Calcutta is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in St. Clair Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,941 at the 2020 census.
History
The first permanent settlement in the area was in 1792 or 1793 by hunter John Quinn. Calcutta was laid out in 1810 as West Union. It had also been called Foulkstown after William Foulks, who built the first brick house there, as well as Nineveh, after the Biblical city of the same name. It was ultimately renamed after the Indian city of Kolkata, formerly anglicized as Calcutta.
William Holmes McGuffey, a college professor who is best known for writing the McGuffey Readers textbooks, established his first subscription school in Calcutta in 1814, where he was an instructor to 48 students.
Historically a rural town, Calcutta experienced development in the 20th century as businesses from neighboring East Liverpool relocated to larger shopping centers along Ohio State Route 170.
Geography
Calcutta is located near the center of St. Clair Township in southeastern Columbiana County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Calcutta CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.11%, is water.
| align = right
| align-fn = center
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Calcutta had a population of 3,941. The median age was 50.3 years. 17.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.3 males age 18 and over.
38.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 61.3% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,668 households in Calcutta, of which 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.4% were married-couple households, 14.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Education
Children in Calcutta are served by the public Beaver Local School District, which includes one elementary school, one middle school, and Beaver Local High School.
Transportation
U.S. Route 30 passes through Calcutta as a four-lane divided highway with limited access concurrent with State Route 7, which travels northbound to Lisbon and southbound to East Liverpool. State Route 170 originates in Calcutta at an interchange with US 30/SR 7 and forms the main road of the town, traveling northbound toward East Palestine.