Boardman Township, Mahoning County, Ohio

Boardman is an urban township located in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, just south of Youngstown. As of the 2000 census, the urban township had a total population of 42,518, making Boardman the fifth most populous township in the state of Ohio.

Contents

1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 History 3.1 Malls and More 4 A Bustling Suburb - For A Smaller Edge City 5 External links and references 6 External links

Geography

Boardman is located at 41°2'20" North, 80°39'55" West (41.038958, -80.665395)Template:GR. It borders or touches the following other townships and municipalities:

• Beaver Township, on the south;
• Canfield Township, on the west;
• Austintown Township, on the northwest (touches, but does not border);
• The city of Youngstown, on the north;
• The city of Campbell, on the northeast (touches, but does not border);
• The city of Struthers, on the east-northeast;
• The village of Poland, on the east;
• Poland Township, on the east-southeast;
• Springfield Township, on the southeast

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 61.56 km² (23.78 mi²). 61.30 km² (23.68 mi²) of it is land and 0.26 km² (0.10 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.42% water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 42,518 people, but by 2003 the township saw its first ever decrease in population. In Boardman there were 18,198 households, and 11,701 families. The population density is 693.5/km² (1,795.3/mi²). There are 16,801 housing units at an average density of 312.3/km² (808.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the township is 95.36% White, 2.44% Black or African American, 0.87% Asian, and 0.50% other races; 2% were reported to be Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 18,198 households out of which 27.24% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.23% are married couples living together, 9.26% have a female householder with no husband present, and 35.56% are non-families. 32.22% of all households are made up of individuals and 14.33% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 2.94.

In the township the population is distributed by age as follows: 20.79% under the age of 18, 7.56% from 18 to 24, 26.39% from 25 to 44, 24.91% from 45 to 64, and 20.35% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42.1 years. For every 100 females there are 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 84.48 males.

The median income for a household in the township is $42,159, and the median income for a family is $54,106. Males have a median income of $34,164 versus $17,714 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $23,779. 4.86% of the population and 3.36% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.6% of those under the age of 18 and 5.22% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

History

Though the northern areas of town are suburban spillover from Youngstown, Boardman was traditionally an agricultural community with grain crops and apple orchards. The Ohio Southern railroad cut through the township and around 1900 even led to Southern Park, a horse racing facility on Washington Boulevard. Thus the area was an early draw for Youngstown urbanites.

It did not have the close-knit community feel of nearby incorporated towns such as Poland or Canfield immediately to the east and west. Because of its agricultural nature, Boardman was ripe for strip development starting as early as 1950.

Malls and More

One person to make a huge mark in the township was Edward DeBartolo, Sr., one of the first great mall developers in the country. With malls across the northeastern U.S. and Florida, the Debartolo Corporation eventually moved from Youngstown and made its headquarters in Boardman. In the mid-1990s DeBartolo was merged into the Simon Corporation of Indianapolis.

Boardman Plaza on Highway 224 west of Market Street was one of the first strip malls in the country. Established in 1950 by DeBartolo, the Plaza had three full-service grocery stores within a few hundred feet of each other. Today one has to travel at least three miles to get the same food service. The Plaza is still fairly healthy. Later, circa 1970, Debartolo opened the more contemporary Southern Park Mall near the intersection of Highway 224 and Market Street.

Also around 1950, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, one of the great steel makers in the country, opened a modern new suburban headquarters in Boardman (interestingly enough, right across Market Street from the DeBartolo corporation). Here a whole new "suburban" work environment was started; with white shirt dress code, it was antiseptic and wholly removed from the dirt and grit of the Mahoning Valley farther north.

When Youngstown Sheet and Tube closed around 1980 a nice campus was left for others to develop. Today the former headquarters is the center of many medical offices and a branch of Youngstown State University.

Boardman is also the birthplace of former Cleveland Browns Quarterback Bernie Kosar whose eight year career with the Browns made him one of the most popular football players in Ohio history.

A Bustling Suburb - For A Smaller Edge City

Boardman is where Mill Creek Park, the most beautiful park in entire Ohio is located. With its beautiful rose gardens, several mini water falls, marshlands and lanterman mill where they grind the wheat daily using the water powered mill, and a spectacular 36 hole public golf course,the park alone makes it wonderful to live in Boardman

Today Boardman is an urban township and busy, bustling suburb, at least for a metro area the size of Youngstown's. It is the main shopping and retail center for the Younstown area (with competition from the northern but more hodgepodged 422 corridor in Niles). Vacated stores in Boardman, however, do seem to take a bit longer to reoccupy than would be the case in other sububan shopping areas in larger cities.

While much development is centered on the 224 corridor, a new area of development is surging along the South Avenue artery which parallels the southern extension of Interstate 680 between its Midlothian and Western Reserve Road exits.

With signs of every size, color, and location, the Boardman commercial landscape is almost an eyesore. It certainly lacks any regulatory regularity of practically signless Poland to the east or the commercially "controlled" signage of Canfield to the west. In Boardman, any sign goes.

External links and references

• [1] (http://www.boardmantwp.com/) Township web page.
• [2] (http://www.millcreekmetroparks.com/) Mill Creek Park.
• [3] (http://www.boardmantwp.com/trustees_Enabling.htm) Resolution establishing Boardman as an urban township, as defined by Chapter 504 of the Ohio Revised Code.

External links

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