East Liverpool, Ohio


East Liverpool is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River at the intersection of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia about from both Pittsburgh and Youngstown. The city is most notable for its pottery industry, which was at one time the largest in the US.

History

exist in the area surrounding East Liverpool, including on Babbs Island and near the Little Beaver Creek. Before the arrival of European Americans, Mingo, Lenape, and Wyandot peoples lived in the area until the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the Ohio Country's settlement.
The Public Land Survey System of the United States was established by Congressional legislation in 1785 to provide an orderly mechanism for opening the Northwest Territory for settlement. The ordinance directed the Geographer of the United States, Thomas Hutchins, to survey an initial east–west baseline. Hutchins began in 1786, using as his starting point a stake on the north bank of the Ohio River placed by a 1785 survey team from Virginia and Pennsylvania to fix their common north–south boundary. Hutchins' work, completed in 1787, established the Seven Ranges. This survey is believed to be "the first mathematically designed system and nationally conducted cadastral survey in any modern country" and is memorialized by the Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey monument.
East Liverpool traces its founding to 1798 when Irish immigrant Thomas Fawcett purchased 1,100 acres of land along the Ohio River in what was then Jefferson County. In 1802, he platted the town of St. Clair, named for territorial governor Arthur St. Clair. It was called Fawcettstown for a time before being renamed Liverpool in 1816, after the port city of Liverpool, England. Over its first few decades, a grist mill, multiple stores, and wharves opened in the town. The first schoolhouse opened in 1820, and the first religious center opened in 1834 when an Episcopal Church was established on a 4th Street site provided by town developers. Liverpool was incorporated as East Liverpool in 1834 to avoid confusion with Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio.
Although Pittsburgh-based entrepreneurs invested in the town, it was smaller during this period than the nearby towns of New Lisbon and Wellsville. The arrival of English potter James Bennett in 1839 brought the establishment of the first bottle kiln site in East Liverpool, launching the town's largest industry and bringing in multiple waves of Western European immigration throughout the late 19th century. Another large employer outside of the pottery industry was the Crucible Steel Company in nearby Midland, Pennsylvania. By 1880, East Liverpool had grown to be the largest city in the county, and it reached over 20,000 residents before 1910.
In 1905, the first city hospital opened. As of 1914, East Liverpool was served by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. On October 22, 1934, local police and FBI agents led by Melvin Purvis shot and killed notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd in a cornfield north of town after Floyd fled East Liverpool, and his body was returned to the town for embalming.
The western downtown area was cleared in the 1960s to make way for the 4-lane expansion of Ohio State Route 11. The city reached its peak population of more than 26,000 in 1970, but its pottery industry had already begun to decline by the mid-1960s. As with other industries, production moved to developing countries where labor costs were cheaper. This cost many jobs and, ultimately, population in the Upper Ohio Valley area, as people moved away in search of work. Many of the city's downtown businesses withdrew to strip malls in nearby Calcutta or left the area outright.
In the mid-1990s, the city renovated its downtown district. To improve its urban design, it installed Depression-era lightposts, developed a new center called Devon's Diamond, and reconstructed the old high school's clock tower. In 2010, East Liverpool lost its position as the most populous city in the county to Salem after 130 years and was later withdrawn from being a principal city in the micropolitan area. Restoration of two buildings in the Diamond Historic District and East Fifth Street Historic District began in 2024 as part of a $1.2 million incentive received from the state government.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of, of which is land and is water.
Neighborhoods include:
  • Beechwood
  • Downtown
  • East End
  • Fisher Park
  • Klondyke
  • Pleasant Heights
  • Thompson
  • West End
  • Sunnyside
  • Jethro

    Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 11,195 people, 4,601 households, and 2,892 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 5,316 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 4.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.1% of the population.
There were 4,601 households, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the city was 37.6 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 26.5% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 13,089 people, 5,261 households, and 3,424 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 5,743 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 92.85% White, 4.81% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.72% of the population.
There were 5,261 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,138, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $27,346 versus $18,990 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,656. About 21.5% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Pottery industry

The potteries of East Liverpool became the national center of ceramic toilet and table wares, with 85 firms operating at one time or another making two-thirds of the national output from 1880 to 1950. East Liverpool's pottery district encompasses the city itself and the surrounding towns of Chester, West Virginia; Newell, West Virginia; and Wellsville, Ohio. In 1887, East Liverpool had 21 general ware potteries that employed 2,558 operatives. By 1923 the 17 firms had 7,000 employees and operated 270 kilns, with $25,000,000 in annual output. At various times, some of the largest potteries included the Goodwin Baggott Pottery; Knowles, Taylor & Knowles; Taylor, Smith & Taylor; The Hall China Company; and Homer Laughlin China Company.
Englishman James Bennett established the industry in 1839, making use of good transportation and rich local clays. It quickly became the community's leading industry. East Liverpool became known as "The Crockery City". Potters from Staffordshire, England, began pouring into East Liverpool, attracted by higher wages and the prospect of land ownership. By 1879, there were 24 potteries in East Liverpool, nearly all operated by English immigrants. As late as 1900, East Liverpool remained "essentially a transplanted potting town of Englishmen". Until the turn of the century about 85% percent of the population could trace its heritage to England. After the English, the second largest ethnic group in East Liverpool were German settlers. From 1870 to 1890, the city more than doubled in population each decade as it attracted new industrial workers with the growth of the pottery industry.
In the mid-19th century, East Liverpool produced most of the yellowware pottery used in the United States. Among the most famous of East Liverpool's ceramics was the porcelain known as Lotus Ware. Produced by Knowles, Taylor & Knowles in the 1890s, this Moorish- and Persian-influenced artware swept the competition at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Museum of Ceramics in downtown East Liverpool has the world's largest public display of Lotus Ware.
Two potteries continue to operate in the area: the American Mug & Stein Company and the Fiesta Tableware Company, formerly Homer Laughlin. Holly Black's ceramic-themed novel Doll Bones is set in East Liverpool due to its history in the industry.

Other businesses

In 1979, a toxic waste incinerator was proposed in the city's East End neighborhood. Local investors believed the incinerator could be an alternative to the declining ceramics industry. However, the ambiguity regarding its potential impacts on public health and the environment led to protests against its construction. In 1991, a march against the incinerator's construction resulted in 33 people, including actor Martin Sheen, being arrested for trespassing. Despite a pledge from Vice President Al Gore that the Clinton administration would prevent the incinerator from opening until its compliance with state and federal regulations was confirmed, the plant was completed in 1992 and began operating as Waste Technologies Industries the following year. In 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency declared the area surrounding the incinerator and the S.H. Bell Company's metal facility a "potential environmental justice area".
In 2008, concerns were raised about toxic particles affecting East Liverpool residents' health, particularly manganese, which was found in high concentrations. East Liverpool residents were found to have higher than normal levels of manganese, cadmium, and lead in their blood, and the community was considered to be in a health crisis due to the presence of these toxic elements. Government agencies worked with S.H. Bell Company to decrease the toxic metals being released into the surrounding air and land, and from 2006 to 2013 air quality improved. In 2014, hazardous and toxic particles in air quality assessments increased. Activism to reduce the toxic waste began.