Wapakoneta, Ohio
Encyclopedia
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
. The community is served by the Wapakoneta City School District.
The city is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong
and the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located there.
Wapakoneta is a sister city to Lengerich
, North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany
.
Native Americans prior to their leaving Ohio. By 1798, the Shawnee
Native Americans had made Wapakoneta their territory and displaced the Ottawa. By 1808, there were reports of more than five hundred Shawnee, Seneca of the Iroquois
, and Mingo
Native Americans living at Wapakoneta, including Black Hoof
.
The Native Americans of Wapakoneta adopted the agricultural methods that the missionaries from the Society of Friends had introduced to them. The Native Americans worked to prove that they had indeed adopted the life of the white settlers. Wapakoneta was the location of the first sawmill
and gristmill
in northwest Ohio. In 1810, the United States sent a government agent to help the Native Americans. This did not last since the federal government removed the agent for failing to submit appropriate paperwork.
The Shawnee and Seneca continued to live at Wapakoneta until the United States forced them to leave in 1831, as part of Indian Removal
to lands west of the Mississippi River
. The Treaty of Wapakoneta
and the Treaty of Lewistown
resulted in the forced removal of the Shawnees and Senecas to Kansas
.
European-American settlers quickly replaced the native population. In 1848, the Ohio legislature created Auglaize County out of parts of Mercer
and Allen
counties. Early county voters chose Wapakoneta as the county seat in a disputed contest with rival town Saint Marys
. For the next 150 years, Auglaize County residents primarily were devoted to agriculture, although several additional industries existed in the city by the late nineteenth century. During the 1880s, an oil
and natural gas
drilling industry arose. Wapakoneta’s 2,765 residents also claimed to produce more butter
churns than any other single location in the United States during this same time period.
In 2000, more than nine thousand people called Wapakoneta home. Many residents find employment at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
or Amcast. The Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, operated by the Ohio Historical Society, is located in Wapakoneta.
, the city has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (1.05%) is water.
Wapakoneta is located on the Auglaize River
and includes portions of Duchouquet
, Pusheta
, and Moulton
Townships.
of 2000, there were 9,474 people, 3,803 households, and 2,540 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,674.7 people per square mile (646.3/km²). There were 4,057 housing units at an average density of 717.2 per square mile (276.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.96% White, 0.19% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races
, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
There were 3,803 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples
living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,531, and the median income for a family was $45,456. Males had a median income of $34,523 versus $23,478 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,976. About 8.4% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
:
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 Auglaize County
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...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with a population of 9,474 as of the 2000 U.S. census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
. It is the principal city of and is included in the Wapakoneta, Ohio Micropolitan S A
United States micropolitan area
United States Micropolitan Statistical Areas , as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, are urban areas in the United States based around a core city or town with a population of 10,000 to 49,999. The micropolitan area designation was created in 2003...
, which is included in the Lima
Lima, Ohio
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 north of Dayton and south-southwest of Toledo....
-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, Ohio CSA
Lima-Van Wert-Wapakoneta, OH Combined Statistical Area
The Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta Combined Statistical Area is made up of three counties in Northwest Ohio. The Lima Metropolitan Statistical Area and two Micropolitan Statistical Areas – Van Wert and Wapakoneta, are components of the CSA...
. The community is served by the Wapakoneta City School District.
The city is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
and the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum is located there.
Wapakoneta is a sister city to Lengerich
Lengerich, Westphalia
Lengerich is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the southern slope of the Teutoburg Forest, approx...
, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
History
Wapakoneta was an important site to the OttawaOdawa people
The Odawa or Ottawa, said to mean "traders," are a Native American and First Nations people. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe nation. Their original homelands are located on Manitoulin Island, near the northern shores of Lake Huron, on the Bruce Peninsula in...
Native Americans prior to their leaving Ohio. By 1798, 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...
Native Americans had made Wapakoneta their territory and displaced the Ottawa. By 1808, there were reports of more than five hundred Shawnee, Seneca of the Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
, and Mingo
Mingo
The Mingo are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans made up of peoples who migrated west to the Ohio Country in the mid-eighteenth century. Anglo-Americans called these migrants mingos, a corruption of mingwe, an Eastern Algonquian name for Iroquoian-language groups in general. Mingos have also...
Native Americans living at Wapakoneta, including Black Hoof
Black Hoof
Catecahassa or Black Hoof was the head civil chief of the Shawnee Indians in the Ohio Country of what became the United States. A member of the Mekoche division of the Shawnees, Black Hoof became known as a fierce warrior during the early wars between the Shawnee and Anglo-American colonists...
.
The Native Americans of Wapakoneta adopted the agricultural methods that the missionaries from the Society of Friends had introduced to them. The Native Americans worked to prove that they had indeed adopted the life of the white settlers. Wapakoneta was the location of the first 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....
and gristmill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
in northwest Ohio. In 1810, the United States sent a government agent to help the Native Americans. This did not last since the federal government removed the agent for failing to submit appropriate paperwork.
The Shawnee and Seneca continued to live at Wapakoneta until the United States forced them to leave in 1831, as part of Indian 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...
to lands west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. The Treaty of Wapakoneta
Treaty of Wapakoneta
The Treaty of Wapakoneta was signed on August 8, 1831, Remnants of the Shawnee Native American tribe in Wapakoneta were forced to relinquish claims that they had to land in western Ohio....
and the Treaty of Lewistown
Treaty of Lewistown
On August 3, 1829, members of the Shawnee Indians and the Seneca Indians signed the Treaty of Lewistown with the United States. In this treaty, Senecas and Shawnees living at Lewistown, Ohio, relinquished their claim to the land and joined the rest of the Ohio Senecas already living on a...
resulted in the forced removal of the Shawnees and Senecas 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...
.
European-American settlers quickly replaced the native population. In 1848, the Ohio legislature created Auglaize County out of parts of Mercer
Mercer County, Ohio
Mercer County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Its county seat is Celina and is named for Hugh Mercer, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.The Celina Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Mercer County.-Geography:...
and 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....
counties. Early county voters chose Wapakoneta as the county seat in a disputed contest with rival town Saint Marys
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:...
. For the next 150 years, Auglaize County residents primarily were devoted to agriculture, although several additional industries existed in the city by the late nineteenth century. During the 1880s, an oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
drilling industry arose. Wapakoneta’s 2,765 residents also claimed to produce more butter
Butter
Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications, such as baking, sauce making, and pan frying...
churns than any other single location in the United States during this same time period.
In 2000, more than nine thousand people called Wapakoneta home. Many residents find employment at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
or Amcast. The Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum, operated by the Ohio Historical Society, is located in Wapakoneta.
Notable natives or residents
- Neil ArmstrongNeil ArmstrongNeil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
, the first man to walk on the moon. - Dudley NicholsDudley NicholsDudley Nichols was an American screenwriter who first came to prominence after winning and refusing the screenwriting Oscar for The Informer in 1936....
, Oscar-winning screenwriter - Jennifer CrusieJennifer CrusieJennifer Crusie is a pseudonym for Jennifer Smith, a bestselling and award winning author of contemporary romance novels. She has written over 15 novels, which have been published in 20 countries.-Biography:...
, romance novelRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
writer - Kent Boyd, runner-up on Season 7 (2010) of So You Think You Can DanceSo You Think You Can Dance (season 7)So You Think You Can Dance is a United States television reality program and dance competition airing on the Fox Broadcasting Company network. Season seven premiered on May 27, 2010...
.
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 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²), of which, 5.7 square miles (14.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (1.05%) is water.
Wapakoneta is located on the Auglaize River
Auglaize River
The Auglaize River is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river either comes from a Shawnee phrase meaning "fallen timbers" or a French term for "frozen water."It rises in...
and includes portions of Duchouquet
Duchouquet Township, Auglaize County, Ohio
Duchouquet Township is one of the fourteen townships of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 14,329 people in the township, 3,111 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
, Pusheta
Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio
Pusheta Township is one of the fourteen townships of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,346 people in the township, 1,295 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
, and Moulton
Moulton Township, Auglaize County, Ohio
Moulton Township is one of the fourteen townships of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,704 people in the township, 1,682 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
Townships.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 9,474 people, 3,803 households, and 2,540 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,674.7 people per square mile (646.3/km²). There were 4,057 housing units at an average density of 717.2 per square mile (276.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.96% White, 0.19% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races
Race (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 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $38,531, and the median income for a family was $45,456. Males had a median income of $34,523 versus $23,478 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,976. About 8.4% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Sister cities
Wapakoneta has one sister city, as designated by the 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...
:
| - Lengerich Lengerich, Westphalia Lengerich is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the southern slope of the Teutoburg Forest, approx... , Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |