Ohio

• Population- 11,478,000
• Capital- Columbus
• Largest cities– Columbus, Cleveland
• Time zone- Eastern
• Date of Admission to the Union- March 1, 1803
• Slogan- “With God, all things are possible”
• State website URL- www.ohio.gov

The Great Black Swamp is an area of northwestern Ohio that was the result of prehistoric glaciers. This ultra flat region is today characterized by a number of features including various forms of flora and fauna. A significant part of southeastern Ohio is mountainous and the population profoundly poor. By most accounts this is an extension of the West Virginia area of Appalachia, a traditionally bankrupt region of the country dominated by the coal mining industry as well as poor social and economic conditions.

In 1913 the Great Dayton Flood was to become a signature event in Ohio state history. The Great Miami River overflowed its edges when it no longer could handle the 10 inches of rainfall that occurred within a three-day period. Add to the precipitation the fact that the ground was still frozen hard. The flooding was so severe that over 350 died, as a direct result. A good part of downtown Dayton burned when gas lines broke and fires burned out of control.

Economically, Ohio excels above many states in the manufacture of products such as plastics, rubber, and machine parts. These capital goods go toward the manufacture of whole products. The J. M. Smucker Company, makers of Smucker’s Jam, was founded in Ohio in the late 1800s. The family-run company maintains its headquarters in Orrville.

The Wright Brothers, of first-in-flight fame, may have made a light airplane fly out over Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but the subsequent months and years of flight-testing were largely conducted on the site of what now is the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside Dayton, Ohio.

The Cleveland Clinic is one of the nation’s leading hospitals and medical research facilities. It draws patients from all over the world each year seeking innovative and experimental medical treatment.