Portsmouth, Ohio
Portsmouth is a city in
Scioto County,
Ohio, at the
confluence of the
Ohio,
Scioto and
Little Scioto Rivers. The population was 20,909 at the 2000 census. It is the
county seat of
Scioto County. From
1930-
1933, it was the home of the
Portsmouth Spartans, the
NFL franchise that became the
Detroit Lions in
1934.
Shawnee State University and
Mitchellace are located in Portsmouth. The Portsmouth Gasseous Diffusion
Uranium Enrichment Plant is also located in nearby
Piketon, Ohio.
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Location of Portsmouth, Ohio |
Portsmouth is located at (38.743186, -82.965436).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 28.6
km² (11.1
mi²). 27.9 km² (10.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (2.62%) is water.
The Founding Roots
Portsmouth's roots began in 1790's when the small town of Alexandria was founded just west where Portsmouth is today. There were numerous times the town was flooded out by the
Ohio River and the
Scioto River. In
1803, Henry Massie spotted a place to move the town away from the flood plains. He began to plot the city by distributing the land and the drawing the streets with a map. Portsmouth was founded in 1803 and was established as a city in 1815. Alexandria soon disappeared and a dirt race track sits where the town once stood. Portsmouth quickly grew around an industrial base with the completion of the
Ohio and Erie Canal and the construction of the
N&W railyards and the
B&O junction. This greatly benifited Boneyfidle (which is a westend neighborhood in Portsmouth) as grand buildings were constructed showing the wealth from the commerce, but as time passed, much of the commerce began to move towards Chillicothe Street which is the main thoroughfare of Portsmouth. Today, Boneyfidle is now a shadow of its former self.
Another notable part of Portsmouth's history in the 1800's was its importance on the
Underground Railroad. Its line was in a direct route that eventually ran up to
Detroit and into
Canada.
The Floods and The Solution
Even though the city was on higher ground, it was still prone to flooding. The city had great deal of flooding in
1884,
1913, and
1937. After the flood of 1937,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a floodwall protecting the city which prevented two major floods in
1964 and
1997. In 1993, mural artist,
Robert Dafford, began painting murals of Portsmouth's history on the floodwall. Most of the mural project was finished around 2003 with a baseball mural honoring Portsmouth's baseball heroes was completed in 2006.
Decline
By the 1950's, Portsmouth's population climaxed at 50,000. However, higher labor costs, instability caused by local
labour unions, and foreign influence caused much of the industry which Portsmouth was built on to be moved out of the area. A major blow came in 1980 when the steel industry quit operations. With a population of approximately 20,000, the City is not far removed from many small cities along the Ohio River and the Ohio River Valley, sharing many of the same problems facing small towns in an era of unskilled labour outsourcing and population migration to more urban areas and the subsequent loss of both skilled and unskilled labour.
Political Corruption
Portsmouth hasn't really been immune to political corruption. For the last 26 years the citizens have been battling this. They have recalled three city council members in 1980 after the a mall proposal was denied by city council and again in 2004 for both the mayor and two council members over a Marting's (a former local department store) proposal to move city hall to the building which would have cost taxpayers millions of dollars to pay the debt of the company and the renovations. As of 2006, the proposal is dead after citizens voted against the issue in March. The city also went into an uproar in 1981 when they fired a
city manager for illegal actions. The city reverted from being run by a city manager to a mayor in 1988.
Portsmouth was a city focused on
industry and
manufacturing until the
1970s when a number of companies closed down their
factories over labour issues caused by union-management conflicts and foreign influences. Since the closure of these
factories, Portsmouth has suffered a loss of jobs and revenue. The city is currently trying to promote service businesses with Southern Ohio Medicial Center as the biggest employer in the city of Portsmouth.
In
November of
2002, the Portsmouth
Uranium Enrichment Plant in nearby
Piketon, Ohio was recognized as an
ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society. It had served a military function from 1952 until the mid-1960s when the mission changed from enriching uranium for
nuclear weapons to one focused on producing fuel for commercial
nuclear power plants. Portsmouth ended enriching operations in 2001 and began to support operational and administrative functions and perform external contract work.
All uranium enrichment in the area was taken over by Portsmouth's sister plant across the
Ohio River in
Paducah, Kentucky. Uranium enrichment functions had previously been shared by the two plants.
USEC interests in the area remain strong with the
American Centrifuge Plant under construction in Piketon.
In January of 2004, USEC announced the selection of Piketon as the expected site for its future American Centrifuge Plant. This commercial uranium enrichment facility is expected to employ up to 500 people and reach an initial annual production level of 3.5 million
SWU by 2010.
Portsmouth is also the home of
Mitchellace Inc., the largest manufacturer of shoelaces in the world.
Portsmouth is served by two major highways,
U.S. 23 and
U.S. 52. Other routes include
Ohio 73,
Ohio 104,
Ohio 139,
Ohio 140, and
Ohio 335.
Norfolk Southern offers a railyard for long distance shipping. Public transportation is offered through Access Scioto County
External Link. Portsmouth also offers air services with
Greater Portsmouth Regional Airport located in
Minford, Ohio, which is 10 miles northeast of the city.
K-12 Schools
Portsmouth is served by two schools with one being public and the other private.
Portsmouth City Schools has served the city since its foundings in the 1830's and is the public school in the city. Portsmouth City Schools is notable having a storied basketball tradition by winning four
OSHAA State Basketball Championships in 1929, 1961, 1978, and 1988. In 2000, Portsmouth voters passed a much needed school levy which would construct new schools for Portsmouth City Schools. These schools are schedule to open in the upcoming 2006-2007 school year.
Portsmouth Notre Dame has served the city's Catholics and others who want a higher education since 1852. It is also notable for its football team founded in 1929. It has won two State Championships in 1967 and 1970.
Universities
Portsmouth used to be home to
Ohio University's Southern Campus, but it moved to
Ironton, Ohio in the early 1980's and the former Ohio University buildings became home to
Shawnee State University, which was founded in
1986. At the present time, the university is expanding and institutes an open-door policy.
Many historical buildings in Portsmouth have been demolished because of poor upkeep, other city improvements, or the completition of other buildings that replace those of the landmarks. Many landmarks that have been demolished include the old rail depot, chruches dating back to the early-1900's, houses that were dated back to the 1850's, Grant Middle School, and soon to be the old Portsmouth High School and the city's elementaries that are being replaced by new schools. Nevertheless, old churches still stand as a reminder of our past and identity along with the Columbia Theater which has been given a major facelift, the old monastery which can be seen for miles,
Spartan Stadium, and numerous buildings in Boneyfidle.
Portsmouth Public Library is the city's only public library which was founded in 1879.
Southern Ohio Museum which was founded in 1979 has over sixty exhibits on display which includes many of
Clarence Holbrook Crater artwork. China dolls, Native American artifacts, other road exhibits, and local school artists show off their work here.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 20,909 people, 9,120 households, and 5,216 families residing in the city. The
population density was 749.6/km² (1,941.4/mi²). There were 10,248 housing units at an average density of 367.4/km² (951.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.50%
White, 5.00%
African American, 0.63%
Native American, 0.61%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 0.32% from
other races, and 1.92% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.
There were 9,120 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were
married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,004, and the median income for a family was $31,237. Males had a median income of $31,521 versus $20,896 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,078. About 18.3% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.
Portsmouth Daily TimesCommunity CommonScioto VoiceUniversity Chronicle*
Martin Dillon: Musician, Opera Singer, and Professor of Music 1957 to the 1975
*
Kathleen Battle: American Opera Singer
*
Al Bridwell: former Major League Baseball player (early 1900s)
*
Earl Thomas Conley: Country Musician
*
Chuck Ealey: former Canadian Football League player (1972-1978)
*
Bill Harsha: former U.S. House of Representatives (1961-81)
*
Larry Hisle: former Major League Baseball player (1968-1982)
*
Johnny LeMaster: former Major League Baseball player (1975-85, 1987)
*
Eric O'Brien Kelley: Film and television producer; Park Bench Entertainment
*
Al Oliver: former Major League Baseball player (1968-85)
*
Branch Rickey: Major League Baseball executive who signed Jackie Robinson and created the minor league farm system
*
Vern Riffe Jr.: former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representative (1975-95)
*
Roy Rogers: singer and cowboy actor
*
Barbara Robinson: American author,
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (1972)
*
List of cities and towns along the Ohio River*
USEC Facilities*
Uranium Production
