Tiffin, Ohio

Tiffin is the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. The population was 17,963 at the 2010 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Tiffin as a Tree City USA.

It is the home of Heidelberg University and Tiffin University. At one time it was noted as a glass and porcelain manufacturing center. Tiffin is home to several elementary schools, Tiffin Middle School, Calvert Catholic Schools, and Columbian High School.

History
The history of Tiffin dates back to 1812. The familiar bronze statue of "The Indian Maiden" on Frost Parkway, near Miami Street, marks the site of Fort Ball, a military depot of the war of 1812. Fighting an engagement of that war, Eratus Bowe first sighted the location upon which Tiffin now stands. In 1817, he returned to the site and built his Pan Yan Tavern, which later became a stagecoach stop, on the north sandusky river.

Early homesteaders followed soon after Bowe, and the settlement of Oakley sprang up around the Pan Yan. The main traveled road of the area followed the path of the stagecoaches through Oakley, which was called Fort Ball after 1824.

In 1821, Josiah Hedges purchased a piece of land on the south bank of the river opposite Oakley and founded another settlement. He named this village "Tiffin" in honor of Edward Tiffin, first governor of Ohio and later member of the United States Senate, and a man who had fought to finally win statehood for the Ohio Territory in 1803. Tiffin was incorporated by an act of the Ohio Legislature on March 7, 1835. These two communities, split by the Sandusky River, were rivals; however, in 1850, seeing that later their interests lay together, the villages merged to form Tiffin, with Fort Ball becoming a part of Tiffin in March of that year.

In 1824, with the establishment of Seneca County by the Ohio Legislature, Tiffin became a county seat. The county took its name from the Seneca Indians, who originally were native to the territory. The discovery of natural gas in the vicinity in 1888 gave new momentum to the city's industries; new enterprises located in Tiffin, making it a prosperous industrial city:
 * The National Machinery Company moved from Cleveland to Tiffin in 1882.
 * Webster Industries, Inc. moved from Chicago to Tiffin in 1906.
 * and Clifford O. Hanson founded The Hanson Clutch and Machinery Company in Tiffin. It was acquired by Pettibone in 1966. Pettibone LLC, which today is an affiliate of The Heico Companies, renamed the business unit Tiffin Parts in 1997. Operating at the same site since the 1920s, the building on Miami Street is on the National Register of Historic Places.
 * Tiffin was the home of Tiffin Glass Works from 1889 to 1980.
 * Tiffin was the home of American Standard Company (formerly Great Western Pottery), maker of ceramic kitchen and bath products, from 1899 to 2007. It was the largest employer in the city.

Since the late 1970s, the city has lost industry.

In the spring of 1913, the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys were ravaged by one of the most devastating floods in the region's history. Among those communities which suffered the consequences of that flood was Tiffin, located on the Sandusky River in northwest Ohio. During that three-day period, Tiffin sustained more than $1,000,000 in property loss, 46 houses and 2 factories swept away, 10 factories damaged, 69 places of business heavily damaged, 6 bridges within the corporate limits destroyed, and—worst of all—19 lives lost.

Tiffin has been the home of Ballreich's Bros., a potato chip company, since 1920. While the company's retail market is Northern Ohio, its products have acquired a reputation that extends far beyond its local retail market and are available for shipping anywhere via the company's website.

Tiffin St. Paul's United Methodist Church was the first church in the world to be lit by Edison's light bulb, and the first public building in the United States to be wired for electricity. Tiffin is home to a large population of German-Americans and a smaller but significant population of Italian-Americans. In 1970 Tiffin's highest population was 21,896.

Tiffin is the home of the historic Ritz Theatre, built in 1928 as a vaudeville house with an Italian Renaissance design. The Ritz Theatre underwent extensive renovation and restoration in 1998.

In 2002, a F3 tornado hit southeast Tiffin, destroying several homes outside city limits.

A new Mercy Hospital of Tiffin was built and opened in July 2008.

Republican Aaron D. Montz, Tiffin's 2nd Ward Councilman, was elected Mayor of Tiffin on November 8, 2011. He defeated his Democratic opponent, Kenneth Gaietto.

Geography
Tiffin is located at 41.11694°N, -83.17889°W (41.116834, -83.179003).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.90 sqmi, of which, 6.76 sqmi is land and 0.14 sqmi is water. The Sandusky River flows through the center of the city. It is located on U.S. Route 224.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 17,963 people, 7,086 households, and 4,115 families residing in the city. The population density was 2657.2 PD/sqmi. There were 8,007 housing units at an average density of 1184.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 93.9% White, 2.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 7,086 households of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.9% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.

The median age in the city was 35.2 years. 20.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 17.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,135 people, 11,330 households, and 9,471 families residing in the city. The population density was (10,792.4/mi²) people per square mile (11,078.9/km²). There were 17,862 housing units at an average density of 11,210.6 per square mile (467.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 1.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.1% of the population.

There were 11,330 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 15.1% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,261, and the median income for a family was $41,329. Males had a median income of $31,207 versus $22,259 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,580. About 5.7% of families and about 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Tiffin is served by Tiffin City Schools: Columbian High School, Tiffin Middle School, and C.A. Krout,  Noble, and Washington Elementary Schools.

Weekday Religious Education has been offered to the city's elementary and middle schools since 1940.

Tiffin is also served by the Calvert Catholic Schools: Calvert High School for grades 7-12, and one campus school, Calvert Elementary, for preschool through grade 6.

Other schools in Tiffin include the Sentinel Career Center, one of two charters schools, Bridges Community Academy, and North Central Academy.

Tiffin is the home of Tiffin University, Heidelberg University, the Tiffin Academy of Hair Design, and formerly of the American Institute of Massotherapy.

Tiffin also has two Catholic churches. One is St. Mary's Catholic Church which has a Cathedral appearance and beautiful stained glass windows. This Church also had a school, and hosts the annual St. Mary's Catholic Church Fair. The other is St. Joseph's Catholic Church which happens to be the tallest and one of the oldest churches in Tiffin. St. Joe's was originally started with primarily German immigrants. St. Mary's originally started with primarily Irish and Italian immigrants.

Government
Mayor: Aaron D. Montz (R)

City Administrator: Debra A. Reamer (R)

City Council President: Rich Cline (R)

Chief of Police: Fred W. Stevens

Fire Chief: William Ennis

Municipal Court Judge: Mark Repp (R)

Director of Public Works: Michael Hoffman

Transportation
Tiffin has only one airport, Tiffin Metro Airport (K16G). Tiffin also has 3 reliable taxi services. Tiffin is currently on 5 state routes, as well as U.S. Route 224, which skirts the city's southern edge. Tiffin is located on the southern terminus of Northern Ohio and Western Railway. CSX operates a busy line that travels east and west through the city. The city is still a very busy railhub for CSX because of its closeness to CSX's Willard Yard and the "Iron Triangle" in Fostoria.

Media
Tiffin is served by The Advertiser-Tribune, and it has 5 radio stations, 1600 WTTF AM, 103.7 WCKY-FM, 103.3 WSJG-LP "St. John Paul The Great Radio," 93.3 COOL FM, and WTSC SenecaCountyRadio.com. It is also served by its local news/sport/entertainment channel, WTIF (Channel 21 on Cable, and is currently not carried by DirecTV or Dish Network).

Sports
The Tiffin Saints of the fledgling Independent Baseball League played an abbreviated inaugural season at the Tiffin University field in 2014. The Saints are Tiffin's first pro baseball team since the Tiffin Mud Hens played in the Ohio State League from 1936-41; affiliated with the nearby Toledo Mud Hens and the Detroit Tigers, Tiffin won the OSL championship in 1936.

Notable people
Bill Groman, former wide receiver for Houston Oilers, graduate of Heidelberg College Jim Boeke, former offensive lineman for L.A. Rams, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, drafted into NFL 1960, graduate of Heidelberg College Bob Briggs, former defensive lineman for Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, graduate of Heidelberg College
 * Jay Gruden, head coach of the Washington Redskins
 * Oliver Edwin Baker, president of the Association of American Geographers, author of Geography of the World's Agriculture, and editor of the Atlas of American Agriculture
 * George H. Brickner, politician and businessman
 * Oliver Cowdery One of the founders, with Joseph Smith, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). Practiced law and politics in Tiffin 1842-1847.
 * George Babcock Cressey, Geographer
 * Paul Gillmor, Republican U.S. representative representing the Ohio 5th District from 1988 to 2007.
 * John R. Goodin, U.S. Representative from Kansas
 * Sue Wilkins Myrick, U.S. Representative from North Carolina and former mayor of Charlotte, NC. Myrick is a Tiffin native and Heidelberg College alumnus.
 * John Quinn, Tiffin native, New York lawyer, art patron, collector of historical manuscripts, and major supporter of William Butler Yeats.
 * George E. Seney, U.S. Representative from Ohio
 * Nate Washington, wide receiver with the Tennessee Titans, signed as an undrafted free with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent out of Tiffin University, with his first pro career reception in the 2005 AFC Championship Game.
 * Rodger Young, Medal of Honor recipient, World War II