Editing Jefferson, Ohio

{{Distinguish|Jefferson County, Ohio|Jeffersonville, Ohio}}
{{For|the community in Wayne County|Jefferson, Wayne  County, Ohio}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Jefferson, Ohio
|settlement_type          = [[Village (United States)|Village]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
|image_skyline            = Ashtabula County Courthouse Group.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = [[Ashtabula County Courthouse Group|Ashtabula County Courthouse]]
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = 
|image_map                = Map of Ashtabula County Ohio Highlighting Jefferson Village.png
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Jefferson in Ashtabula County
|pushpin_map              = Ohio#USA
|pushpin_relief           = yes
|pushpin_label            = Jefferson
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Ohio]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Ohio|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Ashtabula County, Ohio|Ashtabula]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 6.57
|area_land_km2            = 6.57
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.54
|area_land_sq_mi          = 2.54
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 3226
|population_density_km2   = 491.04
|population_density_sq_mi = 1271.58
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 961
|coordinates              = {{coord|41|44|19|N|80|45|25|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 44047
|area_code                = [[Area code 440|440]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 39-38500<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1042061<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1042061}}</ref>
|website                  = http://www.jeffersonohio.us/
|footnotes                = 
}}
'''Jefferson''' is a village in [[Ashtabula County, Ohio]], United States, and its [[county seat]]. The population was 3,226 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref> It is part of the [[Ashtabula, Ohio|Ashtabula micropolitan area]], {{convert|50|mi}} northeast of [[Cleveland]].

Modern-day Jefferson sports the world's only [[baby transport|perambulator]] museum and a historical complex including several restored 19th-century buildings. [[Joshua Reed Giddings Law Office|Joshua Giddings' law office]] has also been restored as a museum. Annual village events include the Ashtabula County Fair, the Strawberry Festival, Jefferson Days, and the Covered Bridge Festival.

==History==
[[File:Giddings-Law-Office-No1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Joshua Reed Giddings Law Office]]]]
Jefferson was officially founded by [[Gideon Granger]], U.S. [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] during [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s administration, in 1803. He envisioned the new settlement as a "[[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]] of the West," and early plans for the village were based upon the layout of that city. A cabin was erected by Granger's agent in 1804, but the settlement's first permanent residents arrived only in 1805: the Samuel Wilson family. Wilson, misled by land agents, moved to Ohio in late autumn expecting to find a thriving city on Granger's land.<ref name="ohiohistory">{{cite web|url=https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Jefferson,_Ohio |title=Jefferson, Ohio |publisher=Ohio History Central |access-date=March 18, 2023 }}</ref> Instead, he found a wilderness, broken only by trees emblazoned with Philadelphian street names, marking where future streets would be built. Wilson himself died after two weeks of herculean effort to prepare for the winter, but his family stayed on as the first citizens of Jefferson. In 1811, Jefferson was made the county seat of Ashtabula County.

Jefferson's two most famous sons were Congressman [[Joshua Reed Giddings]] and Senator [[Benjamin Wade]], two prominent [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]] and later [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] abolitionists.<ref name="ohiohistory" /> In 1831, the two men formed a law practice in Jefferson and worked together until Giddings was elected to [[Congress of the United States|Congress]] in 1838.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book
|contribution=Introductory
|first=Joshua 
|last=Giddings
|contributor-first=Arthur W.
|contributor-last=Thompson
|year=1964
|title=The Exiles of Florida
|publisher=University of Florida Press
 }}</ref>{{rp|xv}} Wade successfully ran for the Ohio State Senate in 1837, then won election to the US Senate in 1851. Both were instrumental in the foundation of the Republican Party and defied the "[[Gag Rule]]" barring discussion of [[slavery]] prior to the [[American Civil War]]. Jefferson itself was a hotbed of abolitionism. Abolitionist [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] spoke in the village, and several of its houses acted as stations on the [[Underground Railway]]. During the [[American Civil War]], it trained Union recruits at Fort Giddings, which stood in the village at the current site of the fairgrounds. Wade later was merely one vote shy of assuming the acting [[President of the United States|Presidency]] due to the [[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/us-history-biographies/benjamin-franklin-wade |title=Benjamin Franklin Wade |publisher=Encyclopedia.com |access-date=February 13, 2022 }}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Town Hall in Jefferson.jpg|thumb|left|Jefferson Town Hall]]

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the village has a total area of {{convert|2.52|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archive-date=July 2, 2012 }}</ref>

The village's principal watercourse is Mill Creek.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 439
|1860= 658
|1870= 869
|1880= 1008
|1890= 1346
|1900= 1319
|1910= 1461
|1920= 1532
|1930= 1691
|1940= 1676
|1950= 1844
|1960= 2116
|1970= 2472
|1980= 2952
|1990= 3331
|2000= 3572
|2010= 3120
|2020= 3226
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 6, 2013}}</ref> of 2010, there were 3,120 people, 1,290 households, and 809 families living in the village. The [[population density]] was {{convert|1238.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 1,400 housing units at an average density of {{convert|555.6|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the village was 97.1% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.1% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.1% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.4% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.1% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 1.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.0% of the population.

There were 1,290 households, of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.3% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89.

The median age in the village was 43 years. 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.3% were from 45 to 64; and 20.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.6% male and 54.4% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 3,572 people, 1,357 households, and 933 families living in the village. The population density was {{convert|1,566.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 1,425 housing units at an average density of {{convert|625.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the village was 97.17% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 1.43% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.25% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.14% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.78% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.62% of the population. 19.1% were of [[germans|German]], 14.6% [[english people|English]], 12.7% [[italians|Italian]], 11.3% [[irish people|Irish]] and 10.8% [[Americans|American]] ancestry according to [[Census 2000]].

There were 1,357 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $36,883, and the median income for a family was $46,313. Males had a median income of $34,341 versus $25,036 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the village was $18,371. About 3.9% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
Children in Jefferson are served by the Jefferson Local School District.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jalsd.org/home |title=Jefferson Area Local Schools |publisher=Jefferson Area Local Schools |access-date=August 12, 2024 }}</ref> The Jefferson Area Local School District, located in Ashtabula County, Ohio, encompasses nearly 130 square miles and serves students from the villages of Jefferson, Rock Creek, and Roaming Shores as well as students from parts of Austinburg, Denmark, Dorset, Jefferson, Lenox, Morgan, New Lyme, Plymouth, Rome, Sheffield, and Trumbull Townships. Approximately 1,700 students are enrolled in our 4 schools: Jefferson Area High School (9-12), Jefferson Area Junior High (7-8), Jefferson Elementary School (K-6), and Rock Creek Elementary School (K-6).

==Notable people==
<!--- Keep list in alphabetical order --->
* [[Julius C. Burrows]], [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] and a [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Michigan]]
* [[Theodore Elijah Burton]], U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Ohio
* [[Joshua Reed Giddings]], attorney, [[politician]] and a prominent opponent of [[slavery]]
* [[Matthew Hatchette]], [[NFL]] [[wide receiver]]
* [[John L. Hervey]], prominent authority on [[thoroughbred]] horses
* [[Branden Lee Hinkle]], mixed martial artist
* [[Elbert L. Lampson]], 21st [[Lieutenant Governor of Ohio]], former [[Ohio Senate|state Senator]]
* [[James J. Nance]], President of [[Hotpoint]] and later as the last President of the [[Packard Motor Car Company]]
* [[Platt Rogers Spencer]], creator of [[Spencerian Script|Spencerian penmanship]], a popular system of [[cursive]] [[handwriting]]
* [[George Van Tassel]], [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]] enthusiast and [[Cult (religious practice)|religious cult]] leader
* [[Benjamin Franklin Wade]], lawyer and U.S. Senator, [[President pro tempore]] of Senate
* [[Carl Yoder]], industrialist

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.jeffersonohio.us/ Village website]

{{Ashtabula County, Ohio}}
{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{Ohio county seats}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:County seats in Ohio]]
[[Category:Villages in Ashtabula County, Ohio]]
[[Category:1803 establishments in Ohio]]
[[Category:Villages in Ohio]]