Chardon, Ohio

Chardon is a city in Geauga County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,242 at the 2020 census. Chardon is located about south of Lake Erie within the "snow belt" of the Great Lakes and is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. It is the only incorporated city in Geauga County and includes land that was once part of Chardon, Hambden, and Munson townships.

History

thumb|left|Main Street after the fire of 1868

Chardon is named after Peter Chardon Brooks, who donated land to build Chardon Square. The city was incorporated as a village in 1851 and became a city in 2001 after its population passed 5,000 people in the 2000 United States census. Chardon Square was quickly rebuilt following the fire. A new county courthouse, which still stands today, was completed in 1869. Many other buildings that were constructed after the fire also survive and are used today. The shooter was taken into custody by police and was charged with three counts of aggravated murder. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison without parole.

Geography

Chardon is located on U.S. Route 6 about east of Cleveland. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and or about is water.

Climate

With an average annual snowfall of , Chardon is notable for being the snowiest city in Ohio. This is mainly due to its location on a ridge approximately inland from Lake Erie, creating the perfect conditions for orographic lift and its associated heavy snowfall when winter winds blow across the lake.

In 1996, from November 9 through November 13, a storm dropped over of lake-effect snow in the city over a period of six days. Governor George Voinovich declared a state of emergency as a result, and the Ohio National Guard was brought in to assist with the cleanup.

Chardon has a humid continental climate (Dfb). Summer days are warm to hot while nights remain cool. Summer is also the rainiest time of the year. Winters are moderately long, cold, and very snowy. Precipitation peaks during the month of August.

Demographics

thumb|Downtown Chardon

As of the census

99.4% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.6% lived in rural areas.

There were 2,383 households, of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.9% were married-couple households, 19.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

! Race !! Number !! Percent

| White || 4,888 || 93.2%

| Black or African American || 56 || 1.1%

| American Indian and Alaska Native || 3 || 0.1%

| Asian || 53 || 1.0%

| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 1 || <0.1%

| Some other race || 31 || 0.6%

| Two or more races || 210 || 4.0%

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 111 || 2.1%

The median household income was $86,618, with a per capita income of $54,895. Approximately 10.02% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010 census

As of the census is a four-day celebration that takes place on the Chardon Square the last weekend in April. The festival has been rescheduled numerous times because of snowstorms in April due to Chardon's location in the “snow belt” of the Great Lakes; it receives a large amount of snowfall every year.

Chardon has an active performance art community. The Geauga Lyric Theater Guild is housed in the renovated Geauga Theater building, which was constructed in 1939 as an Art Deco movie house. The theater is also being used again to show first-run movies.

Greater Chardon features numerous parks and golf courses. Chardon Lakes Golf Course is located in the heart of Chardon, two minutes from the square. Sand Ridge Golf Club in nearby Munson Township is also an excellent course. Chardon has an abundance of park space. Due to the area's varying weather conditions, sports activities are available for every season.

Education

Chardon and the area surrounding the city are served by the Chardon Local School District. The district contains Chardon High School, as well as one middle school, and two elementary schools: Park and Munson. Hambden and Maple were no longer elementary schools starting in the 2018–2019 school year. Hambden and Munson elementary are not within the city limits. As of the 2011–2012 school year, the district had received an "Excellent" rating from the State of Ohio Board of Education for eleven consecutive years.

Chardon has a public library, a branch of the Geauga County Public Library.

Notable people

Andrew Brown, professional baseball pitcher
Hector (Chef Boyardee) Boioardi, is buried in All Souls Cemetery in Chardon
Mel Harder, professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Indians
Matt Hutter, NASCAR driver
Leroy Kemp, three-time World Champion in freestyle wrestling, three-time NCAA Champion at the University of Wisconsin
Tom Kipp, international professional motorcycle racing champion.
Charles C. Paine, politician
Halbert Eleazer Paine, Union general and U.S. Representative from Wisconsin
Seth Ledyard Phelps, naval officer, politician and diplomat
Christopher Robichaud, philosopher, Harvard University professor
Nick Schuyler, author (Not Without Hope)
JoAnn M. Tenorio, entomologist in Hawaii