Caldwell, Ohio

Caldwell is a village located along the West Fork of Duck Creek in Noble County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,748 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Noble County.

History
The village is named for Robert Byrd Caldwell, its original landowner. The name of Caldwell has been conspicuous in the annals of Duck Creek Valley from the earliest history of that region, to the present day. The progenitor of the Noble County Caldwells was Robert Caldwell, a native of Chester County, Pa. He was a man of much natural abil- ity and of giant force of character, these traits being inherited from his Scotch-Irish ancestors. He served as a teamster in the Revolutionary War, married and settled in Pennsylvania, and in 1795 emigrated to the Northwest Territory, settling in Washington County, Ohio, where were then the chief settlements in the territory. He explored this sec tion of the county, and by the advice of General Putnam, made a selection of the land on which he afterward located. In the year 1808 he came up the west fork of Duck Creek with his sons and began an improvement on the present Caldwell farm. He was, therefore, among the earliest pioneers of the valley, and the first to make a clearing where the town of Caldwell now stands. Robert Caldwell died in 1831. His wife's maiden name was Jane Fulton, who was also a native of Pennsylvania, and a niece of Robert Fulton, the pioneer steam navigator. Their children (several of whom were born in Pennsylvania), were Robert*, John, Joseph, Samuel, Hiram, Jane, Polly, Elizabeth, llebecca, Matilda and Xancy. The sons are all dead except Joseph. They were all prominent fanners, and resided in Noble County. Of the daughters, Jane married Rod- ney Severance, and died in Morgan County. Polly married James Logan, remained in Pennsylvania, and died there. Elizabeth, the widow of David Archibald, is still living in Noble County. Rebecca (deceased) was tlie wife of John Noble. Matikhi, the wife of John Rrownrigg, is still living in Noble County. Nancy became the wife of Samuel Price, and died in Morgan County.

Caldwell is the location of the Thorla-McKee Well, believed to be the first oil-producing well in North America.

The Pennsylvania Railroad arrived to Caldwell in the 1870s.

While passing through an area of thunderstorms and turbulence over Ohio early in the morning of 3 September 1925, the airship USS Shenandoah was torn apart and crashed in several pieces near Caldwell.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.90 sqmi, of which, 0.89 sqmi is land and 0.01 sqmi is water.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,748 people, 861 households, and 446 families residing in the village. The population density was 1964.0 PD/sqmi. There were 929 housing units at an average density of 1043.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 97.7% White, 0.2% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.1% of the population.

There were 861 households of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.2% were non-families. 43.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.76.

The median age in the village was 45.6 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.1% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64; and 23.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.5% male and 54.5% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,956 people, 831 households, and 480 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,956 people per square mile (770.6/km²). There were 887 housing units at an average density of 906.1 per square mile (349.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 99.13% White, 0.15% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.31% Asian, and 0.20% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population.

There were 831 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the village the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 26.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $26,020, and the median income for a family was $36,094. Males had a median income of $31,250 versus $19,643 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,942. About 9.7% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.

Cross country team
Caldwell High School's cross country team had one of the most dominant runs by any Ohio High School Athletic Association team, winning small-school state championships every year from 1985 to 1992 and the National Championship in 1986. During several of these years, they were also arguably the best team in any division, since they beat the best large-school state champions from those years in regular-season races. Mah Dugan Hill, who was also on a 1973 state title team at Caldwell, coached those teams, and in still coaching at CHS continues to produce many solid state-qualifying teams. The Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches elected him to their Hall of Fame in 1996 and awarded him the Ed Barker award in 2006 for these outstanding accomplishments.

Notable People

 * Ashleigh Lemon, Miss South Eastern Ohio 2007 Pageant Winner, Miss Maple City 2009 Pageant Winner