Newark, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Newark
City
Licking County Courthouse
Nickname(s):  "Nerk”
Motto(s):  Land of Legend ⏤ Past and Future
Location of Newark in Licking County and State of Ohio
Newark, Ohio Location in Ohio Show map of Ohio Newark, Ohio Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	US
State	Ohio
County	Licking
Area
• Total	21.37 sq mi (55.34 km2)
• Land	20.88 sq mi (54.09 km2)
• Water	0.48 sq mi (1.25 km2)
Elevation	833 ft (254 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	47,573
• Estimate  (2019)	50,315
• Density	2,409.38/sq mi (930.26/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes	43055, 43056, 43058, 43093
Area code(s)	740, 220
FIPS code	39-54040
GNIS feature ID	1065144
Website	http://www.newarkohio.net/

Newark ( noork) is a city in and the county seat of Licking County, Ohio, United States, 40 miles (64 km) east of Columbus, at the junction of the forks of the Licking River. The population was 49,934 at the 2020 census, which makes it the 15th largest city in Ohio.

It is the site of much of the Newark Earthworks, a major ancient complex built by the Hopewell culture. The Great Circle portion and additional burial mounds are located in the neighboring city of Heath, Ohio. This complex has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is operated as a state park by the Ohio History Connection.

Geography

Newark is located at 40°3′47″N 82°25′0″W / 40.06306°N 82.41667°W / 40.06306; -82.41667 (40.063014, −82.416779).

In terms of population, Newark is the second-largest Newark in the United States, after Newark, New Jersey. It is not part Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.37 square miles (55.35 km²), of which 20.88 square miles (54.08 km²) is land and 0.49 square miles (1.27 km²) is water.

Demographics

In terms of population, Newark, Ohio is the second-largest Newark in the United States, after Newark, New Jersey. Newark, Ohio is part of the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The median income for a household in the city was $19,791, and the median income for a family was $42,138. Males had a median income of $18,542 versus $12,868 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,819. About 10.1% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.9% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 47,573 people, 19,840 households, and 12,057 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,278.4 inhabitants per square mile (879.7/km²). There were 21,976 housing units at an average density of 1,052.5 per square mile (406.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.8% White, 3.3% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.2% of the population.

There were 19,840 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.2% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.94.

The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.6% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 14.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

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  Great Circle at Newark Earthworks

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  Former McGuffey Elementary School, used also as West Main Intermediate.

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  Home Savings Association Bank, Louis Sullivan, architect

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  The Midland Theatre on Courthouse Square

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  Shields Block

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  Family Outing, sculpture by Gary Lee Price, Thomas Evans Bike Trail, west of downtown

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  Upham-Wright House

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  Home in the Hudson Avenue Historic District

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  Cedar Hill Cemetery

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  Nearby Dawes Arboretum south of Newark

History

A further section of the Great Circle

Indigenous peoples lived along the river valleys for thousands of years before European contact. From more than two thousand years ago, 100 BC to 500 AD, people of the Hopewell culture transformed the area of Newark. They built many earthen mounds and enclosures, creating the single largest earthwork complex in the Ohio River Valley. The Newark Earthworks, designated a National Historic Landmark, have been preserved to document and interpret the area's significant ancient history. The earthworks cover several square miles. The Observatory Mound, Observatory Circle, and the interconnected Octagon earthworks span nearly 3,000 feet (910 m) in length. The Octagon alone is large enough to contain four Roman Coliseums. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt would fit precisely inside Observatory Circle. The even larger 1,180-foot (360 m)-diameter Newark Great Circle is the largest circular earthwork in the Americas. The 8 feet (2.4 m)-high walls surround a 5 feet (1.5 m)-deep moat. At the entrance, the walls and moat are of greater and more impressive dimensions.

In addition, the remains of a road leading south from the Octagon have been documented and explored. It was first surveyed in the 19th century, when its walls were more apparent. Called the Great Hopewell Road, it may extend 60 miles (97 km) to the Hopewell complex at Chillicothe, Ohio. It was surveyed at least six miles (10 km) south of the Octagon, and can be seen on photographs and with LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensing technology south of that.

Contemporary archaeogeodesy and archaeoastronomy researchers have demonstrated that the Hopewell and other prehistoric cultures had advanced scientific understandings which they used to create their earthworks for astronomical observations, markings and celebrations. Researchers analyzed the placements, alignments, dimensions, and site-to-site interrelationships of the Hopewell earthworks to understand what had been done. Today, the Ohio Historical Society preserves the Great Circle Earthworks in a public park near downtown Newark, called Mound Builders Park (or the Newark Earthworks) located at 99 Cooper Ave, Newark, Ohio. The area of the Octagon Earthworks had been leased to a country club, but new arrangements in 1997 provide for more public access to it. Later American Indian tribes inhabiting the area at the time of European contact were distant descendants of the earlier peoples.

Newark's Pennsylvania Railway Station

After exploration by traders and trappers in earlier centuries, the first European-American settlers arrived in 1802, led by Gen. William C. Schenck. He named the new village after his New Jersey hometown. Later public improvements led to growth in the town, as it was linked to major transportation and trade networks. On July 4, 1825, Governors Clinton of New York and Morrow of Ohio dug the first shovelfuls of dirt for the Ohio and Erie Canal project, at the Licking Summit near Newark, Ohio. On April 11, 1855, Newark became a stop along the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad that connected Pittsburgh to Chicago and St. Louis. On April 16, 1857, the Central Ohio Railroad connected Newark west to Columbus, and later Newark maintained a station on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

The Heisey Glass Company started in Newark in 1895. The factory operated there for 62 years, until the company's demise in 1957 due to changing tastes. The National Heisey Glass Museum, operated by the Heisey Collectors of America, Inc., is located on Sixth Street in Newark.

In 1909, The Arcade was opened. Modeled after innovative European buildings, it became one of Newark's first successful retail emporiums. Later versions became known as shopping malls. At 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²), the Arcade is one-third the size of an average modern Wal-Mart. The original architecture provides a beautiful setting that attracts shoppers to its businesses.

Climate

Business

Longaberger corporate headquarters on State Route 16.

Newark is the site of several major manufacturers. The corporate headquarters of basket-maker Longaberger had their new building designed as a gigantic "medium market basket," their most popular model. Holophane, founded in 1898, is one of the world's oldest manufacturers of lighting-related products. The main factory of Owens Corning Fiberglass is also located in Newark. State Farm Insurance has Regional Headquarters in Newark, Ohio. Several industrial parks house such major companies as Kaiser Aluminum, Dow Chemical Company, General Electric, Covestro, Boeing, THK, Harry & David, Communicolor, Diebold, Boeing, Anomatic, International Paper and Tamarack Farms Dairy. The Park National Bank Corporation is headquartered in downtown Newark.

The main shopping center in the area is the Indian Mound Mall (located in nearby Heath). The mall is named after the world-famous Indian earthworks built 2,000 years ago by the Hopewell Indians of central Ohio. Both earthworks are located less than a mile away from the shopping mall named for them.

In 2007, Newark/Granville native Tom Atha Jr. opened Earthwork Media Productions, located on Main Street in Newark. Earthwork Media Productions is a full-scale, professional recording studio, production house, and strategic marketing. Earthwork has catered to many national performers, such as Brendan James and Toubab Krewe. Earthwork Media Productions opened a second production studio, Studio B, in November, 2012.

Points of interest

Licking County courthouse

• Newark Earthworks
• Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve
• Dawes Arboretum
• Home Building Association Bank

• Smucker, Isaac (1807-1894): Recollections of Newark, Ohio Archæological and Historical Society Publications: Volume 20 [1911], pp. 240-247.

Education

Newark City School District serves the city of Newark. Newark High School consists of nearly 2,000 students and competes at the OHSAA D1 level. Newark High School has a storied tradition in Academics and Sports, as well as Performing Arts. Newark High School has won 4 OHSAA Basketball titles (36', 38', 43', 08') and 3 AP Football titles. The Pride of Newark Marching Band has made an unprecedented 39 consecutive years to the OMEA state finals. The Pride has earned a superior rating at State Marching Band finals 31 years, including 4 straight seasons (2015, ‘16, ‘17, ‘18). The Newark High School Sinfonia, under the direction of Susan Larson, tied for first runner-up at the National Orchestra Cup in New York City on April 5, 2009. The Sinfonia was featured in a front-page article of the April 14, 2009, edition of The New York Times, and received an invitation to the White House in the fall of 2009. Their Concert Choir recently sang in Italy and was sponsored by Disney. Under the direction of Kimberly & Michael Wigglesworth, the choir has qualified for OMEA Choir state Finals for the past 15 years.

A regional campus of Ohio State University is also located in the city. The Ohio State University at Newark, founded in 1957, schools over 2,800 students and is the most diverse campus in the Ohio State system. Today, under the leadership of Dean and Director William MacDonald, the campus features eleven buildings, including a recreation center and two residence halls. It offers Associate of Arts degrees, as well as Bachelor of Arts degrees in seven majors and master's degrees in education and social work. It also serves as a doorway to over 200 majors on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus. The Newark Campus shares its facilities with a two-year technical college, COTC (Central Ohio Technical College). Under the leadership of President Bonnie Coe, it serves some 3,000 other students in 45 certificate and associate degree programs.

Newark is also home to a number of private religious schools, including St. Francis de Sales School, Blessed Sacrament School and Newark Catholic High School. C-TEC (Career and Technology Education Centers of Licking County) offers high school and adult programs.

Newark has a public library, a branch of the Licking County Library System.

Transportation

Licking County provided demand-response public transportation under the name Licking County Transit. GoBus' Columbus-Wooster route provides service to Newark.

Notable people

• Gary A. Braunbeck, horror author
• John Clem, one of the youngest soldiers in U.S. Army
• Mike Collins, football player for NFL's Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams
• Katharine Coman, economic historian, professor at Wellesley College; credited with developing the field of industrial history; was the first female professor to teach statistics in the US
• Woody English, MLB player for Chicago Cubs
• Jon Hendricks, jazz singer
• Derek Holland, MLB starting pitcher for San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers
• Che Jones, college basketball player; jersey number retired by Ohio State-Newark in 2001
• Rob Kelly, five-year NFL pro with the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots
• Roman Mars, host and producer of 99% Invisible
• Andy Merrill, the voice of Brak
• Jerrie Mock, first woman to fly solo around the world
• Bruce Mozert, photographer
• Wayne Newton, singer, actor, Las Vegas Strip entertainer; raised in Newark
• Kathi Norris, writer and television presenter
• Henry Putnam, Wisconsin state senator
• Fred Schaus, Hall of Fame head coach of NBA's Los Angeles Lakers, Purdue and West Virginia
• Marshall Sprague, journalist
• William Stanbery, U.S. Congressman
• G. David Thompson (1899–1965), investment banker, industrialist, and modern art collector
• Jim Tyrer, professional football player for Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins
• Jeff Uhlenhake, 12-year NFL pro with Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints
• Geoffrey C. Ward, historian and writer
• Clarence Hudson White, early photographer, member of modernist "Photo Secessionist" group
• Michael Z. Williamson, science fiction author
• Charles R. Woods, Civil War general
• William Burnham Woods, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice

Images for kids

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  Newark Earthworks mound, Hopewell culture, 100 AD-500 AD

See also

In Spanish: Newark (Ohio) para niños