Wapakoneta, Ohio


Wapakoneta is a city in Auglaize County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Auglaize River, the city is about north of Dayton and south of Toledo. The population was 9,957 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Wapakoneta micropolitan area, which is included in the Lima–Van Wert–Celina combined statistical area.
Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, grew up in Wapakoneta, which is now the home of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum.
WWW wapakoneta.net

History

In 1748, the French built a trading post about a half-mile northeast of the future site of Wapakoneta. After being re-established in 1760 as "Francis Duchouquet's Trading Post," the British later took over this territory after the French ceded it following defeat in the Seven Years' War. Neither they nor the later Americans built a succeeding fort here. French-Canadian traders later reestablished a trading post at the site in 1784, which was abandoned after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.
The city itself was established in the 1780s as a Shawnee settlement called "Waughpaughkonnetta". After the Shawnee tribe was removed to Kansas in 1831, Wapakoneta was platted in 1833 and later named as the seat of Auglaize County in 1848.
The Armstrong Air & Space Museum opened in Wapakoneta in 1972.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of, of which is land and is water.
Wapakoneta is on the Auglaize River and includes parts of Duchouquet, [Pusheta Township, Auglaize County, Ohio|Auglaize County, Ohio|Pusheta], and Moulton Townships.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,867 people, 4,037 households, and 2,614 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 4,332 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 97.1% White, 0.4% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.
There were 4,037 households, of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% 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 2.95.
The median age in the city was 37 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 24.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

Education

Wapakoneta is home to Wapakoneta High School. The city has a public library, the main branch of the Auglaize County Public Library.

Notable people

Sister cities

Wapakoneta has one sister city, as designated by the Sister Cities International: Lengerich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
Lengerich's neighboring municipalities, Ladbergen and Lienen, are sister cities with Wapakoneta's neighbors New Knoxville and Saint Marys, respectively.