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| Top Question |
Q. Is the Chamber of Commerce a government agency? A. No.
The Bucyrus Chamber office is not a city or county office.
Our funding comes from membership dues and fundraising efforts. |
| Crawford County, Ohio |
| Crawford County, named after Colonel William Crawford, Revolutionary War hero and Indian fighter, was formed in 1826 and covers 400 square miles of north-central Ohio. With the two cities (Bucyrus, Galion) and five incorporated villages (Crestline, New Washington, Chatfield, Tiro, North Robinson) population is just under 50,000. |
| Physical Features / Natural Resources |
| A county once nearly covered with hardwood forests, the area is now heavily devoted to agriculture. The county’s surface of silt and clay covers gently rolling terrain in the eastern two-thirds of the county to a very flat and even plain in the remaining area. The county’s streams contain the headwaters of four major Ohio rivers—Huron, Muskingum, Sandusky, and Scioto. Groundwater supplies are abundant at various depths. |
| Transportation |
| The county has nearly 850 miles of improved roadways of which 180 miles are state highways. U.S. 30 bisects the county east to west with four lane, limited access improvement in the planning stages. Interstate 71, 15 miles to the east, connects Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland. U.S. 23, seven miles to the west, connects Columbus with Findlay, Toledo, and Detroit. Freight rail service is available via Norfolk & Southern and Conrail. Triple Crown’s "Road Railer" operation is located in the village of Crestline in the eastern part of the County. There are several airstrips in the county. The longest, a Class II facility in Bucyrus, is 3,900 feet in length. |
| Economy |
| The county’s February 1997 labor force was 22,600 of which 21,000 were employed. The unemployment rate, decreasing 54% since 1982, was 7.1% in February 1997. While wholesale and retail trade account for over 3200 employees and service firms have increased steadily; manufacturing remains the largest source of employment in the county with over 7000 employees and an annual payroll of over $170 million. The county’s ten largest employers include: The Timken Company, General Electric, Komatsu Dresser, Baja Boats, and Checkmate Boats which provide full-time employment to over 4000 individuals.
Industrial parks in Bucyrus, Crestline, and Galion, with full utilities currently have a total of 413 acres available. BPT Inc. (a Honda of America parts supplier) and Arctco Sales Inc. (personal watercraft, snowmobiles, ATV’s and accessories) are currently constructing facilities at the Crossroads Industrial Park (Bucyrus), a combined $60 million investment, to employ approximately 250 individuals.
The county’s agricultural cash receipts totaled over $71.4 million in 1995. Hogs and cattle were the largest generators of farm livestock income in 1995 with a combined total of over $6.9 million. Soybeans provided the largest crop income at over $24.2 million. There was approximately 230,000 acres of land in farms in 1995, divided among approximately 820 farms.
Median family income was $37,300 in 1996. |
| Quality of Life |
| Six public schools systems enroll approximately 9,000 students. There are also seven private schools, two technical schools and two university branch campuses within a fifteen minute commute. The North Central Health System of Ohio and the Med Central Health System provide health care. The Crawford Park District offers a regular schedule of public nature programs in the county parks. It recently opened newly-acquired Unger Park—a 41-acre site west of Bucyrus. The District also maintains a one-mile hiking trail and parking area at the 100-acre Sears Woods State Nature Preserve.
There are a number of organizations in the county focusing on various aspects of community development, including:
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