Hamilton, Ohio

Hamilton is a city in Butler County, southwestern Ohio, United States. The population was 62,447 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Butler County. The city is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The city's mayor is Patrick Moeller. Most of the city is in the Hamilton City School District. It has been named the number one urban school district in Ohio, and its superintendent, Janet Baker, has been named Ohio's superintendent of the year.

The industrial city is seeking to revitalize itself through the arts and was officially declared the 'City of Sculpture,' due to its efforts to bring many sculpture installations to the city and the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park.

History
Hamilton was laid out as Fairfield in 1794, but took the name of Fort Hamilton, the army post established by General Arthur St. Clair and named for Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. From there, St. Clair and General Richard Butler, namesake of the county, marched north in 1791 to fight Indians. Butler was killed in the expedition. The 'father of Hamilton' and a leading statesman was James McBride.

Hamilton was first incorporated by act of the Ohio General Assembly in 1810, but lost its status in 1815 for failure to hold elections. It was reincorporated in 1827 with Rossville, the community across the Great Miami River in St. Clair Township. The two places severed their connection in 1831 only to be rejoined in 1854. It became a city in 1857. On March 14, 1867, Hamilton withdrew from the townships of Fairfield and St. Clair to form a "paper township", but the city government is dominant.

On the afternoon of September 17, 1859, Abraham Lincoln arrived at the Hamilton Station (the station is still standing and has been placed on the city's Historic Preservation list), and gave a campaign speech in support of his fellow Republican, William Dennison, who was running for Ohio governor. Lincoln's speech concentrated on popular sovereignty. He began by saying "This beautiful and far-famed Miami Valley is the garden spot of the world." It was during this campaign that the relatively-unknown Lincoln was first mentioned as a possible presidential contender.

The county courthouse, listed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its monumental architecture, was constructed between 1885 and 1889. The city has three historic districts that demonstrate part of its past, with areas of turn-of-the-century homes. Like Cincinnati, Hamilton had many German & Italian immigrants, whose influence showed in culture, architecture and food. Hamilton also had a Jewish community; Beth Israel Synagogue was founded in 1901 as an Orthodox alternative to Hamilton's existing Reform synagogue.

The paper industry, iron works, and manufacturing works thrived in Hamilton in the early to mid-twentieth century due in part to the immigration of skilled German workers and availability of a good water supply needed by industry. The Great Miami River, Miami Aquifer and the old Miami and Erie Canal system supported industry and transportation. The rivers also created risk; Hamilton was one of the Ohio cities severely damaged by the Great Dayton Flood of 1913. Many of the historical buildings in the historical districts survived the Great Flood, and still stand and are used today.

In the 1920s, many Chicago gangsters had second homes in Hamilton. This gave Hamilton the nickname "Little Chicago". Some appeared to have invested in what became an active district of gambling and prostitution. John Dillinger was documented as a visitor to Hamilton.

During World War II, the entire city was declared off-limits to military personnel because of its numerous gambling and prostitution establishments. Madame Freeze's and the long row of prostitution houses along Wood Street (now called Pershing Ave) were notorious among soldiers. Factories in Hamilton manufactured military supplies, such as tank turrets, Liberty Ship and submarine engines, and machined and stamped metal parts.

In the 1950s construction of the new interstate highway I-75 followed the Miami and Erie Canal and bypassed the city. Until 1999 when the Butler County Veterans Highway was built, Hamilton was the second largest city in the United States without direct interstate access.

On May 28, 1986, as part of a plan to increase publicity about Hamilton, the City Council voted 5-1 in favor of adding an exclamation point to the city's name. Thus, Hamilton officially became Hamilton! While used extensively in the city's documents, letterheads, business cards and on local signage, "Hamilton!" was not successful in getting Rand McNally to use the new moniker on state maps. The city's website does not use the exclamation point.

The city has become known for its support of the arts, especially public sculpture.

The City has won The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Awards for best tasting Municipal Water for the United States in 2009 and the best in the World, Gold Medal, in 2010.

Geography
Hamilton is located at °N, °W (39.395806, -84.564920).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.1 square miles (57.2 km²), of which, 21.6 square miles (56.0 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²) of it (2.13%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 60,690 people, 24,188 households, and 15,867 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,808.2 people per square mile (1,084.3/km²). There were 25,913 housing units at an average density of 1,199.0 per square mile (463.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.94% White, 7.55% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.46% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.58% of the population.

There were 24,188 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,365, and the median income for a family was $41,936. Males had a median income of $32,646 versus $23,850 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,493. About 10.6% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.1% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Hamilton is served by the Hamilton City School district. The district has underway a major $200 million capital program including construction of eight elementary schools, a freshman school, two completely renovated middle schools, and an upgraded high school with two new gyms, a new media center, six new classrooms and a new cafeteria. In 2002, President George W. Bush visited Hamilton and signed The No Child Left Behind Act into law at Hamilton High School. Talawanda, Ross, and New Miami School Districts also serve corners of the city.

Miami University has a regional campus in the city. Miami University Hamilton opened in 1968 and now has more than 4,000 students. Another campus is found in nearby Middletown and has about 2,500 students.

Stephen T. Badin High School, a private Catholic high school of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and several Catholic elementary schools (St. Ann, St. Peters in Chains, and St Joseph Consolidated School), serve the city and surrounding area.

Notable natives

 * William Allen, born near Hamilton, later United States Congressman
 * Ray Combs, comedian and second host of Family Feud
 * Aaron Cook, Professional Baseball Player
 * Greg Dulli, musician
 * Kevin Grevey, Professional Basketball Player
 * William Dean Howells, Author
 * Mark Lewis, Professional Baseball Player
 * John Martinkovic, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants
 * Robert McCloskey, Author
 * Dean Miller, Actor and businessman, born in Hamilton
 * Jane Gray Nelson, Texas state senator
 * Joe Nuxhall, Professional Baseball Player
 * Mark Peck, New Zealand Member of Parliament
 * Nan Phelps, Artist
 * Charles Richter, seismologist and creator of the Richter scale
 * Brady Seals, former pianist and song writer for Little Texas
 * John Cleves Symmes, Jr., soldier, philosopher
 * Jim Tracy, Professional Baseball Player and Manager
 * Roger Troutman, singer, songwriter
 * Brandon Underwood, NFL player for the Green Bay Packers
 * E.J. Underwood, Professional football player for the Cleveland Gladiators. Played for Edmonton Eskimos New York Jets, Buffalo Bills
 * Scott Walker, Musician, Singer, member of the Walker Brothers.
 * Jimmy Wynn, MLB player for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, and the Milwaukee Brewers