Garrettsville, Ohio

Garrettsville is a village in northeastern Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,449 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. The village was formed from portions of Hiram, Nelson, Freedom, and Windham townships in the Connecticut Western Reserve.

History

Colonel John Garrett III purchased of land in Nelson Township, then part of Trumbull County, in 1803, the year Ohio became a state. The land was purchased for the price of $1,313, or about $4.40 per acre. In July of the following year, he settled on this land with his family and two slave girls, 6 and 10 years old. These settlers constructed a grist mill, which was to open in January 1806. Garrett, however, died that same month.

In 1806, the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Road was constructed near Garrett's mill. This improved commerce to the area, and nearby pioneers would mill their grain at the mill, eventually building roads and trails to meet with the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Road. In 1830, the Garrettsville Post Office was established. By 1864, residents in the area around the mill had built up a settlement, which was incorporated as a village on September 1, 1864.

On March 22, 2014, a large fire broke out downtown, burning approximately one city block and 13 businesses to the ground. The local fire department was assisted by 34 fire departments from surrounding communities. Despite the size of the fire nobody was seriously injured; although one Windham firefighter suffered from smoke inhalation. Rick Patrick is the current mayor of Garrettsville.

Maple syrup, Crane family

The Garrettsville-Hiram Chamber of Commerce reports that at the beginning of the 20th century, Garrettsville was the largest center in the world for the processing of maple syrup. This was due largely to the efforts of Arthur Crane, who canned this maple tree product at a cannery on Windham Street.

Clarence Crane and his family left Garrettsville in the 1900s. Clarence continued to work in the maple sugar and candies industry, having started out in the industry working for his father. In 1912, Clarence Crane and his company, the Queen Victoria Chocolate Company, invented Life Savers candy.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,325 people, 964 households, and 629 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 1,054 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.8% White, 0.5% African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population.

There were 964 households, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% 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 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.96.

The median age in the village was 41 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 30.5% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the census The film is "a 1970 coming-of-age story set in the shadow of Kent State."

Each summer the village is home to the Garrettsville Summerfest. This annual summer event hosts many attractions including canoe races, a tractor parade, the Garrettsville Idol contest, and a car or cash raffle.

Education

thumb|Garfield Middle School

The James A. Garfield Local School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and James A. Garfield High School.

Garrettsville has a public library, a branch of the Portage County District Library.