User:Duename
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Akron (pronounced /ˈækrən/) is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately 39 miles south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2000 census, the city proper had a total population of 217,074, being the 81st largest in the United States.[4] The Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, covers both, Summit and Portage counties. In 2000, the area had a population of 694,960 and in 2009, estimates placed the population at 699,935.[5] Akron is also part of the larger Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area, which in 2000 had a population of 2,945,831, and ranked as the country's 14th largest.
![]() | This user page may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this user page if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. |
City of Akron | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Nickname(s): The Rubber City, City of Invention | |
![]() | |
Location within Ohio | |
Coordinates: 41°4′23″N 81°31′4″W | |
Country | United States |
State | Ohio |
County | Summit |
Demonym | Akronite |
Founded | 1825 |
Incorporated | 1836 (village) |
Incorporated | 1865 (city) |
Government | |
• Mayor | Don Plusquellic (D) |
Area | |
• City | 62.4 sq mi (161.6 km2) |
• Land | 62.1 sq mi (160.8 km2) |
• Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2) |
Elevation | 1,004 ft (306 m) |
Population (2000)[1] | |
• City | 217,074 |
• Density | 3,497/sq mi (1,350.3/km2) |
• Metro | 694,960 |
Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
Area code(s) | 330, 234 |
FIPS code | 39-01000[2] |
GNIS feature ID | 1064305[3] |
Website | http://www.ci.akron.oh.us |
Co-founded by Paul Williams and surveyor of the Connecticut Western Reserve General Simon Perkins, Akron was settled in 1825 for strategic location at the developing Ohio and Erie Canal's summit. After first settler in the area Major Minor Spicer built his cabin in 1810, Williams arrived a year later and suggested the settlement to Perkins who was in Ohio since 1807 commissioning the Ohio Canal Fund. "South" was added to the name from 1833 to 1836 as a result of Cascade being renamed North Akron, ending when the two merged.[6] In 1840 Summit County formed from portions of Portage, Medina, and Stark counties. Akron replaced Cuyahoga Falls as the county seat a year later and opened a canal connecting to Beaver, Pennsylvania helping to birth the stoneware, sewer pipe, fishing tackle, and farming equipment industries.[7][8] Numerous Congregational, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches erected between the 1870s and World War I were built using the Akron Plan.[9][10]
Becoming boomtown during the 1910s, Akron was the fastest growing city in the country and experienced a 201.8% population growth. It was the pioneer of notable industries such as the cereal, lamp, toy & marble, and tire & rubber internationally known as "The Rubber Capital of the World". The University of Akron which has both the Goodyear Polymer Center and the National Polymer Innovation Center on campus, is the center of the Polymer Valley, a leader in polymer research and production. In 2001, for its contributions to the Information Age Newsweek named Akron 5th on the list of ten high tech havens.[11] It was also granted awards by World's most livable cities, the National Civic League, and the National Arbor Day Foundation.[12] It is also host to the All-American Soapbox Derby, the National Hamburger Festival, Founders Day(Alcoholics Anonymous), plus Road Runner Akron Marathon and will be the venue for some events of the 2014 Gay Games.
Residents of Akron are referred to as "Akronites", of which LeBron James is widely noted being nicknamed The Akron Hammer. Nicknames for the city include "The Rubber City" and "City of Invention".[13] At one time home to all four major tire makers (Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, General Tire), it also gained the nickname "Tire City".[14]