Piqua, Ohio | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Piqua | |
 Interactive map of Piqua, Ohio | |
  Piqua  Piqua | |
| Coordinates:40°08′30″N84°15′10″W / 40.14167°N 84.25278°W /40.14167; -84.25278 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Ohio |
| County | Miami |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kris Lee (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 12.04 sq mi (31.18 km2) |
| • Land | 11.78 sq mi (30.50 km2) |
| • Water | 0.26 sq mi (0.68 km2) |
| Elevation | 873 ft (266 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 20,354 |
| • Density | 1,728.7/sq mi (667.45/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 45356 |
| Area codes | 937, 326 |
| FIPS code | 39-62848[3] |
| GNIS feature ID | 2396215[2] |
| Website | http://www.piquaoh.gov/ |
Piqua (/ˈpɪkwə/PIK-wə[4]) is a city inMiami County, Ohio, United States, along theGreat Miami River. The population was 20,354 at the2020 census. Located 27 miles (43 km) north ofDayton, it is part of theDayton metropolitan area.
The word 'Piqua' is believed to be derived from aShawnee language phrase:Othath-He-Waugh-Pe-Qua, translated as "He has risen from the ashes," related to a legend of the people. It became associated with thePekowi, one of the five divisions of theShawnee people, who were eventually known as the Piqua.
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In 1749,Fort Pickawillany was constructed by the British to protect their trading post at aMiami village of the same name. It was located at the confluence ofLoramie Creek and theGreat Miami River.
In 1752,Charles de Langlade, anOdawa war chief of partial French Canadian descent, attacked the fort. He led more than 240 Odawa andOjibwe warriors allied with French forces against the British and the Miami village in theBattle of Pickawillany. The Miami chief and a British trader were killed in the conflict.
After the battle, the British and Miami abandoned this site. The Miami rebuilt Pickawillany, and Piqua later developed near their village. The British soon took over the area after defeating the French in theFrench and Indian War.
Until 1780, Piqua had been the capital town of the Shawnee located on theMad River about 23 miles southeast of the modern town (near Springfield). That year, an expedition by Gen.George Rogers Clark culminated in theBattle of Piqua, after which the town and surrounding fields were burned. The Shawnee relocated north and west to the Great Miami River. Piqua was settled as two separate Shawnee villages late in 1780, known as Upper Piqua and Lower Piqua.
In 1790, General Harmar found the site on the Great Miami River abandoned and in ruins, as did General Wayne in 1794.
As Gen. Anthony Wayne'sLegion was returning to Greenville via Loramie's trading post and Piqua at the termination of their Indian Country campaign in fall 1794, Wayne wrote a letter to Henry Knox dated October 17, 1794, in which he recommended that forts be built at those two locations as waystations along the Miami River. A detachment of Wayne's forces from Greenville built or repaired a small fort and supply depot named Fort Piqua in Upper Piqua on the same site as the (later) farm of Col.John Johnston in winter 1794–95. Capt. J.N. Visher was made commander of the garrison. The fort was garrisoned through 1794 and 1795, and abandoned after the signing of theTreaty of Greenville in 1795.
By 1795, most of Ohio's Shawnee had moved to Missouri and those that remained migrated north to the Auglaize - the southwestern Indian towns were no more. Piqua itself was well below the Greenville Treaty line and would remain abandoned until white settlers arrived.
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The first European settlers arrived in 1798, after the signing of theTreaty of Greenville ending theNorthwest Indian War and opening much of Ohio to settlement. In 1807 the village, consisting of seven houses, was surveyed by Armstrong Brandon, a soldier under Gen. Anthony Wayne, and named Washington. It was about a mile southwest of the old Indian villages of Piqua.
By 1816, the Shawnee village of Piqua had been long abandoned; the state legislature, acting on citizen petition, changed the name of Washington village to Piqua. Piqua was incorporated as a town by the Ohio General Assembly in 1823.
During theWar of 1812, Piqua was a waystation for men and supplies moving north. In 1819, a land office was established in Piqua which facilitated its growth.
Piqua developed along with construction of theMiami and Erie Canal between 1825 and 1845.
Rossville, Ohio was the first free-black enclave in the region.[5] VirginiaplanterJohn Randolph of Roanoke, who served as a U.S. representative and senator, arranged for the emancipation ofhis nearly 400 slaves in his will of 1833.[6] He also provided money for his executor to relocate thefreedmen to the free state of Ohio, and to buy land and supplies to help them establish a settlement. The will was challenged but in 1846, his 383 slaves gained their freedom. Most of these freedmen settled inRumley, Ohio.[7] Some eventually founded Rossville and an associated cemetery, known as theAfrican Jackson Cemetery.[8][9] These are located on the northeast side of the Great Miami River; they may be accessed by nearby North County Road 25-A. The community has since been incorporated into Piqua.[when?][citation needed]
Piqua was one of the cities that suffered severe flooding during theGreat Dayton Flood of 1913. Piqua is nestled in a sweeping "S" bend of theGreat Miami River and experienced regular flooding before the Great Flood of 1913.[10]
On March 22, 1913, a moderate storm moved down theSt. Lawrence River basin into theOhio River basin, with enough rain to moisten the soil upriver from the Miami River and its tributaries. The soil in that upper region is predominantly clayey glacial till, transitioning to mostly Loamy glacial till. Starting on March 23, 1913, rain began to fall for five days. The heaviest rainfall occurred on March 25 with anywhere from 2” in the southeast corner of Ohio to 5” in the area between Piqua and Troy. All together, the total amount of precipitation for this five day period was recorded from 5” in the southeast of Ohio to 11” in the swatch between Piqua and Troy.[11]
The flood waters came with such speed and force as to move homes off their foundations, depositing untold amounts of mud in others and claiming forty-nine lives in Piqua and neighboring Rossville alone. In places, streets were damaged or washed out to varying degrees of severity. Public utilities (gas, sewer and water) were hampered to provide services, due to mud clogging up the pipes. The estimated property damage/loss in Piqua reached $1,000,000 ($26.2M in present-day dollars), excluding public utilities and farm losses.[12] TheOhio and Erie Canal, which for 81 years had served as an important connection point from Ohio to the East Coast, was permanently closed to commercial traffic because of extensive flood damage.
Piqua was home to the first municipally operatednuclear power plant, thePiqua Nuclear Generating Station. The facility was built and operated between 1963 and 1966 as a demonstration project by theUnited States Atomic Energy Commission. The Atomic Energy Commission bought out the contract with the City of Piqua in order to terminate the operations early, citing higher-priority needs for manpower and funding, lack of programmatic interest, and technical problems.[13]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.89 square miles (30.79 km2), of which 11.62 square miles (30.10 km2) is land and 0.27 square miles (0.70 km2) is water.[14]
TheGreat Miami River runs through Piqua. The area at the south end of town on the east side of the river is known as Shawnee.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1810 | 287 | — | |
| 1820 | 350 | 22.0% | |
| 1830 | 488 | 39.4% | |
| 1840 | 1,480 | 203.3% | |
| 1850 | 3,277 | 121.4% | |
| 1860 | 4,616 | 40.9% | |
| 1870 | 5,967 | 29.3% | |
| 1880 | 6,031 | 1.1% | |
| 1890 | 9,090 | 50.7% | |
| 1900 | 12,172 | 33.9% | |
| 1910 | 13,388 | 10.0% | |
| 1920 | 15,044 | 12.4% | |
| 1930 | 16,009 | 6.4% | |
| 1940 | 16,049 | 0.2% | |
| 1950 | 17,447 | 8.7% | |
| 1960 | 19,219 | 10.2% | |
| 1970 | 20,741 | 7.9% | |
| 1980 | 20,480 | −1.3% | |
| 1990 | 20,612 | 0.6% | |
| 2000 | 20,738 | 0.6% | |
| 2010 | 20,522 | −1.0% | |
| 2020 | 20,354 | −0.8% | |
| 2021 (est.) | 20,442 | 0.4% | |
| Sources:[3][15][16][17] | |||
As of the2020 census, Piqua had a population of 20,354. The median age was 39.4 years. 23.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.8 males age 18 and over.[18][19]
99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.[20]
There were 8,494 households in Piqua, of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 39.5% were married-couple households, 20.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[18]
There were 9,205 housing units, of which 7.7% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.0%.[18]
| Race | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| White | 17,899 | 87.9% |
| Black or African American | 722 | 3.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 33 | 0.2% |
| Asian | 132 | 0.6% |
| Native Hawaiian andOther Pacific Islander | 4 | 0.0% |
| Some other race | 204 | 1.0% |
| Two or more races | 1,360 | 6.7% |
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) | 452 | 2.2% |
As of the2010 census, there were 20,522 people, 8,318 households, and 5,425 families residing in the city.[21] Thepopulation density was 1,766.1 inhabitants per square mile (681.9/km2). There were 9,311 housing units at an average density of 801.3 per square mile (309.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.4%White, 3.3%African American, 0.2%Native American, 0.7%Asian, 0.4% fromother races, and 2.9% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.4% of the population.
There were 8,318 households, of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% weremarried couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.8% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.96.
The median age in the city was 38.1 years. 24.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 26.2% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.
As of the2000 census, there were 20,738 people, 8,263 households, and 5,585 families residing in the city.[3] The population density was 1,939.2 inhabitants per square mile (748.7/km2). There were 8,886 housing units at an average density of 830.9 per square mile (320.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 94.21%White, 3.38%African American, 0.33%Native American, 0.44%Asian, 0.27% fromother races, and 1.37% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 8,263 households, out of which 32.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% weremarried couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.4% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,681, and the median income for a family was $41,804. Males had a median income of $31,808 versus $22,241 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $18,719. About 9.6% of families and 12.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
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The city of Piqua is the home ofHartzell Propeller, a producer of small aircraft propellers.Evenflo (formerly Questor Juvenile Furniture) is the leading manufacturer of infant and toddler car seats, and has become one of Piqua's leading employers and industries.
In the late 1890s, Southwest Ohio was the heart of the USflaxseed growing area. There were some 13linseed oil mills in Piqua, where the flaxseed was "crushed" to extract the vegetable oil, named linseed oil. The flax fiber was used to make both cloth and paper. The oil had a variety of industrial uses.Linoleum is a manufactured flooring product for which linseed oil is the binder. One of the vegetable oil mills in Piqua burned down in the 1890s, a common fate for wooden buildings soaked with vegetable oil. Its owner, American Linseed Oil Company, dispatched Alfred Willard French, their Chief Engineer, from Brooklyn, New York, to organize and supervise the rebuilding of the oil mill.
During the rebuilding of the mill, French included a machine he had invented and patented in 1898, a "cake trimmer", and purchased the most modern equipment then available. He met the leading citizens of Piqua. They were impressed with French, who had graduated from theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in three years, and had entrepreneurial spirit. They decided to invest in a new company he wanted to start.The French Oil Mill Machinery Company was founded May 25, 1900, with French as president, to make "improved oil mill machinery". By 1905 the company was exporting its patented and rugged vegetable oil mill extraction machinery all around the world. Today, the company has customers in over 80 countries, still serving the vegetable oil extraction market (to press such seeds as soybeans, cottonseed, rapeseed, canola, and many others). In addition, the company is a world leader in synthetic rubber dewatering and drying machinery, and in hydraulic molding presses for rubber, thermoplastic and composite materials.
During the late 19th century and much of the 20th century, Piqua was a major center of underwear production. A yearly Outdoor Underwear Festival was held downtown from 1988 until shortly after the demise and demolition of the factory owned by Medalist-Allen A, a direct descendant of the Atlas Underwear Company. Originally the festival had a serious historical focus. In later years it attracted adventurous types from surrounding towns, and Piqua residents discouraged their children from attending. Heritage Green Park now occupies the former Medalist factory site.
The Meteor Motor Car Company had a brief run as an independent record label and phonograph manufacturer in the 1920s. Acquired by Wayne Corporation ofRichmond, Indiana, which manufactured school buses, it operated as the Miller-Meteor division. Miller-Meteor produced ambulances and hearses before closing down in 1979.
The PiquaCoca-Cola Bottling Company, owned by the Lange family, was located on the downtown square at the northeast corner of Main and High streets. It produced its signature product along withSprite,Tab andFresca in glass bottles for the Upper Miami Valley; metal canned products were shipped in from a plant in Speedway, Indiana. In the mid-1970s, the plant was bought by the Dayton Coca-Cola Bottling Company. The increased demand for Coke products in two-liter plastic bottles and cans made the aging local plant obsolete; it was closed down and razed by the end of the decade. A newer bottling plant was constructed inHuber Heights. A statue of pilotDon Gentile was erected at the site of the defunct plant.
The Val Decker Packing Company, which operated until 1981, was a local producer of hams, hot dogs, and other meats and lard under the tagline "Piquality." The large red steel cans, which contained the lard product, are now sought after as collector's items. The building which housed the meat packing plant was renovated in 1987 for office use by the Piqua Board of Education and several small businesses.
Piqua's industrial past produced a prosperity reflected in residential areas near downtown, which contain numerous large mansions and homes. Most notable is the Leo Flesh Mansion, built in theChateauesque style. It looms over many of the surrounding buildings in the neighborhood. A "sister" house in Dayton, Ohio, was designed by the same architect.
Piqua's shopping mall,Miami Valley Centre Mall, opened in 1988 and was renovated in the mid-1990s. Miami Valley Crossing (formerly Piqua East Mall, opened in 1970) was redesigned and updated in the late 1990s as a plaza with several anchor stores.
According to Piqua's2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[22] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evenflo | 606 |
| 2 | Industry Products Company | 411 |
| 3 | Nitto Denko Automotive Ohio | 354 |
| 4 | Walmart | 337 |
| 5 | Piqua City Schools | 320 |
| 6 | Hartzell Propeller | 313 |
| 7 | Piqua Steel Company | 304 |
| 8 | Crane Pumps & Systems Inc | 298 |
| 9 | United Parcel Services | 287 |
| 10 | City of Piqua | 231 |
Fort Piqua Plaza began as the "Orr-Statler Block" building at the corner of Main and High Streets was erected in 1891 and long dominated downtown. For many years its core tenant was a hotel of more than 100 rooms, first known as the "Plaza," later as the "Favorite," and finally as the "Fort Piqua." The hotel closed in the 1980s.
The building's street-level commercial spaces were occupied by a variety of businesses over the years, including a barbershop, grocer, bank, the local telephone company business office,Western Union, a combination bus station and taxi office with a very popular soda fountain and lunch counter, and others. Just prior to the start of theProhibition era, the hotel's bar was moved to the basement level. It is rumored to have closed only its outside entrance during those years, operating as aspeakeasy.
The building suffered disrepair and neglect for a period, and renewal plans seemed unable to secure funding. In a public-private redevelopment, the building was fully renovated during a two-year project. Since 2008, its major tenant has been the city's public library. The building is now known as Fort Piqua Plaza.[23]
Beginning in 1886, there were 14 companies in Piqua set up that sold underwear.[24] There were underwear manufacturers in the city until 1993.[25]
The Underwear Festival, in which participants wore underwear publicly and which had entertainment events, was established in 1988.[25] Each instance was for two days. In 1990, theAssociated Press stated: "Organizers cautioned that the parade is a family affair."[24] A lack of volunteers led to the disestablishment of the festival in 1998.[25]
ThePiqua City School District, which covers the entire city,[26] operates two elementary schools, one intermediate school, one middle school, a junior high school, andPiqua High School.[27] Piqua is also home to the Upper Valley Career Center. Piqua is also home to several private schools, including Piqua Catholic School, the Piqua Seventh Day Adventist School, and the Nicholas School.[28]
Piqua is home toEdison State Community College, established as Ohio's first general and technical college in 1973.[29]
ThePiqua Daily Call was published daily from 1884 to 2019 before being consolidated with theTroy Daily News to formMiami Valley Today, which is published Tuesday through Friday inTroy.
Piqua is home to the radio stationsWPTW 1570 AM and 98.1 FM, as well asWPLC 95.1 low-power FM as a repeater ofThree Angels Broadcasting Network.
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Piqua has two Main Streets, one being north and southbound along Miami County Road 25-A (the formerU.S. Route 25, also known as theDixie Highway); the other running east through Shawnee. U.S. 36 also runs through much of the city, cutting the town almost directly in half. Main and Ash streets (U.S. 36) converge in Piqua's downtown. Also running through downtown is the east–westConrail corridor; originally built as thePennsylvania Railroad two-track throughway, this track was abandoned in 1985 during restructuring of the railroad industry. A section of it was renovated as a bike trail in the summer of 2001, and it is now known as Linear Park. The remaining rail line serving Piqua is the north and southboundBaltimore and Ohio line, now operated byCSX Transportation (CSXT).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Municipalities and communities ofMiami County, Ohio,United States | ||
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