LOVELAND 

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Geography

Loveland is located at 39°16′8″ North, 84°16′13″ West (39.268759, -84.270397)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²). 4.7 square miles (12.0 km²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 sq mi or 1.28%) of it is water. The city is situated at an elevation of 597 ft. (182 m) above sea level.

Loveland can be reached by car most easily via Interstate 275, but State Route 48 also serves the city. State Route 3 / U.S. Route 22 passes through Montgomery to the west, and State Route 126 passes through Remington and Miamiville to the south.

Loveland is located within three counties: Hamilton County, Clermont County, and Warren County. About 35 Ohio cities cross county borders.^[2] Historic Downtown Loveland and the central business district lie in a small valley on opposite sides of the Little Miami Scenic River, the boundary between Hamilton and Clermont counties, whereas most of Loveland's residential areas are located on the hills surrounding the valley on either side.

These areas include some neighborhoods from the 1950s and earlier, as well as a number of newer subdivisions built as part of the urban sprawl that saw nearby Mason grow tremendously. Unlike Mason and other suburbs closer to Interstate 71 and Interstate 75, Loveland is considered somewhat of a "bedroom community", where residential neighborhoods (and churches) seemingly outnumber businesses, and most residents make the half-hour commute to Downtown Cincinnati for work each day.

The city lies in the Little Miami telephone exchange, within Cincinnati Bell's ILEC coverage area. The 45140 ZIP code and 513 area code both contain the entirety of Loveland, though the United States Postal Service accepts "Loveland" for Camp Dennison's 45111 ZIP code as well. The 45108 FIPS55 code and US XHT LOCODE both correspond to the city proper.

Government

Loveland uses a council-manager form of government. The Loveland City Council has seven seats; as of 2006, they include Mayor Rob Weisgerber and Vice Mayor Joe Schickel. The other five councilmembers are Dan Daly, Paul Elliott, Todd Osborne, Katie Showler, and former Vice Mayor David Bednar. After Fred Enderle resigned as City Manager to serve the same position in Piqua, Tom Carroll was appointed interim City Manager. He formally became Loveland City Manager on February 14, 2006.

Loveland is protected by the Loveland Police Division and the Loveland–Symmes Fire Department. Dispatching for both is handled by Northeast Communications Center (NECC).

At the federal level, the entirety of Loveland is located within the Ohio Second Congressional District. At the state level, it is also served by the 66^th House District and the Seventh, Eighth, and 14^th Senate Districts. See Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate for the current representatives of the respective state districts.

According to the Loveland Code of Ordinances, the city's corporate seal consists of "the coat of arms of the state engraved in the center and the words 'City of Loveland' engraved around the edge".

History

Present-day Loveland originally lay at the edges of the Symmes Purchase and Virginia Military District, in what was then the Northwest Territory. The area was first settled in 1795 by Col. Thomas Paxton and is named after James Loveland, who operated a general store and post office near the railroad tracks downtown. It was incorporated as a village on May 12, 1876, and later incorporated as a chartered city in 1961.

The original Branch Hill Bridge (Loveland Bridge) that spanned the Little Miami River just south of Loveland. It was washed out by the Flood of 1913 and replaced by the less ornate "Blue Bridge" in 1922.^[9]

Village getaway

In its early days, Loveland was known as a resort town, with its summer homes for the wealthy, earning it the nickname "Little Switzerland of the Miami Valley." Notable residents included future Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, and the Cincinnati YWCA maintained a summer cottage in Loveland. The area was also home to Ohio's first paper mill, built in 1810 by John Smith. A local road retains the mill's eventual name, Kugler Mill.

The Hillsboro and Cincinnati Railroad was chartered in 1846 to run a line between Hillsboro and O'Bannon Creek in Loveland on the Little Miami Railroad's route. By 1850, the H&C had completed the thirty-seven miles to Hillsboro, Ohio. The H&C would lease its line in perpetuity to the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad and ultimately became the mainline of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Loveland's location at the junction of the Little Miami Railroad (now converted into the Loveland Bike Trail) and the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad fueled the city's growth, bringing "40 passenger trains per day, and 12 scheduled freight trains between Loveland and Cincinnati." Another railroad ran through pre–Civil War Loveland: the Underground Railroad's Eastern Route from Cincinnati included a stop at the village and continued northward to Lebanon.

In 1903, Loveland voted to become a dry village, prohibiting the sale of alcohol within the village limits 17 years before a national ban; neither ban is in effect today.

Downtown Loveland's proximity to the Little Miami River has made it vulnerable to flooding. The worst such event, in 1913, washed out the Loveland Bridge, which was rebuilt over the river at present-day Branch Hill–Miamiville Road, and also destroyed a corn mill.^]

In the 1920s, The Cincinnati Enquirer ran a promotion that offered a free plot of land in Loveland, along the Little Miami River, after paying for a one-year subscription to the daily. The Loveland Castle (see below) was built on two such plots.

Growing city

After a population spike during the 1950s, Loveland reincorporated as a chartered city – the first of only two in Clermont County – in 1961, with George Anderson as its first mayor. The city absorbed smaller settlements, such as Paxton, Obanionsville, and Symmestown.

Loveland has periodically sought to expand its borders by annexing surrounding areas, primarily to the more commercially active west. In 1993, the city attempted to annex parts of Deerfield Township, prompting petitions to instead merge the township with the City of Mason. Moves to merge Symmes Township with Loveland began the next year but ultimately failed. In 1996, Loveland moved its eastern border by purchasing Col. Paxton's original White Pillars homestead, which had remained unincorporated, despite being the first settlement in the Loveland area.

Historic Downtown Loveland at the Loveland Bike Trail crossing. Seen here is Loveland Avenue, which was originally named Jackson Street.^[20]

In the late 1990s, Loveland was designated a Tree City by the National Arbor Day Foundation, as it began a number of efforts to promote its Historic Downtown neighborhood, in part to celebrate the city's bicentennial. The programs included a renovation of Historic Downtown itself to sport a more "gentrified" look, for example replacing concrete sidewalks with brick ones, installing park benches throughout, and providing incentives to businesses willing to improve their façades. Major roads such as South Lebanon Road (County Road 298) were expanded and given landscaped medians.

The Loveland Beautification Committee was established to sponsor various programs and events that aim to improve landscapes and other buildings around town. Under the mayorship of Lee Skierkiewicz, Loveland heavily promoted itself as a cycling destination. The Tour de Loveland, an annual cycling race, was started in order to promote the Loveland Bike Trail as the centerpiece of Historic Downtown Loveland. The city's efforts culminated with USA Cycling Elite National Championship criteriums in June 1998. On January 24, 2005, Loveland City Council voted to cancel the Tour, due to declining attendance and a lack of sponsors.

With "four blooms", Loveland won the 2005 America in Bloom competition for cities with 10,001 to 15,000 residents. Loveland lost to St. Ives/Carbis Bay in the 2006 Communities in Bloom International Challenge, medium category, but won the "Communities in Bloom Youth Involvement Project Award."

On May 4, 2007, Ohio's first four-quadrant gate was installed at the Second Street railroad crossing in Loveland.

Zoning controversies

In recent years, Loveland has seen several controversies over zoning regulations. After the city acquired the White Pillars property in 1996, it began plans to develop the land, which is situated on State Route 48. Prior to being elected councilman, Paul Elliot participated in a lawsuit against the city over attempting to rezone the property for commercial use without voter approval. In 2003, Mike Showler led a successful referendum to block the rezoning. An earlier attempt to develop a YMCA location on a section of Phillips Park also failed, when a group of residents protested the city's development plans, prompting the YMCA to abandon the location.^[29][30] In December 2006, Loveland announced a plan to build a Loveland Recreation Center on land adjacent to Phillips Park. The city planned to enter into an operating agreement with the YMCA once the center was built; however, the Recreation Center tax referendum was defeated in May 2007. The Recreation Center plan was later revised, but Loveland residents again rejected an income tax levy to fund the center on November 6, 2007.^[32][33]

Shooter's Supply, a local gun store, proposed building an indoor shooting range at the former location of the Matthew 25: Ministries humanitarian agency. Nearby residents have attempted to block the shooting range, which would be built near several apartment complexes and residential neighborhoods, as well as a church.  In May 2007, the building was converted into a boarding kennel.

Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 11,677 people, 4,497 households, and 3,224 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,513.5 people per square mile (969.6/km²). There were 4,653 housing units at an average density of 1,001.6/sq mi (386.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.66% White, 1.56% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.05% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population.

There were 4,497 households out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.1% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $52,738, and the median income for a family was $63,535. Males had a median income of $49,653 versus $29,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,920. About 5.7% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over. According to 2002 data from the Internal Revenue Service, Loveland residents gave 2.60% of their net income to charity.

Historic population figures

The city had 10,122 people in 1990; 9,990 in 1980; 9,106 in 1970; 7,144 in 1960; 2,149 in 1950; 1,904 in 1940; 1,954 in 1930; 1,557 in 1920; 1,421 in 1910; and 1,260 in 1900. In 1890, Loveland West had 392 residents in on the Hamilton County side, while Loveland had 761 in Clermont and Warren Counties; and in 1880 Loveland Village on the Clermont County side had 595 residents and Loveland West on the Hamilton County side had 197.

Education

The city's public school district, Loveland City School District, operated as separate Loveland East and Loveland West districts until 1926. Loveland High School is located in Symmes Township, just outside the city limits. Parts of Loveland lie within the boundaries of Kings Local School District and Sycamore Community School District. The city is also served by the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development, the county vocational school district. There are many private schools located near Loveland, including Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, Archbishop Moeller High School, and Ursuline Academy at the secondary level, and St. Margaret of York School, St. Columban School, and Children's Meeting House Montessori School at the elementary level. At the 2000 census, 24.6% of Loveland children attended private or parochial schools, the nineteenth-highest rate among Greater Cincinnati communities.

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County maintains a branch library in downtown Loveland, as well as a larger regional branch library in Symmes Township. The nearest branch of the Clermont County Public Library is in Milford. Warren County has no county-wide public library system, but the Mason Public Library is the nearest public library in the county.

Culture and recreation

Loveland Bike Trail

Biking along the Loveland Bike Trail and canoeing along the Little Miami River are popular activities during the summer. Loveland has a series of 16 city parks, including neighborhood "tot lots", a Veteran's Memorial, Fireman's Memorial, and the Little Miami Bike Trail (of which the Loveland Bike Trail is a subsection). The parks are maintained by the City of Loveland Recreation Commission.

Loveland is included in the Dan Beard Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In the 1920s, Boy Scout troop leader Harry Andrews built the Loveland Castle (or Château Laroche) on the banks of the Little Miami River; the folly exists today as a museum. Another landmark, the Edwin M. Shield's House, is located nearby. The Gothic-style building, also known as the William Johnston House or Shield's Crossing, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Loveland is also home to the Loveland Stage Company, a theatre group that started in 1979 and has performed at least two major productions each year since 1980. In October 2002, after several years of fundraising and renovations, the group moved into Crist Theater, an old movie theater donated by the Loveland–Symmes Fire Department.

JulyFest, SymmesFest, and local church festivals are held annually during the summer months. Fireworks displays by Rozzi's Famous Fireworks of nearby Symmes Township are a staple at such events. Loveland offers a small collection of bars and restaurants including The Works, Paxton's, Blue Chip Cookies, Cindy's Friendly Tavern, The Sleepy Hollow Inn, and Zappz.

Loveland Castle, also known as Château Laroche

Although the city's unusual name came from the last name of the village storeowner and postmaster, rather than the concept, Loveland has incorporated a "love" theme throughout the city. Loveland water towers and park signs sport the city's logo: a red heart with inscribed with a sun, clouds, and the Little Miami River, and surrounded with the city's nickname, "Sweetheart of Ohio." The Loveland Post Office, which began operations on October 24, 1831 as the Obionsville Post Office, was also the site of the United States Postal Service's unveiling of a special "Love Stamp" in 1994. Since 1972, the Loveland Area Chamber of Commerce has run a special Valentine's Day program, which includes a poetry contest, the selection of a "Valentine Lady", and the hand-stamping of envelopes with a Valentine-themed cachet and cancellation that reads "There is nothing in this world so sweet as Love."

Loveland's weekly newspaper was called The Tri-County Press from 1901 until 1917, when it was renamed The Loveland Herald. Defunct newspapers include The Loveland Weekly Herald (1877–?), The Loveland Enterprise (1884–?), The Hustler (1906–1911), The Loveland News World (1980s), and The Loveland Record.

Notable residents

This list includes notable people who at some point lived in Loveland: