Sandusky pronounced [suhn-duhs-kee, san-] is a city in the
U.S. stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state of the United States. The thirty-fourth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the seventh-most populous with nearly 11.5 million residents...
and the
county seatA county seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there...
of
Erie CountyErie County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2000, the population was 79,551. Its county seat is Sandusky and is named for the Erie , whose name was their word for "wildcat". It is home to the popular amusement park Cedar Point. It was formed in 1838 from the northern...
. The municipality is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
, almost exactly half-way between
ToledoToledo is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio within the Great Lakes Region and the county seat of Lucas County. Named after Toledo, Spain, it is located on the western end of Lake Erie, on the Michigan border. It is the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census,...
to the west and
ClevelandCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border...
to the east.
The population was 27,844 at the 2000 census. In 2008, Sandusky had an estimated population of 25,688. According to the US Census 2007 estimate, the Sandusky, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 77,323 residents.
Sandusky is one of Ohio's most popular tourist destinations. The city is home to the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, an amusement park and entertainment management company, as well as its flagship amusement park,
Cedar PointCedar Point is a 364-acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. It currently holds the world record for most roller coasters , one of which, Top Thrill Dragster, is the world's second tallest and second fastest roller coaster,...
. Cedar Point features the largest collection of roller coasters in the world as well as many current and former record holders. The park also has the largest collection of rides at a single park and many thrilling flat rides as well as kiddie areas.
The
National Arbor Day FoundationThe Arbor Day Foundation is the world's oldest and largest tree-planting organization. Its million members plant millions of trees every year. New members receive 10 free trees. The foundation began September 3, 1971 with a mission "to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees". The...
has designated Sandusky as a
Tree City USATree City USA is a tree planting and tree care program sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation for cities and towns in the United States....
.
History
Fort Sandusky was a British trading and military outpost established around 1794. The
Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
that inhabited the immediate surrounding area were the
SenecaThe Seneca are a group of indigenous people native to North America. They were the nation located farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois League in New York before the American Revolution. While exact population figures are unknown, approximately 15,000 to 25,000 Seneca live in...
, displaced at the outset of the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
. The generally accepted theory is that the name "Sandusky" is an Anglicization of the phrase "San Too Chee", meaning "cold water." A less accepted theory is that the city was named after a Polish fur trader by the name of Antoni Sadowski or Jacob Sodowsky. Further proof of this comes from the fact that the name "I.Sandoski" appears on this map from 1733 .
The Greater Sandusky area was a safe haven and a new start for refugees of the
FirelandsThe Firelands or Sufferers' Lands tract was located at the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio...
refugees of the Revolutionary War in Connecticut.
NorwalkNorwalk is a city in Huron County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,238 at the 2000 census. The 2007 population estimate puts Norwalk at 16,596. It is the county seat of Huron County.-History:...
, the Huron County seat (just south of Erie County) is named for
Norwalk, ConnecticutNorwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 84,437, making it the sixth largest city in Connecticut, and the third largest in Fairfield County...
, as is
New LondonNew London is a village in Huron County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,696 at the 2000 census.The village motto, "The Right Place at the Right Time" was chosen in the late twentieth century by former Mayor Dorothy Sholes....
, a small town south of Norwalk.
Established as Portland in 1816, the name was changed two years later to Sandusky. Norwalk was also established in 1816; at the time, both were growing towns of a unified Huron County. Not long after, thanks to the growth of both towns, Erie County, Ohio's second smallest (in land area), came into being. The county encompassed newly-rechristened Sandusky's far west side, Vermilion to the east, and Norwalk's northern line to the south.
Prior to the
abolitionAbolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and emancipate slaves in western Europe and the Americas. The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and other evangelical...
of
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
in the United States, Sandusky was a major stop on the
Underground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century Black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists who aided the...
. As depicted in
Harriet Beecher StoweHarriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin depicted life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the U.S...
's novel
Uncle Tom's CabinUncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the United States, so much in the latter case that the novel intensified the...
, many slaves seeking to reach freedom in Canada made their way to Sandusky, where they boarded boats crossing
Lake ErieLake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the thirteenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
to the port of Amherstburg in
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
.
Downtown Sandusky was designed according a modified
grid planThe grid plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. In the context of the culture of Ancient Greece the grid plan is called Hippodamian plan.-Ancient grid plans:...
known as the Kilbourne Plat after its designer. The original street pattern featured a grid overlaid with streets resembling the symbols of
FreemasonryFreemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million, including just under two million in the United States and around 480,000 in...
. Hector Kilbourne was a surveyor who laid out this grid in downtown Sandusky. He was the first Worshipful Master of the Sandusky Masonic Lodge.
Sandusky was the site of groundbreaking for the
Mad River and Lake Erie RailroadThe Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad was the second railroad to be built and operated in the U.S. state of Ohio...
on September 17, 1835. Currently, Battery Park Marina is located on original site of the MR&LE Railroad. The tracks that ran through downtown Sandusky have since been removed due to most of the downtown industrial area being re-used for other purposes including mainly marina dockage. The coal docks located west of downtown still use a portion of the original MR&LE lines.
The city was a center of paper-making. The
Hinde & Dauch Paper CompanyThe Hinde & Dauch Paper Company was an international paper-making company that was based in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The firm was founded as Sandusky Paper Company by W. J. Bonn in 1880....
was the largest employer in the city in the early 1900s.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 27,844 people, 11,851 households, and 7,039 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 2,770.5 people per square mile (1,069.7/km²). There were 13,323 housing units at an average density of 1,325.7/sq mi (511.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.50% White, 21.08% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.97% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.09% of the population.
There were 11,851 households out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,133, and the median income for a family was $37,749. Males had a median income of $31,269 versus $21,926 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $18,111. About 12.2% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.7% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
Tourism
Sandusky has a very prominent tourism industry fueled by the world-renowned attraction of
Cedar PointCedar Point is a 364-acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. It currently holds the world record for most roller coasters , one of which, Top Thrill Dragster, is the world's second tallest and second fastest roller coaster,...
, and more recently by its many indoor and outdoor water parks.
Cedar Point
In 1870, Louis Zistel, a local businessman opened a beer garden, bathhouse, and dance floor on the Cedar Point Peninsula. Over the years, the area became a more and more popular destination for relaxation and leisure. In 1892, the park's first roller coaster, the Switchback Railway, was built. A hotel called the Bay Shore Hotel was opened in 1899. Cedar Point's second roller coaster, the Figure-Eight Roller Toboggan opened in 1902. As the years went on, more and more rides and attractions were added to the park including midway games.
Before 1914, the park could only be reached by steamboat, but in that year a roadway was opened connecting the park to the mainland and Sandusky's major roadways. The Cedar Point Marina, one of the largest on the Great Lakes was completed in 1959.
In 1964, the
Blue StreakBlue Streak is a wooden roller coaster following the out and back design, and is the oldest operating roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio...
a wooden roller coaster was built and named for the
local high schoolSandusky High School, or SHS, is a secondary school in Sandusky, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Sandusky City School District, and one of two high schools in the city of Sandusky; the other is St Mary Central Catholic High School....
's mascot. It is currently the park's oldest operating roller coaster. In the latter half of the twentieth century, Cedar Point shattered countless roller coaster records with rides like the
CorkscrewA corkscrew is a tool for drawing stopping corks from wine bottles. Generally, it consists of a pointed metallic helix attached to a handle. The user grips the handle and screws the metal point through the cork, entwining the cork and corkscrew so that moving one moves the other...
(first coaster with three or more inversions), the
Gemini-Astronomy, astrology and mythology:* Gemini , one of the constellations of the zodiac* Gemini , the astrological sign* Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux of Greek mythology* Project Gemini, the second U.S...
(tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world when constructed in 1978), the
Magnum XL-200Magnum XL-200 is an Arrow Dynamics steel hypercoaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Built in 1989, it was the first complete circuit roller coaster to break the 200 foot barrier...
(tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world when constructed in 1989), the
Mean StreakMean Streak is a wooden roller coaster located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It is a wooden roller coaster and was the tallest and fastest one of its kind when it debuted in 1991...
(tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world when constructed in 1991), the
RaptorRaptor is a steel inverted roller coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, Raptor opened in May 1994 and was the first inverted roller coaster to feature a "cobra roll". Still beloved more than a decade after its debut, Amusement Today ranked Raptor the 19th best...
(tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster in the world when constructed in 1994), and the
MantisMantis is the common name of any insect in the order Mantodea, also commonly known as praying mantises:Mantis means "prophet" in Greek.Mantis may also refer to:In biology:* Mantis shrimp, also known as stomatopods, predatory crustaceans...
(tallest and fastest stand-up roller coaster in the world when constructed in 1996).
In 2000, the
Millennium ForceMillennium Force is a steel roller coaster built by Intamin AG located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It is the fourteenth roller coaster built at the park since the Blue Streak opened in 1964. Standing 310 feet tall at its highest point, the coaster overlooks Lake Erie...
was built. At 310 feet tall, and 93 miles per hour top speed. Cedar Point brought its roller coaster total to 17 in 2007 with the construction of the
MaverickMaverick may refer to:*Maverick , an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick - Computers :* MaverickCrunch, a floating point math coprocessor core intended for digital audio...
, making it the park with the most roller coasters and amusement rides in the world. Consequently it has been nicknamed "America's Roller Coast". It is also ranked the best amusement park in the world by GT awards.
Waterparks
The tourist draw produced by Cedar Point has drawn resort businesses and waterparks to the area. A list of the major waterparks in and near Sandusky are as follows:
Outdoor
- Soak City
Soak City is a water park in Sandusky, Ohio, located next to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. It began as a water-slide complex in the late 1980s and has since grown to be a major water park destination.-Admission:...
- Monsoon Lagoon (Danbury Twp.
Danbury Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,631 people in the township, 3,869 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
)
Indoor
- Castaway Bay
- Great Wolf Lodge (Perkins Twp.
Perkins Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
)
- Kalahari Resorts (Perkins Twp.
Perkins Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
)
- Maui Sands (Perkins Twp.
Perkins Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
) (Out of Business as of Nov. 2008)
Topography
Sandusky is located at (41.446741, -82.709092).
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 22.0
square mileThe square mile is an imperial and US unit of measure for an area equal to the area of a square of one statute mile.
s (57.0 km²), of which, 10.1 square miles (26.0 km²) of it is land and 11.9 square miles (30.9 km²) of it (54.30%) is water.
Climate
Sandusky has a
humid continental climateThe humid continental climate is a climate found over large areas of landmasses in the temperate regions of the mid-latitudes where there is a zone of conflict between polar and tropical air masses. The humid continental climate is marked by variable weather patterns and a large seasonal...
(
Koppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfa), typical of much of the central United States, with very warm, humid summers and cold winters. Winters tend to be cold, with an average January high temperature of 32°F (0°C), and an average January low temperature of 19°F (−7°C), with considerable variation in temperatures. Sandusky averages 28.4 inches (721.4 mm) of snow per winter. Summers tend to be warm, sometimes hot, with an average July high temperature of 82°F (28°C), and an average July low temperature of 66° (19°C). Summer weather is more stable, generally humid with thunderstorms fairly common.
FallAutumn is one of the four temperate seasons. Autumn marks the transition from summer into winter, usually in March or September when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier.The equinoxes might be expected to be in the middle of their seasons, but temperature lag Autumn (also known as...
usually is the dryest season with many clear warm days and cool nights.
The highest recorded temperature in Sandusky of 105°
FFahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Today, the scale has been replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other nations, such as...
(41°C) was set on July 14, 1936, and the lowest recorded temperature of −20°F (−29°C) was set on January 19, 1994.
Transportation
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971 to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a blend of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union Station...
, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Sandusky.
A
Greyhound LinesGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, USA, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States and Canada, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and incorporated...
bus station is located on Route 250 south of Sandusky in Perkins Township.
Ferry Boats: (All departing from the Jackson Street Pier)
M/V Goodtime I - Seasonal daily service to
Kelleys IslandKelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio, United States, and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. Originally known as Island Number 6 and later Cunningham Island, it was renamed in 1840 for brothers Datus and Irad Kelley, who were largely responsible for cultivatating the...
and
South Bass IslandSouth Bass Island is a small island in western Lake Erie, and a part of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. It is the southernmost of the three Bass Islands and located 12 miles from the south shore of Lake Erie. It is the third largest island in the Lake Erie Islands...
. Also provides special party cruises and charters.
M/V Pelee Islander - Seasonal scheduled service to Pelee Island connecting to
Leamington, OntarioLeamington is a municipality in Essex County, Ontario and has a population of 31,113. It is located near Point Pelee. In 2006, Leamington was named Canada's best place to live by MoneySense magazine. It has a large H. J. Heinz Company factory and is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada",...
and
Kingsville, OntarioThe Town of Kingsville is located in Essex County in southwestern Ontario, Canada and is Canada's Southernmost town. According to the 2006 census, the population of Kingsville is 20,908.-Geography:...
.
M/V Jet Express III - Seasonal daily service to
Kelleys IslandKelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio, United States, and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. Originally known as Island Number 6 and later Cunningham Island, it was renamed in 1840 for brothers Datus and Irad Kelley, who were largely responsible for cultivatating the...
and
South Bass IslandSouth Bass Island is a small island in western Lake Erie, and a part of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. It is the southernmost of the three Bass Islands and located 12 miles from the south shore of Lake Erie. It is the third largest island in the Lake Erie Islands...
connecting to Port Clinton, OH.
Education
Sandusky Public SchoolsSandusky City School District is a public school district serving students in the city of Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The school district enrolls 3,775 students as of the 2007-2008 academic year.-Elementary Schools:...
enroll 3,775 students in public
primaryA primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
and
secondarySecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
schools. The district administers 10 public schools including six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. Other than public schools, the city is home to one private catholic school,
St. Mary Central Catholic High SchoolSt. Mary Central Catholic High School is a Catholic, private high school in Sandusky, Ohio. Founded in 1902, it is a part of Sandusky Central Catholic School, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toledo....
. Both
Sandusky High SchoolSandusky High School, or SHS, is a secondary school in Sandusky, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Sandusky City School District, and one of two high schools in the city of Sandusky; the other is St Mary Central Catholic High School....
and St. Mary Central Catholic High School participate in varsity and junior varsity sports; their teams are called the
Blue Streaks and
Panthers respectively. Sandusky High's colors are navy and white; SMCC's are blue and gold.
Media
Sandusky is served by a daily newspaper,
The Sandusky Register, and several local radio stations. BAS Broadcasting owns and operates
WCPZWCPZ is a radio station in Sandusky, Ohio.The station began as WLEC-FM in 1968 and was the FM sister to AM station WLEC. It became WCPZ on May 19, 1980, dubbed "Leisure 103" with a soft adult contemporary format...
102.7 FM, which features a hot adult contemporary format,
WMJKWMJK is a commercial FM radio station, licensed to Clyde, Ohio. The station broadcasts with an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts at 100.9 FM and is licensed to Clyde, Ohio; about 15 miles west-southwest of Sandusky. The station is branded as "100.9 The Coast"...
100.9 FM (licensed to
Clyde, OhioClyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA....
), which plays modern country,
WOHFWOHF is an American radio station licensed to Bellevue, Ohio, serving the Sandusky area, featuring an oldies music format.The station is an affiliate of ABC Radio's Classic Hits network...
92.1 FM which plays classic rock, WFRO 99.1 which carries an adult contemporary format, and
WLECWLEC is an AM radio station in Sandusky, Ohio, USA broadcasting at 1450 kHz. It is owned by BAS Broadcasting. WLEC carries a Middle of the Road/Oldies format, using Citadel Media's Timeless satellite channel...
1450 AM which plays oldies and standards. There are several options for
Christian radioChristian radio is a radio format that focuses on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering associated topics...
in the area, including WVMS 89.5 FM, run by the
Moody Bible InstituteMoody Bible Institute was founded by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. The campus, located in the heart of Chicago on the Near North Side, has remained at the same location chosen by Moody 120 years ago. MBI consists of three major ministries: education, broadcasting and...
as a relay of WCRF in Cleveland;
WGGNWGGN is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format. Licensed to Castalia, Ohio, USA, the station serves the Sandusky area. The station is currently owned by Christian Faith Broadcast, Inc....
97.7 FM in
CastaliaCastalia is a village in Erie County, Ohio, United States. The population was 935 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Castalia is located at ....
, which plays contemporary Christian music and is co-owned with religious
WGGN-TVWGGN-TV channel 52 is a full power commercial television station licensed to Sandusky, Ohio and based in Castalia, Ohio. The station operates on channel 52, airing programming from local churches....
52; and a translator for the
Bible Broadcasting NetworkThe Bible Broadcasting Network is a listener-supported global Christian radio network staffed and headquartered in Charlotte, NC. The programming consists of 50% outside ministries, 30% music and 20% BBN produced programs...
at 88.3 FM. Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting operates several stations serving the Sandusky area, including
WKFMWKFM is an FM radio station licensed to Huron, Ohio, operating on 96.1 MHz. Its transmitter is in Berlin Heights and its studios are in Milan, along with sister stations WLKR-FM and WLKR...
96.1 FM (country music) and
WLKR-FMWLKR-FM is an FM radio station licensed to Norwalk, Ohio, operating on 95.3 MHz. Its transmitter is located just outside of Norwalk near the intersection of Huber Road and Lamereaux Road. However, its studios are in Milan, along with sister stations WLKR and WKFM...
95.3 FM (modern adult/adult alternative) and
WLKRWLKR is an AM radio station licensed to Norwalk, Ohio, operating on 1510 kHz during the daytime hours only. Its transmitter is in Norwalk and studios are in Milan, along with sister stations WLKR-FM and WKFM. The station is locally owned by Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting Co...
1510 AM (sports talk). Stations from the
ToledoToledo is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio within the Great Lakes Region and the county seat of Lucas County. Named after Toledo, Spain, it is located on the western end of Lake Erie, on the Michigan border. It is the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census,...
, Cleveland,
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
,
WindsorWindsor is the southernmost major city in Canada and lies in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is located south of Detroit, is separated...
and
FremontFremont is a city in and the county seat of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. The population was 17,375 at the 2000 census. Former president Rutherford B. Hayes lived in the city for a period of time and dedicated a library to the town...
areas also reach the Sandusky area.
Perkins Township
Perkins Township is a
townshipA civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...
that lies south of Perkins Avenue, which bisects what is informally considered the Sandusky Metropolitan Area. The Sandusky Mall and the
Sandusky SpeedwaySandusky Speedway is a half-mile automobile race track located south of the city of Sandusky in Perkins Township, Ohio. The track features low banking in the turns and long straightaways. It has a layout similar to Martinsville Speedway....
are located south of Perkins Avenue, and therefore lie in Perkins Township. Perkins Township does not have its own main post office, so the township uses Sandusky city's
ZIP codeThe ZIP code is the system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service . The letters ZIP, a backronym for Zone Improvement Plan, are properly written in capital letters and were chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of 44870.
Notable residents
- Andrew Biemiller
Andrew John Biemiller was a prominent leader of American liberalism in the 20th century....
– U.S. Representative from WisconsinWisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...
.
- Brian Bixler
Brian Joseph Bixler is a Major League Baseball shortstop and currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.-College career:...
– Professional Baseball Player for the Pittsburgh PiratesThe Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions, in addition to the distinction of playing in the first modern World Series. The Pirates are also often...
.
- Brandy Burre
Brandy Burre was born on September 27, 1974 in Sandusky, Ohio. She earned her Master's degree in acting at Ohio University, and has performed on the stage in addition to her work in film and television. She is best known for her portrayal of Theresa D'Agostino on the HBO series The Wire....
– best known for her portrayal of Theresa D'Agostino on the HBO series The WireThe Wire is an American television drama series set in Baltimore, Maryland, where it was also produced. Created, produced, and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...
, was born in Sandusky.
- Chris Castle
Chris Castle is a folk/Americana singer-songwriter. Cleveland Magazine has described his writing as an "authentic connection to the world-weary soul of American roots music"., while The New London Day's Rick Koster calls Castle "a visionary songwriter"..-Early life:Born in Sandusky, Ohio in 1976,...
– folkThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
/AmericanaAmericana is an amalgam of roots music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, rhythm & blues, rock & roll and other external influential styles...
singer-songwriterA singer–songwriter is a musician who writes, composes and sings their own material including lyrics and melodies. They often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano...
.
- Jay Crawford
Jay Crawford is the co-host of ESPN2's morning TV show First Take.-Early life and career:Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Crawford graduated from Perkins High School in Sandusky, Ohio in 1983...
– sports broadcaster, co-host of ESPN First TakeESPN First Take is a morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. The show was formerly known as Cold Pizza. The official switch was made on May 7, 2007. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes air each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m...
on ESPN2ESPN2 is a American sports cable television network owned by ESPN. The channel debuted on October 1, 1993.Originally nicknamed "the deuce," ESPN2 was initially branded as a network for a younger generation of sports fans featuring edgier graphics as well as extreme sports like motocross,...
.
- Jay Cooke
Jay Cooke , American financier, was born at Sandusky, Ohio, the son of Eleutheros Cooke , a pioneer Ohio lawyer and Whig member of Congress from that state in 1831-1833 and member of the Ohio General Assembly....
(1821-1905) – Civil War Financier, Railroad Magnate, and Philanthropist.
- Thom Darden
Thomas Vincent Darden is a former American football cornerback, safety, and punt returner who played for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League . In the NFL, he was a three-time All-Pro free safety. He earned a Pro Bowl selection in 1978. He holds most Cleveland Browns franchise...
– defensive back for the Cleveland BrownsThe Cleveland Browns are an American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They play in the AFC North division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . The original Cleveland Browns began play in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, 1972-1981.
- Lee Evans
Lee Evans is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bills in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft...
– wide receiver for the Buffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the metropolitan area of Buffalo, New York. They play their home games in the suburb of Orchard Park, and beginning in 2008, one home game is played in Toronto. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football...
.
- Andy Gerold
Andy Gerold is a professional multi-instrumentalist and is currently the bassist of Marilyn Manson.-Early life:...
– professional guitarist; currently touring with Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson is an American rock band founded by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The band advocates nonconformism and iconoclasm, often utilizing controversial imagery and lyrical content...
- Jon Gruden
Jon David Gruden is a former American football head coach, most recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Prior to taking over as coach of Tampa Bay, he was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders for 4 years...
– former head coach of the Tampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are aprofessional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, joined the NFL in as expansion teams...
.
- Scott May
Scott Glenn May is a retired American professional basketball player.May was a power forward on the 1976 Indiana basketball team that went undefeated and won the NCAA championship under coach Bobby Knight. May was named NCAA men's basketball national player of the year in 1976...
– NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a voluntary association of about 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada...
national champion basketball player and 1976The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976...
Olympic gold medalist.
- Jackie Mayer – Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
1963 and currently a motivational speaker; the section of Route 2State Route 2 is an east-west highway crossing most of northern Ohio. Its western terminus is at the Indiana state line near Hicksville where the route becomes State Road 37 which continues to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The eastern terminus of the route is in Painesville Township at U.S...
that runs through Erie County is named "Jackie Mayer Miss America Highway".
- Thomas J. Moyer
Thomas J. Moyer is an American jurist.He has been chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court since 1987. Moyer is a Republican.- Pre-Supreme Court :...
– chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court since 1987.
- Orlando Pace
Orlando Lamar Pace is an American football offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams first overall in the 1997 NFL Draft...
– offensive lineman for the St. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team has won three NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl.The Rams began...
of the NFLThe National Football League is the largest professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of...
and a seven-time Pro BowlIn professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
er, played for the Blue Streaks of Sandusky High School, who retired his jersey number in a special half-time ceremony on October 20, 2006.
- Kevin Randleman
Kevin Christopher Randleman is an American mixed martial arts fighter. Randleman's background is in Collegiate wrestling. Wrestling at 177 pounds, Randleman was a two time Division I NCAA Champion for an Ohio State University. Randleman is a former heavyweight champion of the UFC and last fought...
– 2-time Div I NCAA wrestling champion for The Ohio State UniversityOhio State University is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the largest single-campus university in the United States. Ohio State is currently ranked by U.S...
and professional mixed martial arts fighter.
- Edmund Ross – the Senator whose vote prevented the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson , the 17th President of the United States , was the first U.S. President to be impeached, as well as the first U.S. president to succeed to the presidency upon the assassination of his predecessor.At the time of the secession of the Southern states, Johnson was a U.S. Senator from...
in 1868.
- Rodney Jackson
Rodney K Jackson , aka R.K. Jackson, is the publisher and founder of The People's Urban Beat Report and music producer/ keyboardist for Urban Tracks Productions....
– radio personality & music producer.
Sandusky in popular culture
- Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens FRSA , pen-name "Boz", was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and one of the most popular of all time. He created some of literature's most memorable characters. His novels and short stories have never gone out of print...
passed through Sandusky in 1842. He describes it in American NotesAmerican Notes for General Circulation is a travelogue by Charles Dickens detailing his trip to North America from January to June, 1842. While there he acted as a critical observer of these societies almost as if returning a status report on their progress...
as "sluggish and uninteresting enough,... something like the back of an English watering-place, out of the season."
- Sandusky was the setting for the film Tommy Boy
Tommy Boy is a 1995 comedy film starring Saturday Night Live alumni Chris Farley and David Spade. The film tells the story of the title character, a socially and emotionally immature man who learns lessons about friendship, trust and self-worth following the sudden death of his industrialist father...
, but was only seen in one brief scene in the beginning of the movie (most scenes were shot in OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
). The Sandusky Register, the city's newspaper, was also asked to provide newspaper boxes to be used as props for the movie.
- Sandusky (specifically, 1984 Sandusky) was also the setting for the 1998 film Edge of Seventeen
Edge of Seventeen is a 1998 coming of age film directed by David Moreton, starring Chris Stafford and co-starring Tina Holmes.-Plot:In Edge of Seventeen, a gay teenager finds out who he is and what he wants, who his friends are, and who loves him...
which featured several recognizable location shots. Footage from Cedar Point is used (some of which is 1984 vintage) though no scenes with the film's cast were shot in the park, which is called "Crystal Shores" in the film.
- The character of Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe , born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized Norma Jeane Baker, was an American actress, singer and model....
in the film Some Like It HotSome Like It Hot is a 1959 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The supporting cast includes George Raft, Joe E. Brown, Pat O'Brien and Nehemiah Persoff. The film was adapted by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond from the story by...
, hailed from Sandusky.
- In The Monkees
The Monkees were a pop rock quartet assembled by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider in Los Angeles in 1966 for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968...
episode, "Alias Micky Dolenz", Micky says he is from Sandusky.
- Local legend holds that a now-defunct Sandusky restaurant, the Porterhouse (that once stood on the corner of Wayne and Water Streets), was the originator of the Porterhouse steak. This story appears to be apocryphal.
- Dudley (Booger) Dawson's supposed illegitimate child was from Sandusky in Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love
Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love is a 1994 sequel to the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds and the follow up films in 1987 and 1992.-Plot:...
- In Paul Gallico
Paul William Gallico was a successful American novelist, short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures...
's book The Poseidon AdventureThe Poseidon Adventure is an American adventure novel by Paul Gallico, released in 1969. It concerns the capsizing of a luxurious ocean liner, the SS Poseidon due to an undersea earthquake, and the desperate struggles of a handful of survivors to reach the bottom of the liner's hull before the ship...
, New York cop Mike Rogo's wife Linda was from Sandusky, though she didn't care to talk about it.
- In the movie, Network
Network is a satirical film about a fictional television network, Union Broadcasting System , and its struggle with poor ratings. It was written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet, and stars Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch and Robert Duvall and features Wesley Addy, Ned...
, Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
's character says the following referring to response from a show on the network, "Herb's phone hasn't stopped ringing! Every god damn affiliate from Albuquerque to Sandusky! The response is sensational!" Sandusky does not have a broadcast TV affiliate, nor did it during the time of the film.
- The 1985 movie Fast Forward is about a fictional group of dancers from Sandusky who travel to New York to compete in a talent competition.
- The 1990 movie Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael
Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is a 1990 US movie starring Winona Ryder and Jeff Daniels. Pictures of this film were featured in the 1994 World Book.-Plot:...
, which is set in the nearby town of Clyde, OhioClyde is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Clyde as a Tree City USA....
, includes scenes shot in Sandusky.
- In the 2004 movie 50 First Dates
50 First Dates is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal, and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.-Plot:Henry Roth , a womanizing marine-life veterinarian living in Hawaii, meets Lucy Whitmore , an art teacher, in a café one morning. They hit it off and agree to meet in the café...
, Dr. Keats (played by Dan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist...
, who was a cast member in Tommy Boy) says his brain injury clinic is funded out of Sandusky.
- Sandusky also features in Paul Auster's book, The Book of Illusions
The Book of Illusions is a novel by American writer Paul Auster, published in 2002.-Plot introduction:Set in the late 1980s, the story is written from the perspective of David Zimmer, a university professor who, after losing his wife and children in a plane crash, falls into a routine of depression...
, where the book's protagonist meets his eventual wife, having saved her from a bullet during an attempted bank robbery.
- In an episode ("Seadog" Season 1, Episode 3 - 2003) of NCIS the NCIS director tells the lead agent that if he messes up, the only orders he will give will be to the Fire Department of Sandusky, Ohio
- In an episode of Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, which was created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, and premiered on August 4, 2006 on Adult Swim....
("Mordland"), the Jomfru brothers and Ofdenson are making small talk in an elevator, where Ofdenson asked the brothers were they are from and they reply with "Sandusky, Ohio", to which Ofdenson says "Oh. There's an amusement park there, right?" The brothers say "Yes there is an amusement park." And Ofdenson says "Well that's always fun."
External links