Editing Springfield, Ohio (section)

===Early settlement===
Springfield was founded in 1801 by European-American James Demint, a former teamster from [[Kentucky]] who named it for [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]. When [[Clark County, Ohio|Clark County]] was created in 1818 from parts of [[Champaign County, Ohio|Champaign]], [[Madison County, Ohio|Madison]], and [[Greene County, Ohio|Greene]] counties, Springfield was chosen by the legislature over the village of New Boston as the county seat, winning by two votes.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.springfieldohio.net/history/ghost-towns/new-boston.php |title=History of Clark County: New Boston |department=Ghost Towns |publisher=The Network of Springfield, Ohio |date=2008 |access-date=March 27, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115115802/http://www.springfieldohio.net/history/ghost-towns/new-boston.php |archive-date=January 15, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="bicentennial">{{cite web |last1=Rowe |first1=Keisha |title=5 fascinating things to know about Clark County's history as it celebrates its bicentennial |url=https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/local/fascinating-things-know-about-clark-county-history-celebrates-its-bicentennial/YVkHijPeZbAc9AHpzagsGM/ |website=Springfield News-Sun |access-date=September 20, 2024 |date=April 24, 2018}}</ref>

Early growth in Springfield was stimulated by federal construction of the [[National Road]], which was extended to the city in 1838. For about a decade thereafter, Springfield served as the western terminus while politicians wrangled over its future route. Representatives of [[Dayton]] and [[Eaton, Ohio|Eaton]] wanted the road to veer south after Springfield, but President [[Andrew Jackson]], who took office in 1829, decided to push the road straight west to [[Richmond, Indiana]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Raitz|first1=Karl B.|last2=Thompson|first2=George F.|title=The National Road|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XSoga0PSd0C&pg=PA166|year=1996|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-5155-1|page=166}}</ref>