General Information, Facts & Symbols

The United States of America accepted Ohio as the 17th state to enter the union on March 1, 1803.

Abbreviation:
OH

Capital of Ohio State:
Columbus

Primary Agriculture:
Ohio’s fertile soil produces soybeans, corn, oats, grapes, and clover. More than half of Ohio’s farm receipts come from dairy farming and sheep and hog raising. Ohio is the top state in lime production and among the leaders in coal, clay, salt, sand, and gravel.

Primary Industry:
Akron is known for rubber; Canton for roller bearings; Cincinnati for jet engines and machine tools; Cleveland for auto assembly and parts, refining, and steel; Dayton for office machines, refrigeration, and heating and auto equipment; Youngstown and Steubenville for steel; and Toledo for glass and auto parts.

Ohio State Nickname:
The Buckeye State

Ohio State Motto:
With God all things are possible.

Ohio State Flower:
Red Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus)
(Legislation of 1904)

Ohio State Tree:
The Buckeye (Legislation of 1953)

Ohio State Bird:
Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
(Legislation of 1933)
The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a member of the North America cardinal family.

Males of the species are a bright, deep red with black faces and coral-red beaks. Females of the species are a fawn or light brown color, with mostly grayish-brown tones and a slight reddish tint in their wings and tail feathers, also with a bright coral-red beak. Both have prominent raised crests and strong beaks. Young birds are the colored like the adult females until they molt and grow their adult feathers in the fall.

Ohio State Fish:
None (Legislation Pending)

Ohio State Insect:
Ladybug (Legislation of 1975)

Ohio State Gemstone:
Flint (Legislation of 1965)

Official State Seal:
Depicted to the right is the state seal of Ohio. The seal of the state of Ohio is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. It is the intent of the state government to ensure that appropriate uses are made of the state seal and to assist the secretary of state in the performance of the secretary’s constitutional duty as custodian of the seal.

Official State Flag:
Depicted to the left is the state flag of Ohio. The flag of the state of Ohio is a symbol of the authority and sovereignty of the state and is a valuable asset of its people. The Ohio flag is flown over all state buildings just below the country flag of the United States of America.

State Commemorative Quarter:
From the 1999-2008 United States Mint 50 State Quarters® Program
The Ohio quarter, the second quarter of 2002 and seventeenth in the 50 State Quarters® Program, honors the state’s contribution to the history of aviation, depicting an early aircraft and an astronaut, superimposed as a group on the outline of the state. The design also includes the inscription “Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers”.

The claim to this inscription is well justified, the history making astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn were both born in Ohio, as was Orville Wright, co-inventor of the airplane. Orville and his brother, Wilbur Wright, also built and tested one of their early aircraft, the 1905 Flyer III, in Ohio.

Quarter Specifications
Release Date: March 11, 2002
Reverse (tails) Side: Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers
Engraver: Donna Weaver
Standard Weight: 5.670g
Standard Diameter: 24.26mm (0.955 in)
Thickness: 1.75 mm
Edge Detail: Reeded
Composition: Cupro-Nickel Clad
(8.33% Nickel / 91.67% Copper)

Important Historical Figures of Ohio

Tecumseh
1768-1813: Indian Chief for the Shawnee Tribe. Tecumseh had great ability as an organizational leader and is considered one of the outstanding Native Americans in American history.

William T. Sherman
1820-91: Graduate of West Point. Civil War General.

Ulysses Simpson Grant
1822-85: West Point Graduate, 18th President (1869-1877), Born in Point Pleasant., Ohio.

John Chapman
1774-1845: Traveled the land to promote orchard tree plantings. Better known as Johnny Appleseed. For 40 plus years Johnny Appleseed continued to wander up and down Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, taking care of his forest nurseries, pruning and caring for them. He helped hundreds of settlers to establish orchards of their own.

Annie Oakley
1860-1926: World Champion Sharpshooter from Greenville, Ohio. She was a major attraction during 1885 to 1902 at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show performing remarkable feats of marksmanship.

Back to Locations

West Milton is a village in Miami County, in the Dayton metro area.  The community was named for John Milton, poet.

Who is John Milton?
One of the greatest poets of the English language, best-known for his epic poem PARADISE LOST (1667). Milton’s powerful, rhetoric prose and the eloquence of his poetry had an immense influence especially on the 18th-century verse. Besides poems, Milton published pamphlets defending civil and religious rights. He was born in London, England in 1608 and died in 1674.

The latitude of West Milton is 39.962N. The longitude is -84.328W.

It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 906 feet. 

The estimated population, in 2003, was 4,663.

Well-known residents have included:
· Carl Brumbaugh, football player

Back to Book 3