The Ultimate Ohio Guide! 52 Facts About the Buckeye State
Welcome to Ohio! They call it the Buckeye State — a place where history, quirky traditions, and surprising facts come together in ways you might never expect! Whether you’re a lifelong resident or just passing through on your way to Pennsylvania, Ohio is full of hidden gems, oddities, and fun tidbits that make the state truly unique. From groundbreaking inventions and iconic landmarks to bizarre laws and beloved local foods, these 52 facts will give you a fresh perspective on what makes Ohio one of the most fascinating states in the country. Dive in and discover a whole new side of Ohio!
What is Ohio known for?
1. Cleveland! Hey, Cleveland’s got some character. While Cincinnati’s obsessing over chili spaghetti, Cleveland is partying with the latest inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The food here is wall-to-wall corned beef and pierogies and craft beer for days, particularly at the West Side Market that’s been servicing the city for more than one hundred years. Gritty and resilient enough to survive LeBron leaving them twice, Cleveland’s rough-around-the-edges personality is the real deal.
2. Cincinnati! Cincinnati has a vibe that’s pretty un-Cleveland-like. Not only is it home to the mighty Ohio River — where the water doesn’t catch fire, thank you very much — but the food scene is uniquely its own with their famous take on chili (three-way, four-way, five-way—you get the picture), and Graeter’s ice cream and a kind of weird-ass scrapple-like breakfast meat called goetta. Yessir, Cincinnati is where Midwest pride meets Southern hospitality. Cleveland rocks? More like Cleveland go kick rocks lol.
3. The birthplace of presidents! No less than seven (7) presidents of the United States were born in Ohio: Ulysses S. Grant (Point Pleasant), Rutherford B. Hayes (Delaware), James A. Garfield (Moreland Hills), Benjamin Harrison (North Bend), William McKinley (Niles), William H. Taft, and Warren G. Harding (Blooming Grove).
Early history of Ohio facts
4. Paleo-Indians hunted large ground sloths around 11,500 BCE on present-day Ohio land.
5. Around 800 BCE, the Adena culture, among the Mound Builders known for building mounds, emerged in Ohio. That was followed by the Hopewell culture (100–400 CE), which constructed sophisticated earthworks used for astronomical and ceremonial purposes.
6. The Iroquois Confederacy was an alliance of six Native American nations that carried considerable political and military influence in the northeastern United States — included a part of Ohio — formed any time from the years 1100 to 1600. Interestingly, this alliance was formed before white people came along.
7. In 1663, Ohio became a part of New France, which means that Ohio was basically the country of fucking France for awhile.
8. Once New France was established, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was the first white guy to set foot on current-day Ohio land in 1669.
9. France ceded Ohio to Britain after the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, which means that Ohio was basically the country of fucking England for awhile.
10. The Treaty of Paris in 1783 resulted in Ohio becoming a part of the United States after the American Revolution.
11. On March 1, 1803, Ohio was granted statehood, the 17th to do so.
What are the state symbols of Ohio?
12. The white-tailed deer is a rather popular choice for a state symbol. It’s the official state animal for Ohio, which they designated in 1988, and it’s also a symbol for Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.
13. Ohio actually has an official state historical architectural structure that they designated in 2019, and it is the humble barn.
14. In 1953, the Ohio buckeye was designated the official state tree. You can find these trees primarily near rivers and streams all throughout Ohio, and it’s such a prominent symbol of the state that Ohio residents are called Buckeyes.
15. The scarlet carnation is the cultivated state flower of Ohio, designated in 1904 after Ohio-born President William McKinley wore one while campaigning for the House of Representatives.
16. The northern cardinal is the official state bird of Ohio, something they have in common with Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.
17. If you actually think tomato juice is delicious then it may please you to learn that Ohio made it the official state beverage in 1965.
18. In addition to the scarlet carnation being the Ohio state cultivated flower, they also designated the large white trillium as the official state wildflower in 1986. You can find them in every single one of the 88 counties in Ohio.
19. Missouri and Oklahoma both have the bullfrog as state symbols. So does Ohio, who named this lil guy the official state frog in 2010.
20. Ohio used to be covered in saltwater like around 430 million years ago, when arthropods called the Isotelus trilobite roamed the sea floors. As such, their fossils have been found all over Ohio, and that’s why the state designated them the official fossil in 1985. It’s also a state symbol of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
21. Ladybugs are a popular state symbol. They were designated the official state insect of Ohio in 1975, and Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Tennessee also all have the bug as a state symbol.
What famous people are from Ohio?
22. Kimberly Ann Deal has played in The Pixies and The Breeders, two of the greatest American rock-n-roll bands of the 1990s. She and her twin sister Kelley were born in Dayton, Ohio on June 10, 1961.
23. The beautiful, talented, and philanthropic Paul Newman was an American actor and race car driver renowned for his charismatic screen presence in classic films like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Cool Hand Luke. He was born January 26, 1925 in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
24. Hall of Fame baseball players born in Ohio include Mike Schmidt (Dayton), Cy Young (Gilmore), Phil Niekro (Blaine), Barry Larkin (Cincinnati), and Rollie Fingers (Steubenville).
25. Toni Morrison was born on February 18, 1931, in Lorain, Ohio. The acclaimed American novelist was known for her powerful explorations of Black identity, culture, and history. Her 1977 novel Song of Solomon won the National Book Critics Circle award and her 1987 novel Beloved won the Pulitzer Prize and in 1993, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
26. LeBron James has won multiple championships and MVP awards in the NBA, playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. One of the GOATs of the NBA, LeBron is also a philanthropist who has dedicated millions of dollars to providing opportunities to underfunded communities. King James was born December 30, 1984, in Akron, Ohio.
27. Simone Biles is a GOAT gymnast, the most decorated in history with her multiple Olympic and World Championship medals and groundbreaking that have literally redefined what is even possible in the sport. Simone is also a fierce and proud advocate for mental health, jeopardizing her own career to make sure her own shit was being kept together. She was born in Columbus, Ohio, in March 14, 1997.
28. Steven Spielberg is perhaps the most successful filmmaker who ever lived, directing such pictures like The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), The Terminal (2004), and Bridge of Spies (2015). He was born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
29. Orville Wright and his brother Wilbur were aviation pioneers who made the first controlled and sustained flight of an aircraft near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. He was born August 19, 1871 in Dayton, Ohio, and would pass away there as well in 1948.
Topography & geography of Ohio
30. The capital of Ohio is Columbus, and has been since 1816.
31. In addition to the capital of Columbus and cultural epicenters Cleveland and Cincinnati, other major cities in Ohio include Dayton, Akron, and Toledo.
32. Ohio shares its border with Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan.
33. At 44,825 square miles, Ohio is the 34th-biggest state.
34. Driving north and south across Ohio would be 220 miles. Driving from east to west across Ohio is coincidentally also 220 miles.
35. The highest elevation point in Ohio is Campbell Hill in Bellefontaine, checking in at 1,549 feet above sea level.
36. At just a mere 455 feet above sea level, the lowest point in Ohio is the Ohio River at the border of Indiana.
37. There are 88 counties in Ohio and we dare you to recite them all off the top of your head.
Where should I visit in Ohio?
38. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio celebrates the history and impact of rock-n-roll, as well as its greatest and most influential contributors from Buddy Holly to Sister Rosetta Tharpe to R.E.M. If you want to feel self-conscious about how old you’re getting, next year’s inductees will likely help you with that.
39. The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden officially opened in 1875, and it’s the second-oldest zoo in the country after the Philadelphia Zoo opened in 1874. Renowned for its diverse animal exhibits and dedication to conservation, the Cincinnati Zoo offers education programs and other family-friendly events all year long.
40. In 2005, the American Sign Museum opened to the public in Cincinnati. It’s kinda like a giant scrapbook of the brightest and quirkiest and most colorful signs of the last hundred years, a veritable Las Vegas for the eyeballs that’s full of neon retro charm.
41. The Toledo Museum of Art has a surprisingly rich collection of masterpieces from some of the greatest to ever do it, like Vincent Van Gogh, Peter Paul Rubens, Willem de Kooning, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, among tons of others you’ve probably heard of.
42. Anyone interested in the history of medicine may want to check out the Dittrick Medical History Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Showcasing medical history through exhibits and the kinds of equipment used, the collection of artifacts and images do an outstanding job of conveying what medicine has been like over the years.
43. Fans of the 1983 classic A Christmas Story will be delighted to learn that the original house in Cleveland used in the movie has been lovingly preserved and immortalized for the next generations to admire. You can even stay the night if you make reservations far out enough in advance, and there’s even a museum across the street where some of the props from your favorite scenes are on display.
45. Dan Brown is the founder of the Bellaire Historical Society and Toy Museum in Bellaire, Ohio, and the dude also claims to have the largest private LEGO collection in the world. While I can’t really verify such an audacious claim, the collection is indeed very impressive and plentiful, with exhibits and popular pop culture characters created out of like millions and millions of colorful LEGO bricks.
Fun, cool, interesting & weird Ohio facts
46. The Cedar Point amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio often calls themselves the roller coaster capital of the world, with no less than 17 roller coaster rides within its confines. They’re also pretty popular and highly regarded, winning the highly-coveted Best Amusement Park in the World from Amusement Today for 16 consecutive years.
47. The cash register was invented by James Ritty of Dayton, Ohio with the help of his brother John, and they patented his mechanism to record cash transactions in 1879. Not long after that, they opened a cash register factory in town.
48. In 1865, Commercial Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio launched the very first (known) hospital-based ambulance service, a breakthrough of medical technology that accelerated patient response times and has saved countless lives over the past 150 years.
49. No less than 25 astronauts have been born in Ohio, including Judith A. Resnik (Akron), Mary Ellen Weber (Cleveland), and Sunita Williams (Euclid).
50. There are several towns in the United States that are so passionate about popcorn that they have declared themselves as the “Popcorn Capital of the World,” including Marion, Ohio, which holds the Marion Popcorn Festival every year that claims to be the largest popcorn festival of the world.
51. It is supposedly illegal to get a fish drunk in Ohio — at least, according to some popular claims. However, Thrillist investigated this weird-ass claim in 2018 and found that there is actually no such law against it, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
52. Randy Newman’s song “Burn On” from his 1974 album Sail Away is about the polluted Cuyahoga River in Cleveland catching fire in 1969, an event that led to much greater awareness of how us humans related to the environment.
Cover Image Credit: Image by David Mark from Pixabay
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