Thanksgiving is upon us, and like many, staff at Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) will be traveling for the holiday, many to our hometowns across the greater state of Ohio. That is why we have decided to turn the attention of this month’s #OHCommunitySpotlight to the places we at GOPC call home.
Not on Twitter? The thread is available online, as well as below.
Greater Ohio Policy Center Read on Twitter
Next week is #Thanksgiving, and like millions of Americans, staff at GOPC will be traveling, gathering with our families, and giving thanks. This month, we are devoting our #OHCommunitySpotlight to our hometowns & special places around Ohio #GOPCThread
GOPC’s @AlisonGoebelOH grew up in the Chicago suburbs but has lived in #Ohio long enough to feel like a native. She claims @Mansfield_Ohio & @TiffinOhioGov as her adopted homes. #GOPCThread
GOPC did an #OHCommunitySpotlight on #Mansfield earlier this year, which talked about the amazing past, present, and potential futures of the Fun City. Mansfield has a rich manufacturing history, which continues today while also diversifying into “eds & meds”
Alison’s husband grew up in Tiffin and still has a lot of family in the area. European settlers 1st moved to the area to establish a military depot during the War of 1812; the city is named after the 1st Gov’r of #Ohio (Photo by Maison Hainey Photography) #GOPCThread
Tiffin has long produced glass & ceramic products, including #AmericanStandard toilets. While still a manufacturing town 👋 @NationalMach) it has diversified its economy and revitalized downtown to retain @tiffinu + @HeidelbergU students. #GOPCThread
Downtown Tiffin Earns National Accreditation with Heritage Ohio for Fifth Year | Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership Click Image for Link
GOPC’s @JasonEWarner was born and raised in @CityofWadsworth. Most of his family still lives there, with ancestors going back to the city in SE #MedinaCounty to before the Civil War #GOPCThread
The city itself was founded in 1814 & enjoyed its first wave of success thanks to mining (which incidentally brought Jason’s ancestors to Wadsworth from Wales #GOPCThread
Coal Mines & Industry | City of Wadsworth Click Image for Link
In 1895, the Ohio Match Co. was established, & was at one point the largest match producing factory in the world, producing more than 300 million wooden & paper matches each day. However, like many industries in Ohio, manufacturing declined and the plant closed in 1987.
Today, Wadsworth is a thriving suburb 20 minutes from downtown Akron and 40 minutes from downtown Cleveland, which offers big-city amenities, festivals, and of course, it’s own brewery (@wadsworthbrewco) #GOPCThread
Main Street Wadsworth | Ohio. Find It Here Click Image for Link
GOPC’s Twitterless Lindsey Elam says all of the Buckeye State feels like home. Lindsey is originally from Ohio’s first capital, Chillicothe, but she has lived in @ColumbusGov, Buckeye Lake, @CityofAthensOH, and @nelsonvillecity. #GOPCThread
On most weekends Spring–Fall, you will find Lindsey in one of our @OhioStateParks_. Lindsey & her husband have the goal of visiting every state park in Ohio; she’s visited 21 of 75. She is using the State Parks Passport to keep track #GOPCThread
State Parks Passport | Ohio Department of Natural Resources Click Image for Link
The Village of Buckeye Lake is on the north edge of Ohio’s 1st state park, designated in 1949 when @ohiodnr was created. Buckeye Lake State Park once had a popular amusement park & dance hall. Today, it has a 3,100-acre recreational lake & 4.1-mile multi-use path. #GOPCThread
GOPC’s Aaron Clapper was born and raised in Zanesville, Ohio, the state’s second capital. Aaron visits his family often, who still live in Zanesville and the surrounding area #GOPCThread
Home | Zanesville, Ohio Click Image for Link
Zanesville is part of GOPC’s Reinvention Cities Network, and a small legacy city. Over the past few years, Zanesville’s revitalization efforts have exemplified commitment of local leaders to invigorate the downtown, focus on housing, and advance development. #GOPCThread
GOPC highlighted Zanesville as a Community Spotlight, touching on the city’s pottery roots, as a clay-making region, as well as the area’s focus on arts and culture #GOPCThread
Aaron encourages you to visit Zanesville, and shop local in the downtown. You can drive or walk across the city’s Y-Bridge, which stands above two conjoining rivers, and connects downtown Zanesville with the north and south regions. #GOPCThread
GOPC’s Erica SpaidPatras went to school in #MtVernonOH, an early 1900s center of glass production & current producer of natural gas compressors. This industrial past is celebrated in Ariel-Foundation Park, featuring a historic tower in the newly built park. #GOPCThread
How Mount Vernon Turned an Old Industrial Site into a Stunning Park | Richland Source Click Image for Link
Downtown #MtVernonOH is dense & walkable with restaurants, shops, a theater @woodwardopera, & art galleries. Downtown’s Public Square was designated in early platting as a place for social gathering & current home to an award-winning farmer’s market. #GOPCThread
Home | Main Street Mount Vernon Click Image for Link
Part of downtown #MtVernon’s renaissance is #SPI Spot, a science playspace housed in a former candy factory. At #SPI Spot, kids engage with sensors, gears & chains, & a climbing area, just to name a few. After exploring, lunch or shopping is steps away. #GOPCThread
SPI Science Play Space Initiative | SPI Spot Click Image for Link
Planning nerds will be interested in following #Mt.VernonOH’s latest initiative to continue to advance downtown’s renaissance by forming a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area to spur economic development and attract visitors to downtown. #GOPCThread
Downtown DORA | Main Street Mount Vernon Click Image for Link
Project manager Maria is not originally from #Ohio but is part of a growing foreign-born population in @ColumbusGov where 12.7% of residents were born outside of the US. The city’s foreign-born population has grown nearly 43% in the last 10 years #GOPCThread
Quickfacts - Columbus Ohio | U.S. Census Bureau Click Image for Link
Immigrants make up ~5% of the state’s population and play a big role in the economy. For ex., immigrant business owners accounted for 6% of all self-employed Ohio residents and generated $891.7M in business income in 2018. Learn more in this @immcouncil report #GOPCThread
Immigrants - Ohio | American Immigration Council Click Image for Link
#Columbus is the 14th largest city in the US and home to a variety of arts & culture hubs, like @ColumbusZoo, @COSI, and @Columbusmuseum. #CBUS also has nearly 400 recreational parks, including @Scioto_Mile, home to the 9th most photographed city skyline #GOPCThread
Columbus Skyline is 9th Most Photographed in U.S. | Axios Columbus Click Image for Link
In the past, Columbus was a popular place for Italian and German immigrants. Today, #CBUS has large populations of Bhutanese Nepali, Somali, Congolese, Iraqi, and Afghan New Americans #GOPThread
Coming to America: Here are six of the largest refugee communities in Greater Columbus | Columbus Dispatch Click Image for Link
Located on the shores of Lake Erie in northeastern Ohio, GOPC’s Meg Montgomery was born and raised in Ashtabula. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811, with Jefferson being the county seat. The county has approximately 97,000 residents.
Home | City of Ashtabula Click Image for Link
Ashtabula harbor was once one of the busiest ports in the world, and the county was once home to many manufacturing plants. As with many of the “rust belt” communities, many of those industries ceased to thrive.
Home | Historic Ashtabula Harbor Click Image for Link
Today, with the perseverance of the locals, Ashtabula County has become a popular tourist destination. You will find the shores of Lake Erie, 19 covered bridges (with both the longest and shortest in the country)...
Home | Visit Ashtabula County Click Image for Link
As well as many local wineries, historic shopping in the Harbor, and the Western Reserve Greenway Trail, which consists of 27 miles from the City of Ashtabula southward to the County Line to where it continues into Trumbull County.
Western Reserve Greenway Trail | Ashtabula Metro Parks Click Image for Link
Ashtabula was one of the first communities we featured on our #OHCommunitySpotlight Thread series last year. You can read the whole thread here
That wraps-up this weeks #GOPCThread. On behalf of all of us here at GOPC, best wishes for a happy and safe #Thanksgiving. Be safe whether you are traveling by plane, train, automobile, or just walking down the street
