Ohio |
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| Entered the Union: March 1, 1803 (17) | Capital: Columbus | |
| Origin of Name: From the Iroquois Indian word for "good river" | ||
| State Motto: With God all things are possible | State Song: “Beautiful Ohio” | |
| State Nickname: Buckeye State | State Tree: Buckeye | |
| State Flower: Scarlet Carnation | State Bird: Cardinal | |
| State Animal: White-tailed Deer | State Gem Stone: Ohio Flint | |
| National Forest: 1 • State Forests: 24 • State Parks: 76 | ||
| Famous for: Rock & Roll and Football Halls of Fame | ||
| Famous Ohioans: Erma Bombeck (columnist), George Armstrong Custer (Calvary officer), Neil Armstrong, John Glenn (astronauts), Thomas A. Edison (inventor), Bill Boyd "Hopalong Cassidy", Doris Day, Clark Gable, Paul Newman, Roy Rogers (actors), James A. Garfield, Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Rutherford Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft (U.S. Presidents), Zane Grey (author), Dean Martin (singer, actor), Jack Nicklaus (golfer), Annie Oakley (Markswoman), William Sherman (army general), Tecumseh (Shawnee Indian Chief), Orville Wright (airplane pioneer), Cy Young (baseball) | ||
| Animals and Birds: Click on photos of the animals and birds on this page to find out more about them and to hear the sounds they make. | ||
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| Ancient tribes of "Mound Builders" left more than 6,000 burial mounds and forts throughout the Ohio region. When European explorers first arrived, they found Delaware, Shawnee, Wyandot, and Miami Indian tribes living there. | |||||||||||||||
| European explorers first arrived in Ohio in the late 1600s. Frenchman René-Robert Cavelier explored the Ohio region in 1670 and is believed to be the first white man to visit the area. | |||||||||||||||
| In 1750, the Ohio Company of Virginia sent Christopher Gist to explore Ohio in preparation for the settlement of British colonists. Disputes over land in North America started the French and Indian Wars, and ended in 1763 with British control of most land in North America. | |||||||||||||||
| Marietta was Ohio's first permanent settlement. Founded in 1788 by General Rufus Putnam and named in honor of Marie Antoinette, then queen of France. | |||||||||||||||
| River trade developed after acquiring the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Products could be shipped from the Mississippi River through New Orleans. The first steamboat, New Orleans, went down the river in 1811. | |||||||||||||||
| The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team in 1869. | |||||||||||||||
| In 1879, Cleveland became the first city to be lighted by electricity. | |||||||||||||||
| Cleveland had the first traffic light in 1914. Cleveland also installed the first pedestrian button for the control of a traffic light. | |||||||||||||||
| The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton and in Cleveland is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. | |||||||||||||||
| Akron was the first city to use police cars. Cincinnati had the first professional city fire department and the first ambulance service. | |||||||||||||||
| Ohio claims the first chewing gum in 1869, and the first hot dog in 1900. | |||||||||||||||
| Ohio, "The Birthplace of Aviation," is home to 24 astronauts. Why so many? Ohio astronaut Tom Henricks cited several contributing factors: Role models such as John Glenn ("the first all Ohio crew") and Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk upon the Moon during the Apollo project • Ohio's schools • The Midwestern work ethic. | |||||||||||||||
| James J. Ritty, of Dayton, invented the cash register in 1879 to stop his patrons from pilfering house profits. | |||||||||||||||
| Akron is the rubber capital of the world. | |||||||||||||||
| Ohio senator John Glenn became the oldest man to venture into outer space. On February 20, 1962 he was the first American to orbit the earth. In October of 1998 at age 77 he returned to the space program and traveled back into space. | |||||||||||||||
| Neil Armstrong, from Wapakoneta, became the first man to walk on the moon. | |||||||||||||||
| Ohio is the leading producer of greenhouse and nursery plants. | |||||||||||||||
| The Wright Brothers, from Dayton, invented the first airplane. | |||||||||||||||
| The first full time automobile service station was opened in 1899 in Ohio. | |||||||||||||||
| 50% of the United States population lives within a 500 mile radius of Columbus. | |||||||||||||||
| Fostoria is the only city to be situated in three counties. | |||||||||||||||
| Oberlin College was founded in 1833.It was the first interracial and coeducational college in the United States. | |||||||||||||||
| John Lambert of Ohio City made America's first automobile in 1891. | |||||||||||||||
| Charles Kettering of Loundonville invented the automobile self-starter in 1911. | |||||||||||||||
| Charles Goodyear of Akron developed the process of vulcanizing rubber in 1839. | |||||||||||||||
| Roy J. Plunkett of New Carlisle invented Teflon in 1938. | |||||||||||||||
| Ohio's Ethnic Roots: German 25.2%, Irish 12.7%, African 11.5%, English 9.2%, American 8.5%, Italian 6.0%. | |||||||||||||||
| Religion in Ohio: 91.1% Christian (61.1% Protestant, 30% Catholic), 4.8% No Religion, 3.5% Other Religions, 0.6% LDS | |||||||||||||||
| Ohio is known as the "Modern Mother of Presidents", having sent eight of its native sons to the White House. Seven of them were Republicans. | |||||||||||||||
| W.F. Semple of Mount Vernon patented chewing gum in 1869. | |||||||||||||||
| Dresden is the home of the world's largest basket. It is located at Basket Village USA. | |||||||||||||||
| Frazeysburg is the home of the world's largest apple basket, 20 ft high. | |||||||||||||||
| Long jumper DeHart Hubbard was the first African American to earn an Olympic Gold Medal -- at the 1924 Olympics games held in Paris. He set the record for long jumping. | |||||||||||||||
| Jesse Owens from Cleveland won four gold medals in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. |
At a Glance
Ohio Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | March 1, 1803 (17) |
|---|---|
| Capital | Columbus |
| Nickname | Buckeye State |
| State Bird | Cardinal |
| State Flower | Scarlet Carnation |
| State Tree | Buckeye |
New for 2026
More Ohio Facts & Photos
Cuyahoga Valley, the stretch of winding river country between Cleveland and Akron, became Ohio's first and only national park in 2000, after starting out as a national recreation area in 1974.
Ohio's official state invertebrate fossil is Isotelus, a giant trilobite that crawled the floor of the sea covering the region more than 430 million years ago. Schoolchildren from the Dayton area campaigned for its adoption in 1985.
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial rises 352 feet over Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island, 47 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. The Doric column honors Oliver Hazard Perry's 1813 victory in the Battle of Lake Erie and the lasting peace with Britain and Canada.
Cedar Point in Sandusky opened in 1870 as a lakeside bathhouse and beer garden, making it the second-oldest operating amusement park in the country. Its first roller coaster, the Switchback Railway, was built in 1892.
Superman was created in Cleveland by two Glenville High School friends, writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. The character they dreamed up as teenagers debuted in Action Comics No. 1 in 1938.
In 1985 the Ohio General Assembly named the McCoys' chart-topper "Hang On Sloopy" the official state rock song. The Ohio State marching band still strikes it up before the fourth quarter of every Buckeye football game.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
Patrick Henry
"Whether this [new government] will prove a blessing or a curse will depend upon the use our people make of the blessings which a gracious God hath bestowed on us. If they are wise, they will be great and happy. If they are of a contrary character, they will be miserable. Righteousness alone can exalt them as a nation [Proverbs 14:34].
Patriot
Rutherford B. Hayes
"Democracy and Republicanism in their best partisan utterances alike declare for human rights. Jefferson, the father of Democracy, Lincoln, the embodiment of Republicanism, and the Divine author of the religion on which true civilization rests, all proclaim the equal rights of all men."
President
Thomas Edison
I know this world is ruled by infinite intelligence. Everything that surrounds us - everything that exists - proves that there are infinite laws behind it. There can be no denying this fact. It is mathematical in its precision.
Inventor
Erma Bombeck
"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."
Columnist
Zane Grey
"Love grows more tremendously full, swift, poignant, as the years multiply...
Love of man for woman - love of woman for man. That's the nature, the meaning, the best of life itself."
OH-Author
Tecumseh
"When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself."
Shawnee Chief
Last updated: July 2026