Ontario is a city in Richland County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 6,656. It is part of the Mansfield metropolitan area.
It was founded in 1834 on the western edge of the Allegheny Plateau, just west of the city of Mansfield. After being incorporated in 1958, Ontario became a heavy manufacturing center because of the Erie Railroad line, and its proximity to Mansfield. However, its status in that regard began to decline in the late 20th century, when much of the Erie Railroad that once ran through the city was abandoned; and shifts in the manufacturing industry led to the relocation or repositioning of many factories. The city’s industry has since diversified into the service economy, including education, finance and healthcare. The city is also a major regional retail hub serving the entire North Central Ohio area, with a shopping population of over 150,000.
At a Glance
- County: Richland County
- State: Ohio
History of Ontario
Ontario was founded by Hiram Cook, and was platted in December 1834 as a settlement in Springfield Township near Mansfield. During that same month thereafter, the original settlement of Ontario merged with New Castle, another small settlement that was originally located just to the west of the Ontario settlement along the Mansfield and Bucyrus route (known today as State Route 309) that had just been laid out and platted. New Castle was named for Henry Cassell, while others stated that it was named in honor of Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in England. Ontario was named after Ontario County, New York, the native place of the founder of the town. In 1863, the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad (later Erie Railroad mainline) reached Ontario and a train station was built, but was later demolished after much of the railway was abandoned in the late 20th century.
The arrival of the Lincoln Highway to Ontario in 1913 was a major influence on the development of the town. Upon the advent of the federal numbered highway system in 1928, the Lincoln Highway through Ontario became U.S. Route 30.
In 1956, General Motors built a large Fisher Body stamping plant in Springfield Township and on June 25, 1958, the residents voted to incorporate Ontario into a village to bring the new General Motors plant into Ontario. In 1960, the new Ontario High School was built, complete with an indoor swimming pool, a theatre, 3 shops, and numerous high tech classrooms and labs for college preparatory studies. New school construction and renovation has continued over the years, and today the Ontario School District is the main district.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Ontario, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.