Plain City, Ohio | |
---|---|
Village | |
Corporation limit signage
|
|
Location of Plain City, Ohio |
|
Location of Plain City in Madison County |
|
Coordinates: 40°6′27″N 83°16′4″W / 40.10750°N 83.26778°WCoordinates: 40°6′27″N 83°16′4″W / 40.10750°N 83.26778°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Ohio |
Counties | Madison, Union |
Government | |
• Mayor | Darrin Lane |
Area | |
• Total | 2.40 sq mi (6.22 km2) |
• Land | 2.38 sq mi (6.16 km2) |
• Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
Elevation | 935 ft (285 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 4,225 |
• Estimate (2012) | 4,221 |
• Density | 1,775.2/sq mi (685.4/km2) |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
ZIP code | 43064 |
Area code(s) | 614 |
FIPS code | 39-63030 |
GNIS feature ID | 1061547 |
Website | Official website |
Plain City is a village in Madison and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, along Big Darby Creek. The population was 4,225 at the 2010 census.
Until about 1800, the Ohio Country was inhabited by Mingo and Wyandot Indians, and there was an Indian village just north of present-day Plain City. After 1795, as white settlers began moving into the region, the area around present-day Plain City was referred to as Pleasant Valley. This name remained in use into the 20th century, appearing in the Ohio Guide of the late Depression era.
In 1814, Isaac Bigelow travelled to the area from Centre County, Pennsylvania to pay for land purchased from his uncle, then returned to Pennsylvania to study medicine with his father. He returned in 1817, and settled in the Pleasant Valley area in 1818. He hired a surveyor named David Chapman, and laid out the town of Westminster on June 11, 1818. At the time, Westminster lay wholly within Darby Township in Madison County. In 1820, when Union County was formed, the county line was moved to the middle of Westminster. In 1823, the previous survey was resurveyed, additional territory was incorporated, and the town's name was changed from Westminster to Pleasant Valley. From 1832 to 1851, there were six additions to the town limits. In 1851, due to there already being another town in Ohio named Pleasant Valley, the town changed its name to Plain City.
Previous to 1850, Plain City was a smaller trading point than Amity, but after a trunk-line for the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad was laid through its corporation limits, business and manufacturing increased dramatically. The corporation limits were extended in 1868. As of 1875, the town contained five churches, one newspaper, one bank, one brick planing mill, one flour mill, four dry goods stores, three drug stores, three grocery stores, one jewelry store, one hotel, one carriage and wagon store, two harness shops, two wagon shops, two blacksmith shops, and a boot and shoe store.