Huron, Ohio

Huron Township was at the center of the "Firelands" region of the Connecticut Western Reserve. The first permanent settler in the area that became Huron Township was a Quebec-born trapper, trader and interpreter named John Baptiste Flammand (or, "Flemming"; and often misspelled "Flemmond"), who established a trading post about 1805, approx. two miles inland upon the east bank of the Huron River. Other French traders had preceded him, including Gabriel Hunot in the 1780s.

Huron Township was established in 1809. Huron Village was later established between 1821 and 1824, when a town plat was surveyed, and port facilities at the mouth of the Huron River were developed; and the village quickly became a major shipbuilding center in the 1830s. [The current community of Huron is sometimes mistaken to have been the same as the "town plat of Huron" (also known as "the old County Seat" village), which was established about 1814, and was actually within the present Milan Township (formerly known as Avery Township before 1821).[3]]

The Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad greatly expanded Huron's port on the east bank of the Huron River beginning in 1880. The first cargo of iron ore at the W&LE docks was received May 21, 1884. The port is still in use today, accepting cargoes of iron ore and limestone from lake freighters. Huron was also the home port of several commercial fishing fleets before unbridled lake pollution decimated the industry on Lake Erie by the early 1970s. Water quality in Lake Erie has greatly improved as a result of strong environmental controls since then and sport fishing has increased in popularity in the area. However, the Lake faces new threats from algal blooms and several invasive species such as zebra mussels and Asian carp that may impact sport fishing in the future.

Mouth of the Huron River

Huron is located at 41°23′59″N 82°33′54″W (41.399669, -82.564974).[4]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.73 square miles (20.02 km²), of which 4.84 square miles (12.54 km²) is land and 2.89 square miles (7.49 km²) is water.[5]

The median income for a household in the city was $59,766, and the median income for a family was $73,068. Male full-time, year-round workers had a median income of $51,003 versus $41,667 for female full-time, year-round workers. The per capita income for the city was $29,213. About 2.5% of families and 5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.6% of those under age 18 and 5.6% of those age 65 or over.

Commercial and industrial development of Huron had historically been centered around the riverfront port area. By the early 1960s a busy downtown business district had developed, serving local residents and summer tourists. However, with improvements to U.S. Route 6 and Ohio Route 2 bypassing the downtown area and enabling quicker travel to larger neighboring cities, downtown Huron went into decline. Starting in 1967, the City of Huron embarked on a controversial urban renewal program with funding from various programs of the U.S. federal government, such as the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the State of Ohio. The city purchased, in some cases by eminent domain, and demolished 38 commercial buildings and private homes. It then built a municipal marina, called the Huron Boat Basin, as the focal point of a new downtown. While the "Boat Basin" has become a popular community park and gathering place, extensive redevelopment of the downtown area did not occur as quickly as envisioned. New industry and commercial development has more recently occurred on the southern and western city limits and suburbs.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Huron (Ohio).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Huron, Ohio.

• City website