49 Facts About Southwest Ohio

1. Southwest Ohio has five of the top 115 colleges in the nation, according to US News and World Report's 2010 rankings.

2. Southwest Ohio manufactured 8.4 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking fourth among the 48 states.

3. Southwest Ohio was the second state to hold a women's rights convention, the Ohio Women's Convention at Salem in 1850.

4. Southwest Ohio has that sovereignty now, and it cannot be taken from her.

5. Southwest Ohio was largely agricultural before 1850, although gristmills and local forges were present.

6. Southwest Ohio played a key role in the War of 1812, as it was on the front line in the Western theater and the scene of several notable battles both on land and in Lake Erie.

7. Many of their thousands of mounds in Southwest Ohio have survived.

8. Southwest Ohio was the nation's leader in machine-tool manufacturing and the second-leading producer of steel.

9. Southwest Ohio sent 320,000 Union Army volunteers to fight in the American Civil War.

10. Southwest Ohio joined the Union as the seventeenth state on March 1, 1803.

11. Southwest Ohio ranked seventh in the United States as an exporter of goods originating within the state, at $34 billion in 2005.

12. In 2005, Southwest Ohio ranked 7th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia with a gross state product of $442 billion.

13. Southwest Ohio was one of the states affected by the 14 August 2003 massive power blackout in Canada, the Northeast, and Midwestern states.

14. Southwest Ohio has taken measures to protect and preserve its natural resources, reversing, to a significant extent, the pollution of Lake Erie.

15. In 2004, Southwest Ohio had 124,752 miles of roads.

16. In 2004, Southwest Ohio had a Roman Catholic population of about 2,139,524.

17. Southwest Ohio extends about 210 miles east-west and 230 miles (370 kilometers) north-south.

18. Southwest Ohio was the first region developed under the provisions of that ordinance, with the activities of the Ohio Company of Associates promoted by Rufus Putnam and Manasseh Cutler.

19. Southwest Ohio became one of the main sources of economic strength and manpower for the North during the Civil War.

20. Southwest Ohio is the home of many Indian communities and archaeological sites such as the Great Circle Earthworks and the Miamisburg Mound and the Serpent Mound are popular visitor sites.

21. Southwest Ohio has three professional theatrical companies: the Cincinnati Playhouse, the Cleveland Play House, and the Great Lakes Theatre Festival.

22. In 2003, Southwest Ohio had 163 community hospitals with about 33,000 beds.

23. In 2005, Southwest Ohio ranked seventh in the United States as an exporter of goods, with exports worth $34 billion.

24. In 2004, a total of 782,617 people in Southwest Ohio were employed in the state's manufacturing sector, according to the ASM.

25. In 2004, Southwest Ohio had 52 producing coal mines, 44 of which were surface operations and eight were underground.

26. In 2004, Southwest Ohio had 33,828 producing natural gas and gas condensate wells.

27. Southwest Ohio was the third-leading producer of tomatoes for processing in 2004 with 177,320 tons.

28. Southwest Ohio ranked 17th in net farm income among the 50 states in 2005.

29. Southwest Ohio is one of 28 states that do not have a right-to-work law.

30. In 1890, Southwest Ohio became the first state to establish a public employment service.

31. In 2002, durable goods made up two-thirds of Southwest Ohio's manufacturing output.

32. Southwest Ohio is a signatory to interstate compacts covering the Ohio River Valley, Pymatuning Reservoir, and the Great Lakes Basin, including the Great Lakes Charter signed in February 1985.

33. Southwest Ohio was one of the states affected by the 14 August 2003 massive power blackout in Canada, the Northeast and Midwestern states.

34. In 2005, Southwest Ohio had a total of 734 public and private-use aviation-related facilities.

35. In 2004, Southwest Ohio had 444 mi of navigable inland waterways.

36. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Southwest Ohio had more miles of track than any other state.

37. Southwest Ohio was first settled by migrants from the eastern states and from the British Isles and northern Europe, especially Germany.

38. In 2003, Southwest Ohio had 318 hazardous waste sites listed in the US Environment Protection Agency database.

39. Southwest Ohio is home to some of the nation's highest-ranked public libraries.

40. Southwest Ohio has five international airports, four commercial, and two military.

41. Southwest Ohio has a highly developed network of signed state bicycle routes.

42. Southwest Ohio has a highly developed network of roads and interstate highways.

43. Southwest Ohio is home to 228 miles of the Historic National Road, now US Route 40.

44. In 2010, Southwest Ohio was ranked No 2 in the country for best business climate by Site Selection magazine, based on a business-activity database.

45. Southwest Ohio contributed more soldiers per-capita than any other state in the Union.

46. Southwest Ohio has had three capital cities: Chillicothe, Zanesville, and Columbus.

47. Southwest Ohio is bounded by the Southwest Ohio River, but nearly all of the river itself belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia.

48. Southwest Ohio is an industrial state, ranking 8th out of 50 states in GDP, and is the second largest producer of automobiles behind Michigan.

49. Government of Southwest Ohio is composed of the executive branch, led by the Governor; the legislative branch, which comprises the bicameral Ohio General Assembly; and the judicial branch, led by the state Supreme Court.