Oakwood, Montgomery County, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Oakwood, Ohio
City
Hawthorn Hill, home of Orville Wright
Location in Montgomery County and the state of Ohio.
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Montgomery
Area
• Total	2.19 sq mi (5.69 km2)
• Land	2.19 sq mi (5.69 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	988 ft (301 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	9,202
• Estimate  (2019)	8,936
• Density	4,071.07/sq mi (1,571.64/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	45409, 45419
Area code(s)	937, 326
FIPS code	39-57764
GNIS feature ID	1049033
Website	www.ci.oakwood.oh.us

Oakwood is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Dayton. The population was 9,202 at the 2010 census. Oakwood is part of the Dayton metropolitan area. It was incorporated in 1908. John Henry Patterson, industrialist and founder of the National Cash Register Corporation, is considered the "Father of Oakwood."

Oakwood is completely land-locked by the surrounding municipalities of Dayton and Kettering. Its small, compact geographic area facilitates the response of its single unified (consolidated) Department of Public Safety, in which all personnel are certified as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) officers. Oakwood is one of only a few U.S. cities to employ the concept. Public safety officers work 24-hour shifts, performing the different functions within eight-hour blocks of each shift.

History

At the turn of the twentieth century, Oakwood was primarily farmland situated on a hill directly south of the City of Dayton. In 1913, when a disastrous flood devastated downtown Dayton (the Great Dayton Flood), advertising began to tout Oakwood property as "275 feet higher than the intersection of Third and Main Streets."

In light of this real estate advantage and its location adjacent to the City of Dayton, Oakwood’s largest period of growth began and by 1930, the village population numbered over 6,000. Oakwood incorporated as a city in 1908 and in 1932 adopted the Council/Manager form of government that is still in place.

One of the city’s early residents was Orville Wright, whose home, Hawthorn Hill, still stands at the corner of Harman and Park Avenues. John H. Patterson, founder of the National Cash Register Company (NCR) also called Oakwood home. The city is known as a suburban residential area with mostly tree-lined streets.

During World War II, the Runnymede Playhouse in Oakwood hosted Unit IV of the Dayton Project. The Dayton Project was a little-known part of the Manhattan Project involved in creating industrial quantities of polonium for use in the neutron generating triggers of the first atomic weapon.

Geography

It is within the Miami Valley region of southwestern Ohio, and borders on Dayton to its north and east and Kettering, Ohio to its south and west. The campus of the University of Dayton is directly adjacent to Oakwood on the northeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.19 square miles (5.67 km²), all land.

The city is unofficially divided into two parts, east and west, by the city's major road, State Route 48, also termed Far Hills Avenue. SR 48 runs north-south and connects the city of Dayton with Oakwood and, further south, with Kettering and other suburbs. The geography of the eastern and western sections differ to a significant extent, with the western side covered in prominent hills, while most of the eastern section is predominantly level or gently sloping.

Housing and aesthetics

Oakwood contains a rich collection of architecture. Because of the city's age, many of the houses were constructed before World War II and are older in design. Houses in Oakwood, which vary greatly in size, have styles which include Tudor, Swiss chalets, Colonial Revival, White Clapboard Colonial, and Gothic Revival. The western end of the city features many large properties and historic houses, such as Hawthorn Hill, home of Orville Wright. The houses in this area tend to lie on well secluded plots of land, surrounded by many trees.

Because of Oakwood's affluence, there is a general societal push for beautification. Rundown houses and unkempt lawns are generally frowned upon by the community; most lawns are well maintained. The city itself gives "Beautification Awards" to the judged most beautiful houses in order to maintain this high level of aesthetic awareness. The city has relatively strict zoning laws that restrict major changes to houses and require city approval for any planned structural additions. The city prohibits chain-link fences that can be seen from the street, and requires all external utility units (such as air conditioning units) to be obstructed from the view from the street.

Public architecture is a general source of pride for the Oakwood community. The city buildings were designed to incorporate the rich variation of traditional architectural styles found in the city's houses. Oakwood High School displays an elaborate external design. The elementary schools, Edwin D. Smith Elementary School and Harman Elementary School, echo this elaborate style. Smith Elementary is built in the Tudor style like the High School while Harman Elementary is Colonial revival. The newest addition to the school system, the Julian and Marjorie Lange School, features Spanish revival architecture. The Oakwood Board of Education occupies a gray stucco manse with red tile roof in the northern most area of Oakwood on Rubicon Road. Wright Memorial Library offers similar aesthetics, and the police and fire department is reminiscent of a French château.

Demographics

Chart of the Oakwood Racial Makeup as of the 2000 Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,202 people, 3,543 households, and 2,521 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,201.8 inhabitants per square mile (1,622.3/km²). There were 3,772 housing units at an average density of 1,722.4 per square mile (665.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.3% White, 0.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.

There were 3,543 households, of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.8% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.15.

The median age in the city was 40.5 years. 30.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.9% were from 25 to 44; 30.5% were from 45 to 64; and 11.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

The median income for a household in the city was $94,731 and the median income for a family was $116,719. The per capita income for the city was $50,258. 70.6% of Oakwood's residents have earned a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sister cities

• Le Vesinet, Île-de-France, France
• Outremont, Quebec, Canada
• Unterhaching, Bavaria, Germany (friendship pact)

See also

In Spanish: Oakwood (condado de Montgomery, Ohio) para niños