After the completion of the 1860 census and the election of President Abraham Lincoln, America imploded. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union in 1861, instigating four bloody years of the Civil War and fundamentally altering the social history of the U.S. The estimates of deaths caused by the Civil War begin around 600,000, but some claim as many as 750,000 individuals died throughout the conflict.
With so many families looking for a new start after combat finally ended and approximately 4 million Black Americans emancipated from slavery, it was time for many Americans to look for a new home to put down roots. The obvious choice for many was to move west, where there was more land to buy, settle, and cultivate. Many traveled by covered wagon, spending months on the dusty trail. Others who could afford better accommodations took a 25-day ride by stagecoach. All of them picked new cities and towns to make their homes, spreading the U.S. population more evenly across different states and territories.
On May 10, 1869, the first transcontinental railroad route across the United States was completed, ushering in a new era of transportation. The project was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, though with the loss of many lives, including those of the many Irish and Chinese immigrants hired to work 12-hour days in the hot western sun. Riding by steam engine, passengers could cross the entire country in four days, enabling waves of Americans and immigrants to quickly occupy land that would otherwise take months to settle.
The years of Civil War reconstruction, coupled with wagon, stagecoach, and railroad passengers finding new lives across the U.S., made the urban development reflected in the 1870 census incredibly interesting. Stacker compiled a list of the biggest cities in Ohio from 150 years ago using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By transcribing Table XXV of the Ninth Census of the U.S., which was previously only available as a PDF, it’s easy to explore what the urban landscape looked like less than a decade after the end of the Civil War as America healed and grew.
The largest city in Ohio ranked #8 among all cities nationwide in 1870. Of the 100 largest cities in the U.S., 5 were in Ohio. Keep reading to find out more about the historic metropolitan landscape in your home state or check out the data on your own on our site, GitHub, or data.world.
You may also like: Counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Ohio
1 / 25Camerique/ClassicStock // Getty Images
#25. Norwalk, Huron County
– Total population: 5,752 (#407 nationwide)
— Male population: 2,833
— Female population: 2,919
— Child population, ages 5-18: 1,629
2 / 25Underwood Archives // Getty Images
#24. Pomeroy, Meigs County
– Total population: 5,824 (#398 nationwide)
— Male population: 2,968
— Female population: 2,856
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,028
3 / 25Detroit Publishing Company // Library of Congress
#23. Piqua, Miami County
– Total population: 5,967 (#385 nationwide)
— Male population: 2,951
— Female population: 3,016
— Child population, ages 5-18: 1,757
4 / 25Underwood Archives // Getty Images
#22. Newburgh, Cuyahoga County
– Total population: 6,227 (#360 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,229
— Female population: 2,998
— Child population, ages 5-18: 1,749
5 / 25Underwood Archives // Getty Images
#21. Pultney, Belmont County
– Total population: 6,319 (#349 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,193
— Female population: 3,126
— Child population, ages 5-18: 1,953
6 / 25Bettmann // Getty Images
#20. Xenia, Greene County
– Total population: 6,377 (#346 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,015
— Female population: 3,362
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,108
7 / 25Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
#19. Springfield, Hamilton County
– Total population: 6,548 (#330 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,195
— Female population: 3,353
— Child population, ages 5-18: 1,995
8 / 25Transcendental Graphics // Getty Images
#18. Newark, Licking County
– Total population: 6,698 (#322 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,170
— Female population: 3,528
— Child population, ages 5-18: 1,934
9 / 25Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
#17. Delaware, Delaware County
– Total population: 6,861 (#307 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,381
— Female population: 3,480
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,089
10 / 25Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
#16. Mansfield, Richland County
– Total population: 8,029 (#251 nationwide)
— Male population: 4,033
— Female population: 3,996
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,246
11 / 25Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
#15. Youngstown, Mahoning County
– Total population: 8,075 (#248 nationwide)
— Male population: 4,055
— Female population: 4,020
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,316
12 / 25Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
#14. Steubenville, Jefferson County
– Total population: 8,107 (#247 nationwide)
— Male population: 3,772
— Female population: 4,335
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,416
13 / 25Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images
#13. Canton, Stark County
– Total population: 8,660 (#229 nationwide)
— Male population: 4,376
— Female population: 4,284
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,320
14 / 25Harvey Porch/Underwood Archives // Getty Images
#12. Chillicothe, Ross County
– Total population: 8,920 (#222 nationwide)
— Male population: 4,276
— Female population: 4,644
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,802
15 / 25Underwood Archives // Getty Images
#11. Akron, Summit County
– Total population: 10,006 (#186 nationwide)
— Male population: 5,070
— Female population: 4,936
— Child population, ages 5-18: 2,552
16 / 25Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images
#10. Zanesville, Muskingum County
– Total population: 10,011 (#185 nationwide)
— Male population: 4,794
— Female population: 5,217
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,123
17 / 25Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
#9. Portsmouth, Scioto County
– Total population: 10,592 (#166 nationwide)
— Male population: 5,272
— Female population: 5,320
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,278
18 / 25Bettmann // Getty Images
#8. Hamilton, Butler County
– Total population: 11,081 (#151 nationwide)
— Male population: 5,401
— Female population: 5,620
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,538
19 / 25Alexander Alland, Sr./Corbis via Getty Images
#7. Springfield, Clark County
– Total population: 12,652 (#128 nationwide)
— Male population: 6,357
— Female population: 6,295
— Child population, ages 5-18: 3,633
20 / 25Underwood Archives // Getty Images
#6. Sandusky, Erie County
– Total population: 13,000 (#120 nationwide)
— Male population: 6,536
— Female population: 6,464
— Child population, ages 5-18: 4,264
21 / 25Vintage Images // Getty Images
#5. Dayton, Montgomery County
– Total population: 30,473 (#44 nationwide)
— Male population: 15,038
— Female population: 15,435
— Child population, ages 5-18: 9,219
22 / 25American Stock/ClassicStock // Getty Images
#4. Columbus, Franklin County
– Total population: 31,274 (#42 nationwide)
— Male population: 15,763
— Female population: 15,511
— Child population, ages 5-18: 9,181
23 / 25Chicago History Museum // Getty Images
#3. Toledo, Lucas County
– Total population: 31,584 (#40 nationwide)
— Male population: 15,918
— Female population: 15,666
— Child population, ages 5-18: 9,243
24 / 25Cleveland Public Library // Wikimedia Commons
#2. Cleveland, Cuyahoga County
– Total population: 92,829 (#15 nationwide)
— Male population: 46,770
— Female population: 46,059
— Child population, ages 5-18: 26,558
25 / 25Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
#1. Cincinnati, Hamilton County
– Total population: 216,239 (#8 nationwide)
— Male population: 106,445
— Female population: 109,794
— Child population, ages 5-18: 64,478
