It's that time again to shine a spotlight on another incredible Ohio #LegacyCity. This month, we travel to the Champion City, birthplace of @4H and home of the mighty tigers of @wittenberg University - Springfield.
Before the arrival of European settlers, the Shawnee were the first to settle the region that Springfield now occupies. They had villages including Peckuwe & Piqua - settlements of the Peckuwe & Kispoko divisions of the Shawnee Tribe.
During the American Revolution & the frontier wars, European Americans destroyed these villages in the Battle of Piqua. Logan's Raid occurred nearby in 1786. Settlers founded Springfield in 1801, two year before Ohio statehood.
Photographed By Dale K. Benington https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=35171
Springfield's early growth was in large part due to it being the terminus of the National Road, the first major improved highway in the U.S. which was built by the federal government.
It was in the mid to late 19th Century when Springfield became a major industrial hub. Champion City Farm Equipment & The Kelly Springfield Tire Company both began in this era. In 1904, Harry Toulmin Sr. wrote the patent for the Wright Flyer in Springfield.
Champion Farm Equipment would later be absorbed into International Harvester, which today continues to operate in Springfield as @navistar. Kelly-Springfield was acquired by @Goodyear in 1935 & operated as a subsidiary until ending business in 1999.
Today, Springfield is home to Silfex, an advanced manufacturer making silicon chips, @Assurant, an insurance company, and many other 21st century companies.
In was in 1902 when A.B. Graham, the superintendent of schools for Springfield Township started a Boys' & Girls' Agriculture Club in the basement of the Clark County Courthouse. Those 85 children became the first @4H club in the United States
Today, agriculture continues to be an important industry to Springfield & Clark County. The Clark County Fair, located in Springfield, is the second largest fair in the state, after the @OhioStateFair
Between 1916-1926, 10 automobile companies operated in Springfield. This included the Westcott Motor Car Company (the car built to last). Founded by Burton Westcott, he would commission Frank Lloyd Wright in 1908 to design @WestcottHouse, which still stands today.
Springfield reached its peak population in 1960, with more than 82K residents. The decline in manufacturing starting in the late 20th Century impacted the city significantly, with a 27% decline in median income between 1999-2014, the largest of any metro in the country.
Today, Springfield is home to more than 58K inhabitants and offers incredible amenities and opportunities for current and future residents
Besides Westcott House, Springfield hosts several places on the National Register of Historic Places, including Pennsylvania House, a historic inn & tavern dating to 1822, The Clark County Heritage Center, opened in 1890 for city offices; today a museum research library & archive
The Heritage Center hosts a Farmer’s Market every Saturday from June through September, featuring local vendors selling fresh local vegetables, meats, dairy products and baked goods.
Next to the Heritage Center is The Market, an awesome building with food vendors, a bar, @COhatchLife co-working space, news station, event room, and more!
If you visit, afterwards you can stop by Mother Stewart’s Brewery and Tap Room, located in a historic warehouse downtown & named after local temperance champion Eliza Daniels “Mother” Stewart .
The Springfield Art Museum, founded in 1952, with its own permanent facility in 1967 is near downtown. Today it hosts exhibits & art education programs & is the only art museum in Ohio that is part of the @smithsonian Affiliates program.
Springfield was a beneficiary of Ohio's former brownfield program, the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund. Utilizing cleanup grants. Several new facilities were developed around the city, including @ovsurgical & @ChillerIceRinks
Greater Ohio has also worked with the city to help their efforts to retain & attract residents & businesses, releasing Housing in the Champion City in 2019.
In 2022, GOPC helped the city develop a 4-year strategic housing work plan, to help guide local policy development and pro-active strategies
Over the years, Springfield has produced notable people from all walks of life, including singer/songwriter/actor @johnlegend OSU NFL QB @BraxtonMiller5 NBA Player & Executive (and hall of famer) Wayne Embry, & current governor @MikeDeWine all hail from Springfield
Here's to you Springfield!