Portsmouth, Ohio

Portsmouth, Ohio
City
A view of Market Street Plaza in Historic Boneyfiddle
Nickname(s): P-Town
Motto(s): "Where Southern Hospitality Begins"

Location in the state of Ohio

Location of Portsmouth in Scioto County
Coordinates: 38°44′35″N 82°57′56″W / 38.74306°N 82.96556°W / 38.74306; -82.96556Coordinates: 38°44′35″N 82°57′56″W / 38.74306°N 82.96556°W / 38.74306; -82.96556
Country United States
State Ohio
County Scioto
Founded 1803
Incorporated 1815
Government
 • City Manager Sam Sutherland - Acting
Area[1]
 • Total 11.07 sq mi (28.67 km2)
 • Land 10.73 sq mi (27.79 km2)
 • Water 0.34 sq mi (0.88 km2)
Elevation 533 ft (162 m)
Population (2010)[2]
 • Total 20,226
 • Estimate (2012[3]) 20,302
 • Density 1,885.0/sq mi (727.8/km2)
Time zone UTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code 45662
Area code(s) 740
FIPS code 39-64304[4]
GNIS feature ID 1061567[5]
Website portsmouthoh.org
Aerial view of downtown Portsmouth

Portsmouth is a city in and the county seat of Scioto County, Ohio, United States.[6] Located in southern Ohio 41 miles (66 km) south of Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky, just east of the mouth of the Scioto River. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census.

History

Foundation

According to early 20th-century historian Charles Augustus Hanna, a Shawnee village was founded at the site of modern-day Portsmouth in late 1758, following the destruction of Lower Shawneetown by floods.[7]

European-Americans began to settle in the 1790s after the American Revolutionary War, and the small town of Alexandria was founded.[8] Located at the confluence, Alexandria was flooded numerous times by the Ohio and the Scioto rivers.

In 1803, Henry Massie found a better location slightly east and somewhat removed from the flood plains. He began to plot the new city by mapping the streets and distributing the land. Portsmouth was founded in 1803 and was established as a city in 1815. It was designated as the county seat. Settlers left Alexandria, and it soon disappeared.

The Ohio state legislature passed "Black Laws" in 1804 that restricted movement of free blacks and required persons to carry papers, in an effort to dissuade blacks from settling in the state. These provisions were intermittently enforced by local governments and law enforcement, and sometimes used as an excuse to force African Americans out of settlements. In 1831, Portsmouth drove out African Americans from the city under this pretext. Many settled several miles north in what became known as Huston's Hollow, along the Scioto River. Its residents, especially Joseph Love and Dan Lucas, provided aid to refugee slaves in the following years and assisted them in moving north.[9]

Although southern Ohio was dominated in number by anti-abolitionist settlers from the South, some whites also worked to improve conditions for blacks and aid refugee slaves. Portsmouth became important in the antebellum years as part of the Underground Railroad. Fugitive slaves from Kentucky and other parts of the South crossed the Ohio River here. Some found their future in Portsmouth; others moved north along the Scioto River to reach Detroit, Michigan, and get further away from slave catchers. Many continued into Canada to secure their freedom.[10] A historical marker near the Grant Bridge commemorates this period of Portsmouth's history.[11] James Ashley of Portsmouth continued his activism and pursued a political career. After being elected to Congress, he wrote the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in 1865 after the American Civil War.[12]

Portsmouth quickly developed an industrial base due to its location at the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers. Early industrial growth included having meat packing and shipping facilities for Thomas Worthington's Chillicothe farm, located north of Portsmouth on the Scioto River. The city's growth was stimulated by completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal in the 1820s and 1830s,[13] which provided access to the Great Lakes, opening up northern markets.

But the construction of the Norfolk and Western (N&W) railyards beginning in 1838 and the completion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) junction at the city in the late 1850s quickly surpassed the canal in stimulating growth. The railroads soon carried more freight than the canal, with the B&O connecting the city to the Baltimore and Washington, DC markets. By the end of the 19th century, Portsmouth became one of the most important industrial cities on the Ohio River between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio.

20th century

The city's growth continued. By 1916, during World War I, Portsmouth was listed as being a major industrial and jobbing center, the fourth-largest shoe manufacturing center in the country, and the largest manufacturer of fire and paving bricks in the United States. Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel (later called Empire-Detroit Steel) employed over one thousand people. There were 100 other manufacturing companies producing goods from furniture to engines.[14]

Such industrial and shipping growth greatly benefited Boneyfiddle (a west-end neighborhood in Portsmouth), where grand buildings were constructed with the wealth from the commerce. As time passed, much of the commerce began to move toward Chillicothe Street, which has continued as the main thoroughfare of Portsmouth. While Boneyfiddle is receiving new life, it is a shadow of its former self.

The city population peaked at just over 42,000 in 1930 (see "Demographics", below). In 1931, the Norfolk Southern Corporation built a grand, art deco passenger station in Portsmouth, that provided a substantial entry to the city. It was located at 16th and Findlay streets. Passengers used the station for access to both interstate and intrastate train lines, which provided basic transportation for many. The widespread availability of affordable automobiles and changing patterns resulted in reduction in rail passenger traffic here and nationally. The station was later used for offices and its keys were turned over to Scioto County in 2003, and the building was demolished in 2004.[15]

Suburbanization also affected the city. By the 1950 census, the population had begun to decline, falling below 40,000. Some of this change was due to the effects of highway construction, which stimulated suburban residential development in the postwar years. But during the late 20th century, foreign competition and industrial restructuring resulted in the loss of most of the industrial jobs on which Portsmouth's economy had been based; the jobs were moved out of the area, with many going overseas.

Further decline occurred in 1980, following the suspension of operations at Empire Detroit Steel's Portsmouth Works, which took place after the sale of the steel plant to Armco Steel. Armco Steel closed the plant because they did not want to replace the obsolete, Open Hearth Furnaces with the more efficient basic oxygen steel furnaces. The plant also needed a continuous caster to replace the obsolete soaking pits and blooming mill in 1995. When the steel mill was closed, 1,300 steelworkers were laid off.

21st century

As of 2010, Portsmouth has a population of approximately 20,000. It has shared in the loss of jobs due to unskilled labor outsourcing and population migration to more populous urban areas. Despite its relatively small size, Portsmouth has been a regular stop for recent Presidential campaigns of the 21st century. In September 2004, George W. Bush visited the city as part of his reelection campaign.[16] Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards also visited Portsmouth that month.[17] The campaigns of 2008 resulted in numerous candidates and surrogates visiting Portsmouth, and some spoke at Shawnee State University: Bill Clinton on behalf of his wife Hillary Clinton,[18] Republican candidate John McCain,[19] and US Senator Barack Obama,[20] who won the election. In 2012, candidate Mitt Romney spoke at Shawnee State University.[21] In March 2016, Bill Clinton visited Portsmouth again to campaign for his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.[22]

Portsmouth, and other parts of Scioto County, have worked to redevelop blighted properties and create a new economy. After the Scioto County Port Authority secured an initial $30,000 grant from the Scioto Foundation, the Scioto County Land Reutilization Corporation received $2.725 million from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) through the Neighborhood Initiative Program (NIP).[23] Along with adapting disused residential properties, Portsmouth has begun the process of transforming abandoned industrial and commercial properties to other uses.

Its industrial past resulted in environmental problems at some sites. Portsmouth was one of 172 communities to receive 279 grants totaling $56.8 million in EPA Brownfields funding through the Environmental Protection Agency's Assessment and Cleanup Grants. The Southern Ohio Port Authority (SOPA) received grant funding in 2017 of $300,000 as part of a program offered through the EPA in an effort to cleanup former industrial sites for other uses. These funds provide aid to under-served and economically disadvantaged communities through the assessment and cleanup of abandoned industrial and commercial properties. They expand the ability of communities to recycle vacant and abandoned properties for new, productive reuses.[24]

The city has also initiated new developments in its downtown. The Ohio Legislature passed House Bill 233 on April 20, 2016 to authorize cities to create Downtown Redevelopment Districts. They operate similarly to a Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District. The city of Portsmouth formed a Downtown Redevelopment District (DRD) in 2017 in the Boneyfiddle neighborhood of the city to increase investment and development there.[25]

Through the early 21st century, there has been a noticeable increase in investment in Portsmouth's local economy. The Southern Ohio Port Authority has worked with the Joint Economic Development Initiative of Southern Ohio (JEDISO) to secure funding for local business. A grant through JEDISO from the Fluor-BWXT Opportunity was awarded to YEI Technology, PatterFam Sauces, Tri-America Contractors, Appalachian Wood Flooring (Phase 1) and Columbia Gas Regional Headquarters. The grants resulted in 48 jobs created and 225 jobs retained.[26] New investments and developments in the local economy led to Portsmouth's inclusion in Site Selection Magazine's "Top 10 Micropolitan areas". Celina, Defiance and Portsmouth were among a group of cities tied for 10th. Portsmouth attracted nine significant economic development projects in 2016, nearly as many as it had from 2004-2013 combined.[26][27]

In 2016, Portsmouth was identified as one of the semi-finalists in the America's Best Communities competition.[28] In its Community Revitalization Plan, Portsmouth emphasized using its most valuable asset, the Ohio River, as a key to revitalizing the city. Its goal is to improve commercial and community access to the Portsmouth riverfront by making the port a premier regional destination for industrial development, small business development, and riverfront recreation.[29]

The America's Best Communities competition led to the city identifying Spartan Municipal Stadium as an invaluable asset for such development.[30] The city was recently awarded $25,000 in funding toward its renovation.[31]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1820527—
18301,378161.5%
18401,54412.0%
18504,011159.8%
18606,26856.3%
187010,59269.0%
188011,3216.9%
189012,3949.5%
190017,87044.2%
191023,48131.4%
192033,01140.6%
193042,56028.9%
194040,466−4.9%
195036,798−9.1%
196033,637−8.6%
197027,633−17.8%
198025,993−5.9%
199022,676−12.8%
200020,909−7.8%
201020,226−3.3%
Est. 201720,443[32]1.1%
Sources:[4][33][34][35]

2010 census

As of the census[2] of 2010, there were 20,226 people, 8,286 households, and 4,707 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,885.0 inhabitants per square mile (727.8/km2). There were 9,339 housing units at an average density of 870.4 per square mile (336.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 90.1% White, 5.1% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.2% of the population.

There were 8,286 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.9% were married couples living together, 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.2% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.93.

The median age in the city was 36.1 years. 21.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 14.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.4% male and 53.6% female.

2000 census

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 20,909 people, 9,120 households, and 5,216 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,941.4 people per square mile (749.6/km²). There were 10,248 housing units at an average density of 951.5 per square mile (367.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.50% White, 5.00% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.32% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.93% of the population.

There were 9,120 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.9% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,004, and the median income for a family was $31,237. Males had a median income of $31,521 versus $20,896 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,078. About 18.3% of families and 23.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.1% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

A painting of the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers, showing the dissected plateau terrain and the Carl D. Perkins Bridge. Artist Herb Roe

Portsmouth is at the confluence of the Ohio, Scioto, and Little Scioto rivers. It is a midway point among four major cities: Charleston, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio; and Lexington, Kentucky, each of which are approximately ninety miles away (roughly a two-hour drive).

Much of the terrain is quite hilly due to dissected plateau around it. Both rivers have carved valleys and Portsmouth lies next to both the Scioto and Ohio rivers. It is within the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau.[36] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.07 square miles (28.67 km2), of which 10.73 square miles (27.79 km2) is land and 0.34 square miles (0.88 km2) is water.[1]

Neighborhoods

  • Sciotoville - located 5 miles (8.0 km) in the eastern part of Portsmouth off US 52 at Ohio 335; it is sometimes known as East Portsmouth, but it is within the city limits, with about 10% of the city's population living there.
  • North Moreland - a community within Portsmouth, north of the Village of New Boston. North Moreland connects the larger western section of Portsmouth with Sciotoville.
  • Boneyfiddle - several blocks west of downtown Portsmouth, generally centered around the Market St./2nd St. intersection
  • Hilltop - residential neighborhoods in Portsmouth located north of 17th St., west of Thomas Ave and east of Scioto Trail

Government

City government

Portsmouth City Hall

The city charter was adopted on November 6, 1928. The city conducts business at their city hall, which was constructed in 1935. City council meetings are held during the second and fourth weeks in the month. The city reverted from being run by a city manager to a mayor in 1988, with the mayor being elected every four years.

In 2012 voters approved returning to a City Manager/Council form of government; this took effect in January 2014. Under the City Manager/Council system, the mayor and vice-mayor are elected members of the city council who are appointed to their positions by the council. The city manager is hired by and reports directly to the council. The city manager oversees the day-to-day operations of city government and is the direct supervisor of all city department heads. There are six wards in the city with elections of council members from the wards every two years.

The City Manager is Sam Sutherland.[37]

WardCity Councillor
First Ward Sean Dunne
Second Ward Jo Ann Aeh
Third Ward Kevin E. Johnson (Acting Mayor)
Fourth Ward Jerrold Albrecht
Fifth Ward Gene Meadows
Sixth Ward Thomas Lowe

[38]

County government

Scioto County Courthouse

Portsmouth is the county seat for Scioto County. The courthouse is located at the corner of Sixth and Court Streets and was constructed in 1936. The sheriff's office and county jail, once located in the courthouse, are located in a new facility, constructed in 2006 at the former site of the Norfolk and Western rail depot near U.S. 23.

County Commissioners:

Bryan K. Davis, Chairman

Michael Crabtree

Cathy E. Coleman

The county commissioners meet twice weekly on Tuesday and Thursdays at 9:30 am in room 107 on the first floor of the Scioto County Courthouse.

Economy

Portsmouth major employers include Southern Ohio Medical Center, Kings Daughters Medical Center, Shawnee State University, Norfolk Southern Corp.(Railroad), Southern Ohio Correctional Facility and OSCO Industries. In November 2002, the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in nearby Piketon, Ohio was recognized as a Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society. It had served a military function from 1952 until the mid-1960s, when the mission changed from enriching uranium for nuclear weapons to one focused on producing fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant ended enriching operations in 2001 and began to support operational and administrative functions and perform external contract work. The site is currently being cleaned up for future development by Fluor/ B&W.

Graf Brothers Flooring and Lumber, the world's largest manufacturer of rift and quartered oak products, has two satellite log yards in Portsmouth, with the company's main office being located across the river in South Shore, Kentucky. Portsmouth is the home of Sole Choice Inc., one of the largest manufacturers of shoelaces in the world.

Transportation

The U.S. Grant Bridge crossing the Ohio River from Portsmouth, Ohio to Greenup County, Kentucky.
A nightly view of the newly built U.S. Grant Bridge carrying U.S. 23 over the Ohio River.

Highways

Portsmouth is served by two major U.S. Routes: 23 and 52. Other significant roads include Ohio State Routes 73, 104, 139, 140, and 335. The nearest Interstate highway is I-64. Interstate 73 is planned to use the newly built Portsmouth bypass en route from North Carolina To Michigan. The I-74 Extension is planned to use US 52 through Portsmouth, running concurrently with I-73 on the eastern side of Portsmouth

Rail

Portsmouth is an important location in the Norfolk Southern Railway network. Norfolk Southern operates a railyard and locomotive maintenance facility for its long distance shipping route between the coalfields of West Virginia and points east, to the Great Lakes. Competitor CSX Transportation operates a former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway line just east of the city in Sciotoville, which crosses the Ohio River on the historic Sciotoville Bridge. Amtrak offers passenger service to the Portsmouth area on its Cardinal route between New York City and Chicago. The passenger station is located on CSX Transportation-owned track in South Shore, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Portsmouth.

Air

Portsmouth is served by the Greater Portsmouth Regional Airport (PMH), a general aviation airport. The airport is located in Minford, Ohio, approximately 12 miles (19 km) northeast of the city. The nearest commercial airport is Tri-State Airport (HTS) in Ceredo, West Virginia, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) outside Huntington, West Virginia and 53 miles (85 km) southeast of Portsmouth.

Public transportation

Public transportation for Portsmouth and its outlying areas is offered through Access Scioto County (ASC).[39]

Education

Colleges and universities

Massie Hall is the first and oldest building at Shawnee State University

Portsmouth is the home of Shawnee State University, a public institution established in 1986. It is Ohio's thirteenth and newest institution of higher education.[40]

Campus Map

K-12 schools

Mural in the new high school of the school mascot Trojans. Artist Herb Roe

Portsmouth has one public and two private school systems (the Notre Dame schools and the Portsmouth STEM Academy). The Portsmouth City School District has served the city since its founding in the 1830s and is the public school in the city. Portsmouth City School District is notable having a storied basketball tradition by winning four OSHAA State Basketball Championships in 1931, 1961, 1978, and 1988.[41] The Trojan basketball team has made 14 final four appearances, they are 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1931 (1st), 1934 (2nd), 1939, 1941, 1961 (1st), 1978 (1st), 1980 (2nd), 1988 (1st), 1990 (2nd).[42] and 2012 (2nd). The Trojan football team has also produced some notable teams as of late with an Associated Press Division 3 State Championship in 2000, a regional title, and state semi-final appearance in 2000, and finishing as regional runner up in both 2001, and 2002. In all the Trojans football team has sent 5 teams to the post season since 2000, as of the start of the 2009 season.[43][44]

In 2000, Portsmouth voters passed a much needed school bond issue, which helped construct new schools for the district. The new schools opened for the 2006–2007 school year. These schools won the Grand Prize from School Planning & Management's 2007 Education Design Showcase. The award is awarded annually to the K-12 school that displays "excellence in design and functional planning directed toward meeting the needs of the educational program."[45][46] In addition, the school system plans to build a new $10 million athletic complex.[47] Portsmouth High School has an award-winning Interactive Media program that has won multiple awards for both video and graphic design. The class is under the direction of Chris Cole and the students run the local cable station TNN CH25.

Clark Athletic Complex

In 2009 the school system completed construction on a new $10 million athletic complex. The 25-acre (10 ha) Clark Athletic Complex[48] has a new football field, baseball field, softball field, tennis courts, and track.[47] The complex is named for Clyde and Maycel Clark of the Clark Foundation, major financial contributors for the construction of the facility.[49] The new complex, situated on the site of the former high school building and across the street from the current high school, has three paintings by mural artist Herb Roe, a 1992 Portsmouth High School alumnus.[50] The murals depict three of the sports played at the new facility: baseball, tennis, and football.

Portsmouth Notre Dame HS

Notre Dame (Catholic) Schools(formerly Portsmouth Central Catholic HS) have served the city's Roman Catholics and others since 1852. It is also notable for its football team, founded in 1929. It won two state championships in 1967 and 1970.[41]

Prescription Drug Epidemic

We have a very high addiction rates in addition to the death rates. A lot of young people are addicted. Our treatment facilities are overwhelmed. The court systems are overwhelmed.

— Lisa Roberts, registered nurse with the Portsmouth City Health Department (2010)[51]

Since the late 1990s and problems of unemployment, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse has swept the town and surrounding areas.[52] It has caused a dramatic increase in Hepatitis C cases in the county,[53] drug-related deaths,[54] robberies,[55][56][57] murder,[58] and an increased incidence of children born addicted to prescription drugs.[52] The most prevalent drug is OxyContin, a synthetic opiate originally developed as a cancer drug, known colloquially as oxys and hillbilly heroin (because of the drugs association with Appalachian areas of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia).[59]

The crisis is blamed on the proliferation of cash-only pain clinics, known as "pill mills" by locals. According to authorities, there are eight such clinics in Scioto County alone,[54] the largest concentration of such operations per capita in any of Ohio's counties.[60] The clinics began opening in the late 1990s, after state legislators passed a law stating that doctors could not be prosecuted for prescribing painkillers as long as they had examined and documented that a patient was in intractable pain and needed the medication.[61] The slightly more than half a dozen pain clinics dispense nearly 35 million pills a year,[52] or, according to 2008 state pharmacy board statistics, roughly 460 pills for every resident in a county of 76,000 people.[62]

The geographic location has played a role in the size of the problem, with Portsmouth located near the junction of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia and on the routes of several north-south and east-west highways, making it a distribution point for more than just the local area. The separate state jurisdictions do not track prescriptions among the others, making it harder to tell where the prescriptions are going. Generations of poverty have helped to create an underground economy supporting the distribution of illegal substances.[62]

As of spring 2011, the county has had more than 120 drug-related deaths over the preceding decade,[52] and in 2009 had the second-highest death rate in the state from accidental drug overdoses, although it is sparsely populated compared to the urban population centers of the state.[63] According to Lisa Roberts, a registered nurse with the Portsmouth City Health Department, Southern Ohio distributes four times as many prescription drugs as Northern Ohio, contributing to the high death rates.[51] Local deaths from a lethal drug combination of opiates, sedatives and muscle relaxants are so common that locals have dubbed it the Portsmouth Cocktail.[52] Admissions into rehab facilities for painkiller addictions in the town are five times the national average.[64] Almost one in 10 infants born in Scioto County in recent years has been addicted to prescription drugs.[64] Because of the extent of the problem, the Drug Enforcement Administration has listed Scioto County on its watch list of the 10 most significant places in the country for trafficking in prescription drugs.[54]

In February 2011 NBC Universal had a film crew in the city filming for the cable TV show Intervention.[65] On April 11, 2011 the show aired as a special episode: "Intervention In-Depth: Hillbilly Heroin." It explored the effects of prescription drug abuse on residents of the town and surrounding area.[66]

In 2007 Paul Volkman, a doctor from Chicago who had worked at a pain clinic in Portsmouth since 2003, was indicted. He was tried in February 2011 at the federal court in Cincinnati.[67] Volkman was convicted of 18 counts of illegal prescription drug distribution, and was found guilty related to the deaths of four of his patients. He is suspected of causing nearly 20 deaths. He faces from 20 years to life in prison.[68]

In 2011 the DEA and state and local law enforcement agencies worked to crack down on this problem. On May 17, 2011 the DEA served Immediate Suspension Orders (suspension of their license to practice medicine) on four local doctors and a pharmacy in Scioto County, including Dr. Margy Temponeras. In a press release, the DEA said that Temponeras was one of the largest dispensers of controlled substances in the US.[69]

Nationally, prescription drug abuse is one of our largest substance abuse problems, and in southern Ohio abuse of pharmaceuticals has reached almost epidemic proportions. Doctors that prescribe dangerous drugs, for reasons not driven by medical need, are a danger to the community. The actions taken today illustrate that DEA is committed to work with our law enforcement partners and attack this problem head on.

— Robert Corso, DEA Special Agent in Charge[69]

The DEA also served ISOs on three other doctors: John Temponeras, Mark Fantazuzzi, and Michael Dawes, and a pharmacy, Prime Pharmacy, located at 902 Fourth Street in Portsmouth.[69] The DEA had made a preliminary finding that the continued registration of these doctors and pharmacy constituted an imminent danger to public health and safety. The orders prohibit the parties from possessing or dispensing controlled substances, pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.[70] As a result of the ISO, Dr. John Temponeras resigned from his position at the Southern Ohio Medical Center.[71]

The support group SOLACE formed to tackle this problem; it has helped to raise public awareness of the issue and has lobbied the state house for legislation.[72] Governor John Kasich referred to the group in his first State of the State Address, and members of the group were featured in the A&E documentary entitled Intervention In-Depth: Hillbilly Heroin (2011).[73] The group opened an official headquarters in Portsmouth[74] and worked with Attorney General Mike DeWine to make a documentary about drug abuse.[75] SOLACE's efforts have been promoted as an example of how a small, dedicated group could effect real change in their community.[76] But, Ohio voters in 2011 rejected a proposed $1 million drug prevention tax levy backed by SOLACE and other anti-drug abuse organizations.[77]

In May 2011 the Ohio Senate and House unanimously passed House Bill 93, authored by Portsmouth's representative in the Ohio House, Dr. Terry Johnson, which dealt with improved regulation of pain clinics. The legislation called for a performance analysis of the Ohio Automated Rx Review System, limits the ability of prescribers to personally furnish controlled substances, reforms Medicaid provisions to improve consumer education, improves licensing and law enforcement issues related to pain-management clinics, and calls for the development of a statewide prescription drug "take-back" program.[78] The amended bill was signed into law by Governor John Kasich on May 20, 2011.[79]

Culture

Buildings and landmarks

The recently renovated, historic Columbia Music Hall, formerly "The Columbia". The structure was damaged by fire on November 11, 2007, and has since been converted into an outdoor theatre.[80]

Many historical buildings in Portsmouth have been demolished because of poor upkeep, other city development, or the completion of new buildings that replaced the landmarks. Landmarks that have been demolished include the old Norfolk & Western rail depot, churches dating back to the early 20th century, houses dating to the 1850s, Grant Middle School, and the old Portsmouth High School and various elementary schools.

Many buildings survive from the early 19th century. Old churches are among the reminders of Portsmouth's past and identity. The Columbia Theater was given a major facelift after it was damaged by fire.[80][81][82] Other noted historic buildings include the old monastery, which can be seen for miles, and Spartan Stadium, as well as numerous buildings in the Boneyfiddle Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1982, students from Miami University conducted research on several of Portsmouth's most important historic buildings. This work resulted in an exhibition at the Miami University Art Museum and a book entitled Portsmouth: Architecture in an Ohio River Town.[83] The Portsmouth Public Library is the city's library, founded in 1879. It has branch libraries throughout Scioto County. The Southern Ohio Museum, founded in 1979, has more than sixty exhibits on display including artwork by Clarence Holbrook Carter and Jesse Stuart, China dolls, Native American artifacts, and works by local artists.

Indian Head Rock

The Indian Head Rock is an eight-ton sandstone boulder which until 2007 rested at the bottom of the Ohio River. Historically, the boulder was used to record low river stages. It is notable due to its history and due to the figures and names of individuals which were carved into the rock at times of low water levels. In 1917, the construction of a dam downriver from Portsmouth meant that the rock would forever be submerged, if not for its recovery by a group of local divers led by an Ironton historian. The removal of the rock led the states of Kentucky and Ohio into a legislative battle to determine its ownership and disposition.[84] The rock was returned to the state of Kentucky in 2010.

City parks

Portsmouth has fourteen parks for residents and community use. These include Alexandria Park (Ohio and Scioto River confluence), Bannon Park (near Farley Square), Branch Rickey Park (on Williams Street near levee), Buckeye Park (near Branch Rickey Park), Cyndee Secrest Park (Sciotoville), Dr. Hartlage Park (Rose Street in Sciotoville), Labold Park (near Spartan Stadium), Larry Hisle Park (23rd Street & Thomas Ave.), Mound Park (17th & Hutchins Streets), York Park (riverfront), Spartan Stadium, Tracy Park (Chillicothe & Gay Streets), and Weghorst Park (Fourth & Jefferson Streets).[85]

Floods and floodwalls

Although developed on higher ground, the city has been subject to seasonal flooding. The city had extensive flooding in 1884, 1913, and 1937. After the flood of 1937, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed a floodwall protecting the city, which prevented two major floods in 1964 and 1997.

In 1992, the city of Portsmouth began honoring some of the many accomplishments of its area natives by placing a star on the riverside of the floodwall. This is known as the Portsmouth Wall of Fame and was instituted by then-mayor Frank Gerlach. Some of the honorees include Don Gullett, Al Oliver, and former United States Vice-President Dan Quayle, who was not a Portsmouth native.[86]

In 1992 a nonprofit group headed by Dr. Louis R. Chaboudy was formed to investigate developing a mural-based tourist attraction on the floodwall. In the spring of 1993, mural artist Robert Dafford was commissioned and began painting murals of Portsmouth's history. He hired local art student Herb Roe as an assistant. Roe subsequently apprenticed to and worked for Dafford for 15 years.[87] The project eventually spanned sixty 20 feet (6.1 m) tall consecutive Portsmouth murals, stretching for over 2,000 feet (610 m).[88] Subjects covered by the murals span the history of the area from the ancient mound building Adena and Hopewell cultures to modern sporting events and notable natives.

These subjects include:

The original mural project was finished in the fall of 2003. Since then several additional panels have been added, including murals honoring Portsmouth's baseball heroes in 2006; and the Tour of the Scioto River Valley (TOSRV), a bicycle tour between Columbus and Portsmouth in 2007.[89]

Professional sports

Portsmouth had a series of semi-pro football teams in the 1920s and 1930s, the most notable being the Portsmouth Shoe-Steels, whose roster included player-coach Jim Thorpe. From 1929 to 1933, the city was home to the Portsmouth Spartans, which joined the National Football League in 1930. The Spartans competed in the first professional football night game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930.[90][91] Despite their success, the team could not survive in the NFL's second-smallest city during the Great Depression. This forced the team to be sold and moved to Detroit in 1934, where it became the Detroit Lions.

In the late 20th century, the Portsmouth Explorers were one of the original teams in the Frontier League, a non-affiliated minor league baseball organization. The Explorers played in the league's first three seasons, from 1993 to 1995. In 1938, Portsmouth was also the home of the Portsmouth Red Birds, a minor league team owned by the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the late 1990s Portsmouth was home to the Superstar Wrestling Federation before its demise. More recently Revolutionary Championship Wrestling has made its home in Portsmouth, airing on local TV station WQCW. Revolutionary Championship Wrestling in Portsmouth has featured such stars as Big Van Vader, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Demolition Ax, "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, "Wildcat" Chris Harris, and Ivan Koloff.

Media

Portsmouth is near the dividing line for several television markets, including Columbus, Cincinnati, and Huntington-Charleston. There are two local television stations including WTZP, an America One affiliate, and WQCW, a CW affiliate. Portsmouth was, prior to October 2017, served by WPBO, a PBS affiliate. Programs aired on WPBO were broadcast by WOSU in Columbus. Local radio stations WPAY-FM, WIOI, WNXT, WPYK, WZZZ, and WOSP-FM serve the radio listeners in the city.

Portsmouth is also served by three newspapers. The Portsmouth Daily Times is the city's only daily newspaper and is also available online.[92] The Community Common is a free biweekly newspaper[93] and the Scioto Voice is a weekly newspaper, which is mailed to subscribers.[94] The University Chronicle is the student-led newspaper at Shawnee State University.[95]

Notable people

Sister cities

Portsmouth has three sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

See also

References

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  2. 1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-01-06.
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  4. 1 2 3 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  7. ↑ Charles Augustus Hanna, The Wilderness Trail: Or, The Ventures and Adventures of the Pennsylvania Traders on the Allegheny Path, Volume 1, Putnam's sons, 1911; pp. 157-58.
  8. ↑ Ohio Historical Society. "Alexandria". Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  9. ↑ Andrew Feight, Ph.D., ""Black Friday": Enforcing Ohio's "Black Laws" in Portsmouth, Ohio," Scioto Historical, accessed March 27, 2018, http://www.sciotohistorical.org/items/show/108.
  10. ↑ Ohio Historical Society. "Portsmouth". Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  11. ↑ "Underground Railroad Marker - Portsmouth, OH", Waymarking; accessed 27 March 2018
  12. ↑ Andrew Feight, PhD., Tour: "Abolitionists & the Underground Railroad", Scioto Historical; accessed 27 March 2018
  13. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica. "Portsmouth". Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2008-02-28.
  14. ↑ Norfolk and Western Railway Company. Agricultural and Industrial Dept. Industrial and shippers guide. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
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  17. ↑ "Edwards pledges to keep jobs of workers at uranium plant". The Blade. 2004-09-17. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  18. ↑ Herald-Dispatch, DAVID E. MALLOYThe. "Bill Clinton visits Tri-State area". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  19. ↑ Herald-Dispatch.com. "Gallery: McCain visits Portsmouth". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  20. ↑ Herald-DispatchHerald-Dispatch.com, 2008/The. "Gallery: Obama in Portsmouth". The Herald-Dispatch. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  21. ↑ Jarosz, Brooks (October 14, 2012). "Romney Campaigns in Portsmouth, Oh". WSAZ.
  22. ↑ WSAZ. "President Bill Clinton makes a stop in Portsmouth". Retrieved 2017-07-03.
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  25. ↑ "Portsmouth to form Downtown Redevelopment District". Community Common. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
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  28. ↑ "$45 million spent on development projects". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  29. ↑ "Fifteen Communities Advance in America’s Best Communities $10M Prize Competition". www.businesswire.com. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  30. ↑ "Spartan Municipal Stadium up for $25k grant — Community votes needed to secure funding". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  31. ↑ "Stadium renovation plans announced". Portsmouth Daily Times. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
  32. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Number of Inhabitants: Ohio" (PDF). 18th Census of the United States. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
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  35. ↑ "Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Level III Ecoregions of Ohio". National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Mayor's Office".
  38. ↑ "About Us, City Council". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
  39. ↑ Access Scioto County (ASC)
  40. ↑ American Universities and Colleges, 19th Edition [2 Volumes]: Nineteenth Edition By Praeger, p. 1040
  41. 1 2 Ohio High School Athletic Association. "Ohio High School Athletic Association". Retrieved 2007-05-17.
  42. ↑ OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site
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  44. ↑ http://www.OHSAA.org
  45. ↑ "Multiple Factors Cited by Jurors". The Community Common(communitycommon.com). July 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  46. ↑ "City School Earn Top Design Award". The Community Common(communitycommon.com). July 11, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  47. 1 2 Wayne Allen (July 13, 2007). "City Schools Facility Awaits Council". The Community Common(communitycommon.com). Retrieved 2007-07-13.
  48. ↑ "High School Hoimetown-Portsmouth celebrating new stadium WOWK tv". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  49. ↑ Ryan Scott Ottney (July 15, 2009). "PHS names complex". Portsmouth Daily Times.
  50. ↑ Ryan Scott Ottney (June 25, 2009). "A Pictures Worth". Portsmouth Daily Times.
  51. 1 2 Erika K.; Scott B.; Valeria W., "Pain Clinics, Painkiller Addiction, and a Petition to Fight Both", Rehab Journal, The Canyon, retrieved 2011-04-13
  52. 1 2 3 4 5 Aaron Marshall (February 28, 2011). "Young lives wrecked by prescription drug epidemic in Southern Ohio". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  53. ↑ Aaron Marshall (February 26, 2011). "Prescription drug epidemic brings Southern Ohio county to its knees". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2011-04-13. Statistics as bleak as tombstones back up Roberts' apocalyptic talk: The county has seen a 360 percent increase in accidental drug-overdose deaths and has the highest hepatitis C rate in Ohio, a rate that has nearly quadrupled in the past five years, thanks to junkies who are shooting up.
  54. 1 2 3 Holly Zachariah (February 7, 2010). "Illegal prescription-drug trade now epidemic". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
  55. ↑ Randy Yohe. "Violent Crime Wave Has Portsmouth Police Overwhelmed". WSAZ-TV. Archived from the original on 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2011-04-12. A midday armed bank robbery in Portsmouth happened while we were covering at least two other felony investigations. A string of assaults and home invasions – and, what police say is a drug fueled double kidnapping. The community is on edge – or fighting mad – and the police department is without a headquarters – scattered and splintered and overwhelmed beyond belief.
  56. ↑ Gary Cohen (February 4, 2001). "The "Poor Man's Heroin":An Ohio surgeon helps feed a growing addiction to OxyContin". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2011. Last year, about the time Lilly started his pain clinic, local police noticed that drug-related crimes in Portsmouth had started to rise. Burglaries alone had increased 20 percent from the year before. For a period of about three months, police records show, homes or pharmacies were being broken into and robbed of prescription drugs almost daily. A Scioto County sheriff's deputy was arrested for stealing painkillers; a man tried to rob a pharmacy of OxyContin; and home break-in reports show the only things stolen were cash and pills. At the same time, pharmacists were noticing scores of seemingly healthy young men coming in with prescriptions for OxyContin.
  57. ↑ Frank Lewis (February 1, 2011). "Horner talks about crime wave". The Portsmouth Daily Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011. I think that we are seeing a concentration in a short period of time of gun-related crimes," Horner said. "And historically we have had gun-related crimes in the area of drugs. It has been five or six years ago that we had that rash of murders. That was the same time that we felt that we needed to get that tax levy through for just drug investigators. Obviously it went down, and there are a lot of factors that play into the situation today – obviously the economic times that we are in – at the depressed area that we are in, the increasing use of drugs, specifically prescription medications – Oxycontin and Oxycodone.
  58. ↑ "Crime in Portsmouth, Ohio (OH): Murders, Rapes, Robberies, Assaults, Burglaries, Thefts, Auto thefts, Arson, Law Enforcement Employees, Police officers". Retrieved 2011-04-12.
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  60. ↑ "Growing Concern Over 'Pill Mills' In Ohio". Ohio News Network. WBNS-TV. June 10, 2010. Scioto County has the largest concentration of pain clinics per capita of all of Ohio's counties.
  61. ↑ Melody Petersen (January 31, 2011). "Pain Killers". Men's Health. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved April 12, 2011. Residents first noticed pain clinics opening in the county in the late 1990s, not long after Ohio legislators passed a new law. The measure states that doctors can't be prosecuted for prescribing painkillers as long as they examine the patient and document that the patient has intractable pain and needs the medication. Patient advocates had lobbied to pass the law in Ohio as well as similar versions in dozens of other states. The advocates complained that many doctors were undertreating pain because they feared they might attract attention from the DEA if they wrote prescriptions for federally controlled narcotics. But these laws had other supporters, who largely kept quiet behind the scenes even though they were the ones supplying most of the lobbying funds. The painkiller manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, paid millions of dollars to support campaigns for those patient advocates. Many drug companies continue to fund the efforts of these groups today.
  62. 1 2 Aaron Marshall (February 26, 2011). "Prescription drug epidemic brings Southern Ohio county to its knees". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2011-04-13. Do the math, and it comes to roughly 460 pills for every man, woman and child in this county of 76,000 residents, according to 2008 state pharmacy board statistics.
  63. ↑ Holly Zachariah (October 27, 2010). "Portsmouth goes after "pill mills"". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2011.
  64. 1 2 Andrew Welsh-Huggins (December 22, 2010). "Ohio county fights extreme pill addiction abuse". msnbc.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2011-04-13. Nearly one in 10 babies were born addicted to drugs last year in southern Ohio's Scioto County. Admissions for prescription painkiller overdoses were five times the national average. In a rare step, the health commissioner declared a public health emergency, something usually reserved for disease outbreaks.
  65. ↑ Wayne Allen. "'Hillbilly Heroin' to air April 11: A&E's special filmed here in February". The Portsmouth Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  66. ↑ "BREAKING NEWS: Federal Agents Search Wheelersburg Doctor's Office". A&E Network. April 12, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-12.
  67. ↑ "Chicago Doctor Accused of Distributing Millions of Illegal Pain Pills". Associated Press. February 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  68. ↑ Chuck Goudie (May 11, 2011). "Doc from Chicago convicted of running giant 'pill mill'". WLS-TV.
  69. 1 2 3 "BREAKING NEWS: Federal Agents Search Wheelersburg Doctor's Office". WSAZ-TV. May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-17. According to a press release, the DEA served Immediate Suspension Orders (ISO) on physicians Margy Temponeras, John Temponeras, Mark Fantazuzzi, and Michael Dawes. The DEA also served an ISO on Prime Pharmacy located at 902 Fourth Street in Portsmouth. Federal agents arrived at Dr. Margy Temponeras' office in Wheelersburg around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. In a press release, the DEA calls Dr. Margy Temponeras one of the largest dispensers of controlled substances in the United States. They also say Dr. Fantazuzzi and Dr. Dawes, both have worked at one time at Southern Ohio Complete Pain Management in Portsmouth, Ohio, and are responsible for the prescribing of hundreds of thousands of oxycodone products and anti-anxiety medications over the past two years.
  70. ↑ Allison Wenger (May 17, 2011). "4 Ohio Doctors, 1 Pharmacy Lose Licences For Controlled Substances: Not Allowed To Distribute Or Prescribe Schedule II-V Drugs". NBC 4 (WCMH-TV). Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
  71. ↑ "Dr. John Temponeras resigns from SOMC following raid on doctors' offices and pharmacy". Portsmouth Daily Times. May 17, 2011. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
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  79. ↑ Frank Lewis (May 21, 2011). "Pill mill crackdown: Kasich signs House Bill 93 to regulate pain clinics". Portsmouth Daily Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
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  91. ↑ Chris Murphy. "Portsmouth Spartans Historical Society". Retrieved 2007-05-16.
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  95. ↑ University Chronicle
  96. ↑ Znidar, Mark (August 7, 2015). "Portsmouth native helps Kyle Busch put together magical run". The Columbus Dispatch. Columbus, OH. Retrieved 2015-12-16.

Further reading

  • Ann Hagedorn, Beyond the River The Untold Story of the Heroes of the Underground Railroad (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002).
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