Harrison, Ohio

Harrison is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The city is located in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky metropolitan area and has a population of 8,918 according to the United States Census Bureau as of 2007.

History
Harrison was named after the 9th US President, William Henry Harrison. It was incorporated in 1850, and became a city in 1981.

Harrison Township established 1850, formerley part of Crosby Township.

It was the home of Ohio's fifth governor Othneil Looker.

It was one of the few stops in Ohio of the Whitewater Canal. The Whitewater Canal, which was built between 1836 and 1847, spanned a distance of seventy-six miles.

July, 13, 1863, Morgans Raiders invade. The column passes through taking fresh horses and burning the bridge over the Whitewater River near the southwest part of the town.

First train came to Harrison Township in 1864.

1882 Harrison depot built on W. Broadway and Railroad Avenue. It later burns to the ground.

Harrison Village Park is the final resting place for a small number of veterans of the Revolutionary War. In the center of the park is a bandstand. Prior to it being a bandstand it was a fountain. In the early 1930’s the fountain was drained and filled in and made a bandstand. It seems many children came down with cases of impetigo after spending a hot summer swimming in the fountain full of untreated water.

1940 The dog track in West Harrison closed due to pressure from the horse racing circuit. Monkeys in silk jackets had been used as jockeys for the dogs. The track had originally opened in 1932, when parimutual betting was illegal in Indiana. However, during the Depression, heads were turned as the track attracted revenue to the area and was one of the highest paying local jobs at $12 a week.

The city was devastated on June 2, 1990 by an F4 tornado, but was quickly rebuilt.

Harrison boast Miami Whitewater Forest, the second park to join the Hamilton County Park District in 1949. It now spans 4279 acre.

Local government
Harrison's mayor is Joel McGuire, an attorney and former Army Ranger. On November 6, 2007, McGuire (Independent) defeated incumbent mayor Daniel Gieringer (Democrat) by a vote of 58.7% to 41.3%. McGuire is a native of Harrison, Ohio and a former member of the city council.

Harrison has a city council made up of 7 members (Deborah Acra, Tony Burkart, Judy Kercheval, Matt Hiatt, William Neyer, Jim Robertson and Randy Shank) who are elected to 4 year terms.

Its police department is an accredited department with 21 sworn officers and 4 civilian personnel. It is headed by Col. Charles Lindsey, Chief of Police.

The Fire Department is headed by Chief Rob Hursong. The Harrison Fire Department is a combination department with thirty-three employees, sixteen of which are full-time and seventeen part-time. The Harrison Fire Department coverage areas consist of 44 sqmi in Ohio and Indiana resulting in 2100 Fire and EMS details annually.

Geography
Harrison is located at °N, °W (39.257931, -84.804535).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.7 km²), of which, 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.80%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,487 people, 2,717 households, and 2,005 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,024.5 people per square mile (781.3/km²). There were 2,847 housing units at an average density of 769.8/sq mi (297.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.18% White, 0.17% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.52% of the population.

There were 2,717 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,107, and the median income for a family was $54,028. Males had a median income of $37,455 versus $27,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,966. About 4.3% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

 * William Henry Harrison High School is located in Harrison, the school is part of the Southwest Local School District, which encompasses Harrison Township, Crosby Township, and Whitewater Township in Hamilton County as well as a small section of Morgan Township in southwest Butler County.


 * Cincinnati State Technical and Community College West Campus is located in Harrison.