations of city life followed in quick order. The first school appeared in 1832. Lima's first surgeon, Doctor William McHenry arrived in 1834. 1836 brought the first newspaper to Lima. Lima was officially organized as a city in 1842. Henry DeVilliers Williams was its first mayor. The first public school opened in 1850. In 1854, the first train appeared in Lima, a harbinger of later economic success.Also in 1854, a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
outbreak in Delphos
Delphos, Ohio
Delphos is a city in Allen and Van Wert Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It had a population of 6,944 at the 2000 census.The Allen County portion of Delphos is part of the Lima Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Van Wert County portion is part of the Van Wert Micropolitan Statistical...
(a town in Allen County northwest of Lima) spread throughout west central Ohio. Countywide problems caused by the contaminated water supply were not solved until 1886 when Lima started a municipal water system. Lima's role as a regional center for industry began early. The Lima Agricultural Works began operations in 1869. The company changed names and types of manufacturing through the years. In 1882, under the name Lima Machine Works, the industry built the first Shay-geared locomotive
Shay locomotive
The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive...
.
Stimulated by the economic boom in nearby Findlay
Findlay, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,967 people, 15,905 households, and 10,004 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,266.3 people per square mile . There were 17,152 housing units at an average density of 997.6 per square mile...
, in 1885 Lima businessman Benjamin C. Faurot drilled for natural gas at his paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
. On May 19, oil was discovered instead of gas. The oil well never realized enormous profits, but it triggered Lima's oil industry, bringing John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
's Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
to the city. Lima's oil field was for about a decade the largest in the US.
Economic development brought money for arts and entertainment. Benjamin Faurot's Opera House opened in 1882, a nationally renowned structure so impressive that New Yorkers used it as a model for their own theaters. In 1907, Lima built its first movie theater.
In the early 20th century, Benjamin A. Gramm and his close friend Max Bernstein
Max Bernstein
Max Bernstein was a German art and theatre critic and author. He was the husband of Elsa Bernstein.- The Salon Bernstein :Bernstein and his wife Elsa had one of the most prominent salons during the millennium...
formed the Gramm-Bernstein Company
Gramm-Bernstein Company
Gramm-Bernstein Company, also known as Gramm Motor Car Co. and Gramm Truck Co., was an automobile company in Lima, Ohio in the early 20th century. The company was an early manufacturer of power wagons and advertised 1, 2, 3, and 5 ton models with "any style of body desired". Vehicles were sold...
, which became a pioneer in the motor truck industry. During WWI, Gramm created the "Liberty truck
Liberty truck
-History:The liberty truck was designed by the Motor Transport section of the Quartermaster Corps in cooperation with the members of the Society of Automotive Engineers....
", which was welcomed upon its arrival in Washington, D.C., by President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. Thousands were sent to Europe to help the Allied war effort.
The Roaring 20s
After WWI, Allen County's population growth lagged the state and the nation. In 1921, Lima voters approved a change in the structure of Lima city government. Voters now elected five commissioners, with the commission chair serving as mayor. The charter sought to establish professional management, requiring the commissioners to hire a city managerCity manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a council-manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief executive officer or chief administrative officer in some municipalities...
, who reported to the mayor. Lima proved itself to be very much in the Progressive tradition with these changes, after flirting with radicalism in 1912 when the voters elected a Socialist mayor.
The darker side of the progressive era revealed itself in the prominence of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
in the city. It was a center for the Black Legion
Black Legion (political movement)
The Black Legion was an organization that splintered from the Ku Klux Klan and operated in the United States in the 1930s. The organization was founded by William Shepard in east central Ohio...
, a notoriously violent subset of the Klan. On August 1, 1923, a KKK parade in Lima drew a crowd estimated at 100,000 people.
Economically, the 1920s were a time of industrial expansion in Lima. In 1925, Lima Locomotive Works, Inc.
Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
built the "Lima A-1", a 2-8-4 model that became the prototype for the modern steam locomotive. The Locomotive Works also created a new division, the Ohio Power Shovel Company. In 1927, local industrialist John E. Galvin helped found Superior Coach Company
Superior Coach Company
Superior Coach was once a school bus body and professional car manufacturer, but today it focuses on building hearses and is located in Lima in Allen County, Ohio.-History:-Garford Motor Truck Company:...
. It became the world's largest producer of school buses and funeral coaches within two decades. In 1930, eight railroad companies served Lima.
Great Depression
Allen County's population grew significantly faster than the state during the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. In 1933, Lima again reorganized its government. The citizens adopted a "strong mayor" model to replace the city manager of the 1920s. Despite the hardships of the decade, Lima residents supported the construction of a hospital to serve the area. Lima Memorial Hospital, named in honor of WWI veterans, opened on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
, 1933.
The Lima area was not safe from the increased crime rate of the 1930s. In 1933, gangster John Dillinger
John Dillinger
John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. was an American bank robber in Depression-era United States. He was charged with, but never convicted of, the murder of an East Chicago, Indiana police officer during a shoot-out. This was his only alleged homicide. His gang robbed two dozen banks and four police stations...
was in the Allen County Jail, arrested for robbing the Citizens National Bank in nearby Bluffton, Ohio
Bluffton, Ohio
Bluffton is a village in Allen and Hancock counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It had a population of 3,896 at the 2000 census. Bluffton is home to Bluffton University, a four-year educational institution affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. Bluffton is served by the Bluffton general aviation...
. Dillinger's cohorts broke him out of jail, killing Allen County Sheriff Jess Sarber in the process. The murder and jailbreak put Dillinger at the top of the FBI's ten most wanted list. His was not the only crime outfit to plague Lima during the decade. In 1936, the notorious Brady Gang robbed a local jewelry store twice.
The Great Depression slowed the pace of industrial expansion. In 1930, a Lima directory listed 93 industrial employers with some 8,000 employees. By 1934, industrial employment was reduced by half. In 1935, Westinghouse located a Small Motor Division in Lima to build fractional horsepower electric motors. The thirties were a decade for organizing labor in Lima. By 1940 there were at least fifty labor unions representing local workers.
World War II
Lima benefited from increased production during WWII and a growing population, but suffered a significant economic decline at the end of the decade when industry retooled for peacetime production. In May 1941, construction began on Lima Army Tank PlantLima Army Tank Plant
The Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, also known as the Lima Army Tank Plant is a tank plant located in Lima, Ohio. It is a Government-Owned, Contractor Operated facility currently operated by General Dynamics Land Systems....
to manufacture centrifugally cast gun tubes. In November 1942, United Motors Services took over operation of the plant to process vehicles under government contract. The plant prepared many vehicles for Europe, including the M5 light tank and the T-26 Pershing tank
M26 Pershing
The Heavy Tank M26 Pershing was an American heavy tank briefly used in World War II and in the Korean War. It was named after General John Pershing, who led the American Expeditionary Force in Europe in World War I....
. At its peak during the war, the Lima Tank Depot (now the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, operated by General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
), employed over 5,000 people.
Post-war boom
The area's expanding population in the 1940s and 1950s brought hospital and school expansion. St Rita's Hospital, founded in 1918, opened a seven-story addition in 1948. With voter support, school leadership built six new elementary schools and the new centralized Lima Senior High SchoolLima Senior High School
Lima Senior High School, the only high school in the Lima City Schools District, was established in 1955, in Lima, Ohio. There are approximately 1,500 students currently enrolled at Lima Senior.- Overview :...
during the 1950s. Lima's industrial production grew in the decade. During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, the Lima Tank Depot resumed manufacturing, at a level expanded from WWII standards.
Civil rights
During the 1960s, Lima experienced both growth and community unrest. In 1962, a new Allen County Airport was built in Perry TownshipPerry Township, Allen County, Ohio
Perry Township is one of the twelve townships of Allen County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,620 people in the unincorporated parts of the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
. With the passage of the city income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
in 1966, Lima constructed a new facility for the Lima Police Department. Also during the 1960s, The Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
established a regional campus in Lima.
Civil rights issues had rocked Lima in the 1950s, perhaps most prominently in the efforts to desegregate
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
the city's only public swimming pool in Schoonover Park. Civil unrest continued in the 1960s and into the 1970s. In January 1969, a crude oil line in south Lima ruptured, causing 77,000 gallons of oil to escape into the city's sewer system. Explosions and fire erupted from sewers as 7,000 residents were evacuated. Governor Jim Rhodes
Jim Rhodes
James Allen Rhodes was an American Republican politician from Ohio, and one of only five US state governors to serve four four-year terms in office. As governor in 1970, he decided to send National Guard troops onto the Kent State University campus, resulting in the shooting of students on May 4...
ordered the Ohio National Guard
Ohio National Guard
The Ohio National Guard comprises:* Ohio Army National Guard* Ohio Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
into the area to maintain order. In August 1970, further conflict erupted when a black woman was killed by police as she tried to prevent the arrest of a juvenile. Several officers were wounded in the violence that followed. Mayor Christian P. Morris declared a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
and the National Guard was again called in to aid local police.
Rust belt decline
During the 1970s and 1980s, a number of industries left Lima, part of the "Rust BeltRust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
" decline affecting all of Ohio. In April 1971, the last passenger train on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
stopped in Lima. In 1973, Lima's District Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
Center, which served five counties, closed its doors. Superior Coach Company
Superior Coach Company
Superior Coach was once a school bus body and professional car manufacturer, but today it focuses on building hearses and is located in Lima in Allen County, Ohio.-History:-Garford Motor Truck Company:...
, once the nation's largest producer of buses, closed in 1981. Also in 1981, Clark Equipment shut down. In 1985, Airfoil Textron closed. Sundstrand (formerly Westinghouse) closed in 1995. By the mid 1990s, Lima had lost more than 8,000 jobs. Lima's population dropped from 52,000 in the 1970s to 45,000 in 1999. Lima's plight and its subsequent efforts to re-define itself were captured in the PBS documentary Lost in Middle America.
Retail and manufacturing growth
Since the 1970s, Lima has become a prominent retail center in the state of Ohio. In October 1992, The Lima News reported that Lima and Allen County were number one in Ohio in retail sales and purchases. Moreover, a 1992 Survey of Buying Power revealed that Lima ranked first in the state in retail sales per household. Additionally, that same year, Lima ranked fifth in the United States in most affordable housingAffordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
.
Ford Motor Company also calls Lima home to the 2400000 sq ft (216,000-sq.-m.) facility, which has about 1,600 total employees, to make its new all-aluminum, 3.5-liter Duratec 35 V6 engine.
Lima is also the headquarters of Kewpee Restaurants
Kewpee
Kewpee Hamburgers is the second known chain of hamburger fast-food restaurants, and was founded in 1923 in Flint, Michigan under the name "Kewpee Hotel Hamburgs". Kewpee's current headquarters is located in Lima, Ohio. The chain is named after the Kewpie doll...
, as well as home to three of the last five Kewpee restaurants in existence. The others are located in Racine, Wisconsin
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
, and Lansing, Michigan. Another restaurant familiar to many Lima area residents was the Susie-Q Ranchhouse restaurant; owned and operated by area businessman Gerald Fickel and his wife Ellen. The Susie-Q Ranchhouse was in operation from 1947 to 1987. In the midst of the racial tensions of the 1950s and 1960s the Susie-Q Ranchhouse was the first Lima local restaurant known to have allowed blacks into the normally white establishment.
Historic architecture
For a city of its size, Lima has remarkably little historic architecture, as a large number of its notable buildings have been demolished or allowed to deteriorate. Among the city's most distinctive residential neighborhoods, the "Golden Block" on the west side, was almost entirely demolished in the 1960s; only the MacDonnell House, part of the Allen County MuseumAllen county museum
The Allen County Museum is located in the city of Lima, the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. Occupying a half city block, the museum campus includes the main museum building, a log house, the MacDonell House , a Shay Locomotive display, Military/Transportation building, the...
, and the YWCA survived. Today, the city includes twenty-four buildings and one historic district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, including the Allen County Courthouse, the post office
U.S. Post Office (Lima, Ohio)
The U.S. Post Office in Lima, Ohio, United States is a historic Neoclassical building erected in 1930. Located along High Street west of the center of the city, the post office is one of the newest major buildings in the city's downtown.-History:...
, the Hotel Argonne , and the Neal Clothing Building
Neal Clothing Building
The Neal Clothing Building is the oldest existing building on the central square of Lima, Ohio, United States. Built before the end of the Civil War, it has been recognized as historically significant as a representative of the city's earliest period....
.
Lima's oil history
With the discovery of oil in Lima in 1885, Ohio began what came to be called the "Oil Boom of Northwest Ohio." Discovery actually began in Findlay, OhioFindlay, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,967 people, 15,905 households, and 10,004 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,266.3 people per square mile . There were 17,152 housing units at an average density of 997.6 per square mile...
, a city forty miles north of Lima. The discovery of natural gas deposits there in 1884 led to national marketing efforts advertising free gas, as Findlay's business leaders tried to "boom" the town. In 1885, Benjamin C. Faurot of Lima was one of hundreds of businessmen who visited Findlay to see the seemingly unlimited supply of natural gas burning day and night. Faurot owned the Lima Paper Mill. He spent $2,500 on energy consumption annually. Water for his operation was also a problem. So Faurot decided to drill in Lima – for gas or water. Faurot's first oil, found along the Ottawa River on May 19, 1885, was more accidental discovery than deliberate scientific experiment.
During the first week, the well produced more than 200 barrels (31.8 m³) of oil. Faurot quickly organized local businessmen into a syndicate that would purchase oil leases from farm owners. The company was called the Trenton Rock Oil Company, and by 1886, had 250 wells from Lima to St. Marys, Ohio
St. Marys, Ohio
St. Marys is a city in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8,342 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio, Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and west to Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
.
When the news broke that northwest Ohio had oil, Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
of Cleveland decided to build a refinery
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
in Lima. Unlike Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
's oil, northwest Ohio's "sour crude" was high in sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
content, smelling like rotten eggs, and customers shunned it. Lima's new Solar Refinery was charged with solving the sulfur problem. Until then, Standard bought and stored as much northwest Ohio crude as was possible to maintain their monopoly. It dropped the price of crude from more than sixty cents a barrel to forty cents in an attempt to discourage further production.
Oil drilling fever hit northwest Ohio and "boom towns" sprang up over night. Additional crude glutted the market, and trying to slow production, Standard Oil lowered its price to fifteen cents a barrel. This decision had little effect on the large producers elsewhere, but the smaller Lima producers, whose oil wells could not keep up, found themselves severely hampered. Fourteen independent Lima producers formed a combine – the Ohio Oil Company. Eventually, it became Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Corporation is a United States-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Principal exploration activities are in the United States, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Canada. Principal development activities are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway,...
, still located in Findlay, Ohio.
Lima's Solar Refinery General Manager John Van Dyke and Herman Frasch, Standard's chemist, solved the distillation problem for sour crude by devising a method for removing the sulfur. The gamble that John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
took building pipelines and storage tanks for Ohio's sour crude paid off. By 1901, the excitement about Ohio oil slowed with the news of a Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont, Texas
Beaumont is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 118,296 at the 2010 census. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the...
, gusher producing 100000 oilbbl/d.
In 1911, the courts declared Standard Oil Trust a monopoly and broke it into several companies. Between 1887 and 1905, the Lima Oil Field was a world-class producer, yielding 300 Moilbbl. Lima was also a pipeline center. Within three years of the discovery of oil, a trunk line reached Chicago. Lima oil lit the buildings of the 1893 World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
. Production peaked in 1904, and then dropped off rapidly. By 1910, the field was regarded as virtually played out. Still, the Lima Refinery has survived, continuing to operate for more than 125 years under a succession of owners—Solar Refining Company (1886), a subsidiary of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
until the breakup in 1911, SOHIO (1931), British Petroleum (1987), Clark USA (1998), Premcor
Premcor
Premcor was a Fortune 500 oil refinery group based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It operated five refineries, which are located in Port Arthur, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Lima, Ohio; Hartford, Illinois; and Delaware City, Delaware with a combined crude oil volume processing capacity of approximately ...
(2000), Valero Energy Corporation (2005), and most recently Husky Energy
Husky Energy
Husky Energy Inc. is a large integrated Canadian energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. Husky's foundation is in Western Canada, where it has extensive conventional oil and natural gas assets, significant heavy oil production and a range of midstream and downstream operations, including...
(2007).
Railroads and locomotives
For most of its history, smokestack industries and a blue-collarBlue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
work ethic
Work ethic
Work ethic is a set of values based on hard work and diligence. It is also a belief in the moral benefit of work and its ability to enhance character. An example would be the Protestant work ethic...
defined Lima. Nothing played a bigger part in shaping the city's self-image than its connection to railroads and railroading – as a Midwestern rail hub and even more as home to the Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works
Lima Locomotive Works was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company took the most distinctive part of its name from its main shops location in Lima, Ohio. The shops were located between the Baltimore & Ohio's Cincinnati-Toledo main line...
, whose products for more than 70 years carried the city's name globally.
The first locomotive
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
appeared in Allen County
Allen County, Ohio
Allen County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. Its population was 106,331 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Lima, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta Combined Statistical Area....
in 1854, brought in from Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
as freight on the Miami and Erie Canal
Miami and Erie Canal
The Miami and Erie Canal was a canal that connected the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio with Lake Erie in Toledo, Ohio. Construction on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1845. It consisted of 19 aqueducts, three guard locks, and 103 canal locks. Each lock measured by and they...
. Named the Lima, the engine was used on construction of the county's first railroad, the Ohio and Indiana
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway
The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania via Fort Wayne, Indiana to Chicago, Illinois...
. East-west passenger service to Lima began in 1856, when the Ohio & Indiana consolidated with the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago. North-south passenger service began in 1858 on the Dayton & Michigan Railroad. Machine shops for the Dayton & Michigan were built in Lima by 1860, and for the Lake Erie and Western Railroad
Lake Erie and Western Railroad
The Lake Erie and Western Railroad was a railroad that operated in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.-The beginning:The Seney Syndicate linked several short railroads in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to form the Lake Erie and Western Railroad in 1879 and 1880...
by 1880. By the early years of the 20th century, the railroad shops employed 1,000 people in Lima.
In 1906, an average of 143 trains and 7,436 cars, carrying 223,080 tons of freight, passed through Lima every 24 hours. In addition, 49 steam and 28 electric trains landed passengers in Lima daily. Lima service on the electric interurban Ohio Western Railway began in 1902 and Lima became the hub of an interurban network that reached Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Cleveland and Cincinnati as well as Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
. In 1920, Lima was served by five steam railroads and Allen County by eight, in addition to five electric interurban lines.
For years, Lima was a crossroads for famous passenger trains including the Commercial Traveler, the Clover Leaf
Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad
The Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, often abbreviated TStL&W and commonly known as the Clover Leaf, was a railroad company that operated in northwestern Ohio, north central Indiana, and south central Illinois during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-History:The TStL&W originated with...
and the Erie Limited. The train that in 1912 became known as the Broadway Limited
Broadway Limited
The Broadway Limited was the Pennsylvania Railroad's premier named passenger train, operating daily in each direction between New York City and Chicago, via North Philadelphia. It replaced its predecessors, the Pennsylvania Limited and the Pennsylvania Special...
stopped in Lima from its inception in 1902 until 1990. Standard-bearer of the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
in its "speed wars" with the New York Central's
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
20th century Limited
20th Century Limited
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...
, the Broadway Limited catered to a rich and glamorous clientele, offering strictly first-class service between New York City and Chicago. At its peak, the Broadway Limited regularly averaged 60 mi/h on its 900 miles (1,448.4 km) run. On a westbound run in the early morning of June 12, 1905, making up time after being held up by mechanical problems, the train was clocked just east of Lima at 127 mi/h.
Railroads began to cut back passenger service to Lima during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Electric interurban service ceased in 1937. After a brief boom for railroads during WWII, passenger service declined sharply in the 1950s. The Nickel Plate Road ended scheduled passenger service to Lima in 1959, the Erie-Lackawanna in 1970 and the Baltimore & Ohio in 1971. Freight still moves over most of the historic rail routes in and out of the city, but the last passenger train to stop in Lima was the Broadway Limited, then operated by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, on November 11, 1990.
The enterprise that became the locomotive works – "the Loco," as it was commonly called in Lima – had its beginnings in 1869 when John Carnes and four partners bought a machine shop that was called the Lima Agricultural Works. The company initially manufactured and repaired agricultural equipment, then moved into the production of steam power equipment and sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
machinery. The shop designed its first narrow-gauge steam locomotive in 1878. The same year, the shop first worked on a geared locomotive designed by Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
lumberman Ephraim Shay
Ephraim Shay
Ephraim Shay designed the first Shay locomotive and patented the type.He was born on July 17, 1839, in Sherman Township, Huron County, Ohio. His parents were James and Phoebe Shay....
. The Shay locomotive
Shay locomotive
The Shay locomotive was the most widely used geared steam locomotive. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive...
was built for steep grades, heavy loads and tight turns. In 1881, Shay granted the Lima works an exclusive license to manufacture his locomotives. By 1882, locomotives were the company's main product. In time, the Lima Locomotive Works – a name formally adopted in 1916 – would produce 2,761 Shay locomotives, which were sent to 48 states and 24 foreign countries. As of 2005, some were in use 100 years after they were shipped.
By 1910, the company was moving aggressively into direct-drive locomotives for general railroad use. A new "super power" design, introduced in 1925, enabled Lima to capture 20% of the national market for locomotives. The "super power" locomotive was created by mechanical engineer William E. Woodard. Designed to make more efficient use of steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
at high speed, it became, in the words of railroad historian Eric Hirsimaki, "one of the most influential locomotives in the history of steam power." Later years saw the introduction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
2-6-6-6, one of the largest locomotives ever built, and the glamorous Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
"Daylights," designed to complement the Pacific Coast scenery.
The locomotive works dabbled in other product lines. It produced railroad cars in the early years and acquired the Ohio Power Shovel Company in 1928. During WWII, the plant produced 1,655 Sherman tanks. Employment grew from 150 in the 1890s to 1,100 in 1912 and 2,000 in 1915, peaking at 4,300 in 1944. Over the course of its history, the Locomotive Works was a microcosm of the community, a place where each successive wave of newcomers took its place in turn. First the Germans and Italians, later African-Americans and ultimately women joining the work force during WWII. Labor organizing efforts were under way at the plant at least by the 1890s.
Post-war mergers attempting to keep the plant operating created the Lima-Hamilton Corporation in 1947 and later Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton in 1950. The last steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
built at the plant, Nickel Plate No. 779, was delivered May 13, 1949. It is now on display in Lima's Lincoln Park. The final diesel locomotive, built by Lima-Hamilton, was delivered in 1951. After the end of locomotive production, the plant continued to produce cranes and road building equipment. The plant was sold to Clark Equipment in 1971. Clark employed 1,500 as late as 1974, but the plant closed permanently in 1981. As of 2006, the Lima Locomotive Works plant has been razed.
Currently, there are only a handful of railroads that serve Lima. The Chicago, Fort Wayne, and Eastern and the Indiana and Ohio railroad are owned by RailAmerica
RailAmerica
RailAmerica, Inc., based in Jacksonville, Florida, is a holding company of a number of short-line railroads and regional railroads in the United States and Canada....
and are in the north and east parts of town. CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
runs through town frequently and the Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
has one train each day to Lima. The R.J. Corman Railroad/Western Ohio Line runs southwest from of town.
Lima also hosts Procter and Gamble's Tide and Downy plant.
Medical care
The first doctor in Allen County, Samuel Jacob Lewis, was assigned to duty at Fort Amanda in 1812.Lima has been a regional medical center since its earliest days. Currently, the city's two hospitals serve a 10-county area of northwest and west central Ohio. St. Rita's Medical Center
St. Rita's Medical Center
St. Rita's Medical Center is a large hospital serving a 70-mile radius of Lima, Ohio, United States. It was started in 1918 by Sisters of Mercy, an order of Roman Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland in 1831....
, a level 2 trauma center, with nearly 4,000 employees as of June 2006, is Allen County's largest employer while Lima Memorial Health System
Lima Memorial Health System
Lima Memorial Health System was founded in 1899 as Lima City Hospital by the citizens of the Lima community. The hospital is a not-for-profit health care organization with more than 1,600 employees, and 26 facilities in their 10-county service area in the region...
ranks third. In 2005, St. Rita's embarked on a $130 million expansion expected to create up to 500 more jobs, this new addition is known as "The Medical Center of the Future".
The Roman Catholic church Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
opened St. Rita's in December 1918, in the midst of a national (and global) influenza epidemic. Since then, the hospital has grown dramatically, with major expansions launched in 1945 and 1967. The hospital has also created satellite facilities in the surrounding towns of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ohio
Ottawa is a village in and the county seat of Putnam County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,460 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1792 Major Alexander Truman, his servant William Lynch and guide/interpreter William Smalley were sent by George Washington on a peace mission...
, Delphos
Delphos, Ohio
Delphos is a city in Allen and Van Wert Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It had a population of 6,944 at the 2000 census.The Allen County portion of Delphos is part of the Lima Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Van Wert County portion is part of the Van Wert Micropolitan Statistical...
and Wapakoneta
Wapakoneta, Ohio
Wapakoneta is a city in and the county seat of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States with a population of 9,474 as of the 2000 U.S. census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan S A, which is included in the Lima-Van Wert-Wapakoneta, Ohio CSA...
. SRMC also houses a separate hospital with the walls of the main facility. This "interior" facility, "Triumph", was implemented to serve poverty-level citizens who are unable to afford continuing care otherwise. In July 2008, St. Rita's Medical Center purchased Lima Allen County Paramedics. Lima Allen County Paramedics was established in 1964 and since then has been a vital private emergency and non-emergency ambulance service in the area.
Lima Memorial Health System, formerly Lima Memorial Hospital, a level 2 trauma center, can trace its roots to 1899, when it began as Lima City Hospital. Formed by the Pastors Union of Lima, the 13-bed facility was the first community hospital in northwest Ohio. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the city of Lima helped to finance a larger hospital, which opened on Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
1933 on the city's east side. The region's first open-heart surgery was performed at Lima Memorial on April 22, 1997. In 1999 LMHS entered into a Joint venture with Blanchard Valley Health Association ("BVHA") and ProMedica Health System
ProMedica Health System
ProMedica is a non-profit health care system with locations in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan. The system includes a health education and research center, health maintenance organization, nursing homes, a local business network of private practices, and several hospitals About 2,900...
. Lima Memorial Health System is currently undergoing an extensive remodel phase. The eight story patient tower is being converted to all private rooms, and all cardiac services will be combined to one area. A new surgery center is under construction at this time, and the installation a level 2 neonatal ICU is in the works.
For decades, Lima also had two other hospitals with strikingly different missions. The Ottawa Valley Hospital, which opened in 1909 as the District Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
Hospital, was one of the first in the state dedicated to the treatment of tubercular patients. The hospital treated patients from seven to 90 years old, at a time when tuberculosis was nearly always fatal. The average stay was three to five years. As treatment improved, the hospital closed, though the building was used until 1973.
A longer and stranger history is attached to the facility originally known as the Lima State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Situated on 628 acres (2.5 km²) three miles (5 km) north of downtown Lima, the hospital was constructed between 1908 and 1915. Built at a cost of $2.1 million, it was the largest poured-concrete structure in the country until supplanted by the Pentagon.
For much of its history, Lima State Hospital functioned largely as a warehouse. Patients sometimes staged dramatic protests against the conditions of their confinement, and frequently escaped (more than 300 escapes by 1978). Conditions improved significantly after 1974 as a result of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of the patients. In a landmark ruling, US District Judge Nicholas J. Walinski spelled out detailed requirements for assuring each patient's rights to "dignity, privacy and human care." In its last years, the state hospital was used for the filming of a made-for-television movie about the Attica Prison riots
Attica Prison riots
The Attica Prison riot occurred at the Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York, United States in 1971. The riot was based in part upon prisoners' demands for better living conditions...
in New York.
Starting in 1982, Lima State Hospital became a medium-security prison, the Lima Correctional Institution. The prison closed in 2004, though a smaller prison on the site, the Allen Correctional Institution, remains.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 12.9 square miles (33.4 km²), of which 12.8 square miles (33.2 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) (0.78%) is water.
The Ottawa River
Ottawa River (Auglaize River)
The Ottawa River is a tributary of the Auglaize River, approximately long, in northwestern Ohio in the United States. The river is named for the Ottawa tribe of Native Americans who inhabited the area in the 18th century...
flows through the city. Locals sometimes refer to the river as "Hawg Creek". This resembles a traditional local name used dating back to the Hog Creek Shawnee
Shawnee
The Shawnee, Shaawanwaki, Shaawanooki and Shaawanowi lenaweeki, are an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America. Historically they inhabited the areas of Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, Western Maryland, Kentucky, Indiana, and Pennsylvania...
community that existed between Lima and present Ada, prior to the Shawnee removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
of 1831. This removal made possible the official founding of "Lima" as a formal town in that year.
Lima is at the intersection of State Route 309 (the original Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
) and Interstate 75, which replaced U.S. Route 25, one of the routes of the Dixie Highway
Dixie Highway
The Dixie Highway was a United States automobile highway, first planned in 1914 to connect the US Midwest with the Southern United States. It was part of the National Auto Trail system, and grew out of an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final result is better understood as a small network of...
.
Surrounding communities
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 40,081 people, 15,410 households, and 9,569 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,135.0 people per square mile (1,210.9/km²). There were 17,631 housing units at an average density of 1,379.0 per square mile (532.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.30% White, 24.48% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.97% from other racesRace (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.
There were 15,410 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% were married couples living together, 19.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% 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 3.06.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,067, and the median income for a family was $32,405. Males had a median income of $29,149 versus $22,100 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,882. About 19.2% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over. The percentage of college graduates is 9.5%, according to the US Census Bureau. The city has the highest crime rate for a city its size (20–60,000) in Ohio and also the 9th highest per capita in 2006, according to the FBI.
Sister cities
Lima's Sister Cities Association, formed in 1995, has one current sister city as designated by Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
. There are also two other sister city projects in progress.
Harima, Hyōgo
Harima, Hyogo
is a town located in Kako District, Hyōgo, Japan. The town shares its name with Harima Province, one of the old provinces of Japan. Harima was known as Ae village until April 1962...
, Japan
Lima in literature
Published authors from Lima have produced poetry collections, scholarly works, novels and memoirs.- Harry Halsey Starrett was a Lima poet during the 1950s and 1960s.
- Marilyn R. Stark has produced novels (e.g., Broken Arrow, Broken Promises) and historical nonfiction (e.g. 'Lima/Allen County, Ohio: a Pictorial History').
- Lynn Lauber, a New York City novelist, wrote 21 Sugar Street and White Girls, both somewhat fictionalizing her Lima growing-up years during the 1960s (in "Union, Ohio").
- Dr.Emmett Murray Jr. ("Duke"), a popular family physician, published two books of Lima-based memoirs: Come Remnisce with Me (2003) and In the Company of Friends (2008). In a tribute piece, the Allen County MuseumAllen county museumThe Allen County Museum is located in the city of Lima, the county seat of Allen County, Ohio, United States. Occupying a half city block, the museum campus includes the main museum building, a log house, the MacDonell House , a Shay Locomotive display, Military/Transportation building, the...
website called him "the Mark Twain of Lima." - Duane W. Roller, who endured Lima for over 20 years, has written ten books on ancient Greece and Rome, and is a three-time Fulbright scholar.
- Phyllis DillerPhyllis DillerPhyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
published an autobiography, Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse, that describes her downtown Lima girlhood in detail.
Lima in film and television
Pierce BrosnanPierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
makes a reference to Lima, Ohio in The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999 film)
The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 American heist film directed by John McTiernan. The film, starring Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo and Denis Leary, is a remake of the 1968 film of the same name....
, however, he mispronounces it.
The musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
is set in the fictional William McKinley High School (WMHS) in Lima, Ohio.
The fictional killer of Buckwheat in 1983 episodes of Saturday Night Live, John David Stutts, was reported to be from Lima, Ohio.
Seven Days which aired on the UPN Network from October 7, 1998 – May 29, 2001, & starred Jonathan LaPaglia
Jonathan LaPaglia
Dr. Jonathan LaPaglia, M.B.B.S. is an Australian actor known for his roles as Frank B. Parker in the television series Seven Days, Kevin Debreno in The District and Det...
as Lt. Frank B. Parker; aired an episode entitled "Vows" that aired on Wednesday October 28, 1998. John Allen Nelson
John Allen Nelson
John Allen Nelson is an American actor.- Early life :John Allen Nelson was born in San Antonio, Texas. He spent his first three years in Germany with his three siblings, David, Nancy and Diana where his father was stationed as a doctor for the U.S...
's character Mike Clary in the episode (who is dating Parker's ex), is from Lima, Ohio.
In October 2009, Scott Van Pelt makes a reference about Ryen Russillo being given directions to a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Lima, Ohio instead of Kirk Herbstreit's home on the Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN 2.
The Client in the Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
episode "Angels in Springtime" mentions that she is from Lima, Ohio.
Lima Symphony Orchestra
In January 1953, a committee composed of John LaRotonda, Ben Schultz, Dom Trovarelli and Fred Mills organized the Lima Symphony Orchestra. This committee selected Lawrence Burkhalter as the Symphony's first conductor. The LSO made its debut performance on May 23, 1954, in the Central High School auditorium to an "enthusiastic reception." William Byrd of Cincinnati led the symphony for the next ten years, during which the LSO developed a regular subscription series of four or five concerts per season, put on an annual production of an opera or operettaOperetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
, and began annual concerts for school children.
In 1967, Joseph Firszt became Music Director/Conductor, beginning a twenty-nine year tenure with the Orchestra. Under his guidance the Orchestra grew from 50 volunteer musicians to 75 paid musicians presenting a full series of six subscription concerts and several community concerts each year. School programs, master classes and joint sponsorship of the Lima Area Youth Orchestra are some examples of the impact Firszt made with the LSO.
Crafton Beck became Music Director/Conductor after Firszt's retirement in 1996. During his tenure, Beck has expanded the reach of the Orchestra throughout the West Central region of Ohio. The LSO now presents six subscription concerts, a family concert, two or more Mozart by Candlelight concerts and an annual New Year's Eve Pops concert.
The Lima Area Youth Orchestra, affiliated with the LSO and the Lima Noon Optimists, is a symphony orchestra composed of secondary school students from around the Lima area. Its season runs roughly the length of the school year, with one public performance in early April. The Youth Orchestra is currently under the direction of David Stein, Lima Senior High string instructor. Former Youth Orchestra conductors include Lloyd Butler, a lecturer and conductor of music at Ohio Northern University
Ohio Northern University
Ohio Northern University is a private, United Methodist Church-affiliated university located in the United States in Ada, Ohio, founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871. ONU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. ONU is a sister...
in Ada, Ohio
Ada, Ohio
Ada is a village in Hardin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 5,582 at the 2000 census. In 2006, the village's population was estimated at 5,841, and the 2010 census counted 5,952 people....
, (2005–2009) and Dr. Edwin L. Williams, former chair of the music department at Ohio Northern. Dr. Williams conducted the Youth Orchestra for over 30 years until his death on July 14, 2005.http://www.limayouthorchestra.org/
In the film Crazy Heart it is mentioned by Bad Blake played by Jeff Bridges.
Education
Colleges- University of Northwestern OhioUniversity of Northwestern OhioThe University of Northwestern Ohio is a private, not-for-profit University founded in 1920. Within the university are five colleges: College of Business, College of Applied Technologies, College of Health Professions, College of Occupational Professions, and the Graduate College. Online degrees...
- James A. Rhodes State CollegeJames A. Rhodes State CollegeThe college shares their campus with Ohio State University, Lima Campus. It is a public, state assisted institution offering 2-year degrees.-History:...
(formerly Lima Technical College) - The Ohio State University, Lima CampusOhio State University, Lima CampusThe Ohio State University, Lima, also referred to as Ohio State Lima is a regional campus of the The Ohio State University located in Lima, Ohio. Its campus is located in Lima, south of Toledo, Ohio. It offers over 140 courses and 10 bachelor degree programs in science and liberal Arts. Eight of...
.
High Schools
- Lima Senior High SchoolLima Senior High SchoolLima Senior High School, the only high school in the Lima City Schools District, was established in 1955, in Lima, Ohio. There are approximately 1,500 students currently enrolled at Lima Senior.- Overview :...
- Shawnee High SchoolShawnee High School (Lima, Ohio)Shawnee High School is a public high school located just southwest of Lima, Ohio. It is part of the Shawnee Local School District. They are members of the Western Buckeye League.-Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships:...
- Bath High SchoolBath High School (Lima, Ohio)Bath High School is a public high school located near Lima, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Bath Local School District.-Organizations:...
- Perry High SchoolPerry High School (Lima, Ohio)Perry High School is a public high school located just southeast of Lima, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Perry Local Schools district....
- Apollo Career Center
- Lima Central Catholic High SchoolLima Central Catholic High SchoolLima Central Catholic High School is located in Lima Ohio. LCC, short for Lima Central Catholic, is a private, parochial school with the capacity to hold over six-hundred and fifty students. Enrollment has remained around four-hundred students for a number of years. It is part of the Roman...
- Temple Christian SchoolTemple Christian School (Lima, Ohio)Temple Christian School is a private high school located in Lima, Ohio.Temple was founded in 1976 as a ministry of the Lima Baptist Temple. It is a K-12 traditional Christian school of 226 students....
- Elida High SchoolElida High School, Allen County, OhioElida High School located in Elida, Ohio, is part of Elida Local School District. The school athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs, and the school colors are Black, Orange, and Gold. The school's principal is Sarah Burden...
- Central High School (became Central Junior High School in 1955 and was partially destroyed by fire on February 27, 1966, when the band room, cafeteria and 31 classrooms burned)
- South High School (became South Junior High School, then became South Middle School during the 1992–1993 school season; then was later torn down sometime in the early 2000s & was then rebuilt)
Notable natives
- Al JardineAl JardineAlan Charles "Al" Jardine is a founding member of top-selling American music group The Beach Boys, a guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.-Early life:...
– a founding member of The Beach BoysThe Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962... - Al SnowAl SnowAllen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
– a professional wrestlerProfessional wrestlingProfessional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and actor - Ann Hamilton – a contemporary artist
- Ben RoethlisbergerBen RoethlisbergerBenjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger , nicknamed Big Ben, is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round in the 2004 NFL Draft...
- QuarterbackQuarterbackQuarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... - Brad KomminskBrad KomminskBrad Komminsk , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Despite a sterling record in the minor leagues, he never played well in the majors...
– a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues - Bud CollinsBud Collins-External links:*** 2001 interview with Collins*...
– a journalist and television sportscasterSportscasterIn sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator... - Charles N. LamisonCharles N. LamisonCharles Nelson Lamison was a politician, soldier, and lawyer who was a two-term United States congressman from Ohio.-Biography:...
– a politician, soldier, and lawyer who was a two-term United States congressmanUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
from Ohio - Charles William FultonCharles William FultonCharles William Fulton was an American lawyer and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Ohio, he grew up in Iowa and Nebraska before settling in Astoria, Oregon...
– a United States Senator from OregonOregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern... - Clay TuckerClay TuckerClay Tucker is an American professional basketball player. Currently he plays as shooting guard for Virtus Roma in the Italian top division.-College career:...
– a professional basketball player of Real Madrid BaloncestoReal Madrid BaloncestoReal Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team founded in 1932 as a division of the Real Madrid club. They play in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto .... - Cullen ChambersCullen ChambersCullen G. Chambers is an actor who has worked in over 3,000 film, TV shows, commercial, and video productions.He has appeared in such films as Pulp Fiction, Student Bodies, Harlem Nights, Die Hard 2, RoboCop 2, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.Chambers was born on October 4, 1960, in Lima,...
– has worked in over 3,000 film, TV shows, commercial, and video productions - Donald RichieDonald RichieDonald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
– an author who has written a number of books about the Japanese peopleJapanese peopleThe are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
and Japanese cinema - Edward L. FeightnerEdward L. FeightnerRear Admiral Edward L. "Whitey" Feightner is a retired United States Navy officer who fought in a number of significant battles in the World War II Pacific Theater of Operations...
- a United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
flying aceFlying aceA flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
, test pilotTest pilotA test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
, and Blue AngelBlue Angel-Movies:* The Blue Angel, a 1930 movie starring Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings* The Blue Angel , a remake, starring May Britt and Curt Jurgens-Music:*Blue Angel , which featured Cyndi Lauper...
s lead solo - Gene StechschulteGene StechschulteGene Stechschulte is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2000-2002. Stechschulte began his professional baseball career in the Cardinals' minor league system in 1996 as an undrafted free agent...
– a former Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player who pitchedPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to... - Gloria FoyGloria FoyGloria Foy was a dancer, singer, vaudeville performer, and star of musical revues. She was a slim and energetic blonde from Lima, Ohio. Her family were theatrical people.Her father was Harry Foy.-Theater dancer:...
– a dancer, singer, vaudeville performer, and star of musical revues - Helen O'ConnellHelen O'ConnellHelen O'Connell was an American singer, actress, and dancer.Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell joined the Jimmy Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early 1940s with "Green Eyes", "Amapola," "Tangerine" and "Yours"...
– a singer, actress, and dancer - Hit The LightsHit the Lights (band)Hit the Lights is a pop punk/power pop band from Lima, Ohio, signed to Razor & Tie Records.-Early years:Hit the Lights formed in 2003, taking their name from an 80's skate flick called Gleaming the Cube according to their Warped Tour interview, not the previously believed Metallica song on the...
– a pop punkPop punkPop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band signed to Triple Crown RecordsTriple Crown RecordsTriple Crown Records is a New York-based record label. It is home to Hit the Lights, The Receiving End of Sirens, The Dear Hunter, Moving Mountains, and As Tall as Lions, among others... - Hugh DownsHugh DownsHugh Malcolm Downs is a long time American broadcaster, television host, news anchor, TV producer, author, game show host, and music composer; and is perhaps best known for his role as co-host the NBC News program Today from 1962 to 1971, host of the Concentration game show from 1958 to 1969, and...
– a retired broadcaster, television host, producer, and author - James R. Black – an American film and television actor, and former professional football player
- James T. BeggJames T. BeggJames Thomas Begg was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.-Biography:Born on a farm near Lima, Ohio, Begg attended the public and high schools of Columbus Grove, and Lima College....
– a U.S. RepresentativeUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Ohio - Jeff MullenJeff MullenJeff Mullen is an American football offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach and the current offensive coordinator of the Charlotte 49ers. Mullen was previously an assistant coach at Ohio University, Wake Forest, and West Virginia University.-Early life:...
– a football offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the West Virginia MountaineersWest Virginia MountaineersThe West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams of West Virginia University. The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and the Big East Conference. On July 1, 2012 the Mountaineers will switch conferences, moving from the Big East to the Big 12, becoming... - Jerry ByrdJerry ByrdGerald Lester "Jerry" Byrd was an American musician who played Lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music.-Career:...
– a musician who played Lap steel guitarLap steel guitarThe lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
in country and Hawaiian music - Jim BaldridgeJim BaldridgeJim Baldridge is a former American newscaster and former co-anchor for WHIO-TV's Newscenter 7 in Dayton, Ohio.-Biography:Baldridge was raised in Lima, Ohio. He attended Shawnee High School, and is a graduate of Wright State University and Sinclair Community College.Baldridge began covering news at...
– a news anchor for WHIO-TVWHIO-TVWHIO-TV, virtual channel 7, is the CBS-affiliated television station licensed to Dayton, Ohio, serving that state's Miami Valley area. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 41 from its transmitter on Germantown Street in western Dayton.... - Jim LynchJim LynchJames Robert Lynch is a former American football linebacker who spent his entire eleven-year professional career with the American Football League and National Football League Kansas City Chiefs.-Early years:...
– a football linebackerLinebackerA linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
for the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... - Joe HendersonJoe HendersonJoe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...
– a jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
saxophonistSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Joe MorrisonJoe MorrisonJoseph R. Morrison was an American football player in the National Football League for the New York Giants and a coach best known as the head coach at the University of South Carolina.-Playing career:...
– a football player for the New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and a coach at USCUniversity of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House... - John L. CableJohn L. CableJohn Levi Cable was a U.S. Representative from Ohio and a great-grandson of Joseph Cable.Born in Lima, Ohio, Cable attended public school. He received his undergraduate education from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Later he earned an LL.B. in 1906, and from the law department of George...
– a U.S. Representative from Ohio - Jon NieseJon NieseJonathon Joseph "Jon" Niese is an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he currently plays for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball.-Biography:...
– a pitcherPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
for the New York MetsNew York MetsThe New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League... - Justin LeHewJustin LeHewJustin D. LeHew is a highly decorated United States Marine serving in the War on Terror. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions on 23 and 24 March 2003 during the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was hand picked to spearhead the rescue operation and recovery of the U.S...
– a highly decorated United States MarineUnited States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
serving in the War on TerrorWar on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries... - Marilyn MesekeMarilyn MesekeMarilyn Meseke has the distinction of being twice crowned Miss Ohio and Miss America in 1938....
– was twice crowned Miss OhioMiss OhioThe Miss Ohio Scholarship Program selects the representative for the U.S. state of Ohio to compete for the title of Miss America...
(1931 and 1938) and Miss AmericaMiss AmericaThe Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
in 1938 - Matthias H. NicholsMatthias H. NicholsMatthias H. Nichols was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.Born in Sharptown, New Jersey, Nichols attended the common schools.Learned the trade of a printer.He moved to Ohio in 1842 and settled in Lima.He studied law....
– a U.S. Representative from Ohio - Michael WinklerMichael WinklerMichael Winkler is a poet/artist. He makes book art and net art combining mathematics, linguistics, poetry, and visual art.-Work:...
– a poet and artist - Mike CurrentMike CurrentMichael Current was a college and professional offensive lineman in the 1960s and '70s.Current played left tackle for the Ohio State Buckeyes under head coach Woody Hayes. After backing up All American Jim Davidson as a sophomore, Current became a starter as junior in 1965...
– a collegeCollege footballCollege football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
and professionalNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
offensive lineman in the 1960s and '70s - Pamela Kyle CrossleyPamela Kyle CrossleyPamela Kyle Crossley is an historian of modern China, northern Asia, and global history. She is author of The Wobbling Pivot: China since 1800: An Interpretive History , as well as influential studies of the Qing dynasty and leading textbooks in global history...
– a leading historian of modern China, northern Asia, and global history - Paul ShueyPaul ShueyPaul Kenneth Shuey , is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who last played for the Baltimore Orioles....
– a free agentFree agentIn professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
Major LeagueMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
relief pitcherRelief pitcherA relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter... - Phyllis DillerPhyllis DillerPhyllis Diller is an American actress and comedian. She created a stage persona of a wild-haired, eccentrically dressed housewife who makes jokes about a husband named "Fang" while pretending to smoke from a long cigarette holder...
– a Golden Globe-nominated comedienneComedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy... - Ryan DrummondRyan DrummondRyan Drummond , is an American voice actor, actor, singer, comedian, clown, and mime. He was best known as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the popular Sega video game franchise. He has been the bass vocalist in The A.Y.U. Quartet since 1991...
– an actor, comedian, and clownClownClowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
, the former voice of Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (character), trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is a video game character and the main protagonist of the Sonic video game series released by Sega, as well as in numerous spin-off comics, cartoons, and a feature film. The first game was released on June 23, 1991, to provide Sega with a mascot to rival Nintendo's... - Thomas L. SpragueThomas L. SpragueThomas Lamison Sprague was an vice admiral of the United States Navy, who served during World War II as commander of the aircraft carrier and took part in the battles of Guam, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa....
– an admiral who served during World War II as commander of the - Tom BarringtonTom BarringtonGeorge Thomas Barrington is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints. He played college football at The Ohio State University and was drafted in the third round of the 1966 NFL Draft...
– a former football running backRunning backA running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
for the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans SaintsThe New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League .... - Travis Walton – Michigan State basketball player. Big Ten defensive player of the year in 2009.
- Walter BaldwinWalter BaldwinWalter Baldwin was a prolific character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances.Baldwin, who was born Walter S...
– actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles - William Alfred FowlerWilliam Alfred FowlerWilliam Alfred "Willy" Fowler was an American astrophysicist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983. He should not be confused with the British astronomer Alfred Fowler....
– 1983 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on stellar reactions - William E. Metzger, Jr.William E. Metzger, Jr.William E. Metzger, Jr. was a United States Army Air Forces officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II....
– a United States Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air ForcesThe United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
officer and a recipient of the Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her... - William White – a football safety who played in the National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
- Kurt HummelKurt HummelKurt Hummel is a fictional character and one of the male leads in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Series creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan initially conceived of him as a fashionable gay countertenor who is routinely bullied at school...
- actor, fashionista and boyfriend of Blaine Anderson
Further reading
- Carnes, John R. (ed.) The 1976 History of Allen County (1976)
- The Edsel Pages
- FBI case files
- FBI case files
- Global Security
- Hirsimaki, Eric. Lima: The History (1986)
- Hurricane, Chris. Lima: The Hood (2004)
- Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720–1830 (1996)
- Jacobs, T. K., Jr. "History of Transportation in Allen County" (1916)
- Kimcaid, Kim. "The Birth of Lima," The Lima News, April 19, 2006, p D1
- Lackey, Mike. "Enduring Tales Hold Truths, Not Always Facts," The Lima News, May 28, 2006, p. A2
- Lackey, Mike. "The Interurban System: Electric Trains Eased Rural Isolation," The Lima News, Aug., 16, 2003, p A5
- Lackey, Mike. "Lima Engine Steaming Along after 100 Years," The Lima News, Aug. 26, 2005, p A2
- Lackey, Mike. "Echoes of Rail Resound: Lima Loco Helped Define a Town that Worked," The Lima News, September 17, 1997, p B1
- Parks and recreation details
- History of Lima City Schools
- Lost in Middle America. David Crouse and Scott Craig. 57 mins. (1999)
- Miller, Charles C. and Dr. Samuel A. Baxter. History of Allen County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens (1906)
- Minutes of History. Allen County Historical Society, n.d.
- Ohio History Central
- Rusler, William (ed.) A Standard History of Allen County, Ohio (1921)
- Schuck, Raymond F. "A Brief History of the Lima Locomotive Works" (1983)
- Smithsonian Institution. Handbook of North American Indians (1978)
- Stark, Marilyn R. A Pictorial History of Lima/Allen County (1993)
- Stark, Marilyn R. and Robert L. Townsend. The History and Purposes of Allen County Buildings, Institutions and Government (2000)
- History of St. Rita’s Medical Center
- Sugden, John. Bluejacket: Warrior of the Shawnee (2003)
- Swindell, Larry. Spencer Tracy: A Biography (1969)
- U.S. Census Bureau Ohio county censuses from 1900–90
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts on Lima
- U.S. Census Bureau Lima Factsheet