Place:Ironton, Lawrence, Ohio, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

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Ironton is a city in and the county seat of Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. Located in southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River northwest of Huntington, West Virginia, the city includes the Downtown Ironton Historic District.

The population was 11,129 at the 2010 census. Ironton is part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 287,702. New definitions from February 28, 2013, placed the population at 363,000.

Ironton is a contraction of "iron town." The city has a long history with the iron industry. It also had one of the first professional football teams.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Ironton was founded in 1849 by John Campbell, a prominent pig iron manufacturer in the area. He chose the location of Ironton because of its site along the Ohio River, which would allow for water transport of iron ore to markets downriver.

Between 1850 and 1890, Ironton was one of the foremost producers of iron in the world. England, France, and Russia all purchased iron for warships from here due to the quality. Iron produced here was used for the USS Monitor, the United States' first ironclad ship.^[1] More than ninety furnaces were operating at the peak of production in the late 19th century.^[1]

The iron industry generated revenues that were invested in new industries, such as soap and nail production. The Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad was constructed through two states, carrying iron to Henry Ford's automaking plants in Michigan. The city had a street railway, the Ironton Petersburg Street Railway, four daily newspapers, and a few foreign-language publications. Ironton was also known for its accommodating attitude toward sin and vice associated with the mine and ironworkers.

Underground Railroad and Civil War

With its location on the Ohio River, Ironton became a destination on the Underground Railroad for refugee slaves seeking freedom in the North. John Campbell and some other city leaders sheltered slaves in their homes during their journeys.

During the American Civil War, local military regiments were mustered, quartered, and trained at Camp Ironton, a military post located at the county fairgrounds.

Changing economics of the iron industry

The downfall of Ironton came as the market for iron changed. Also, the nation was making the transition from a demand for iron to steel. After a nationwide economic recession in the late 19th century, Ironton was no longer growing.

The Norfolk and Western Railway built a new railroad station downtown in 1906, and it continued in operation into the mid-20th century. Two major floods (1917, 1937) caused extensive damage to the city and its industries. The second flood came during the Great Depression; together with the shift in the iron industry, it devastated the city. The iron industry declined, affecting other industries as well. As the iron industries closed, Ironton had little with which to replace them.

An industrial city, Ironton worked to attract other heavy industry to the region. Companies such as Allied Signal and Alpha Portland Cement did build in town. The region has had difficulty creating an alternate economy. By 2004, both Alpha Portland Cement and Allied Signal were gone, and Ironton had shrunk by nearly 30% from its peak population in 1950. (See US Census table below.)

Professional football & Thanksgiving Day football tradition

Ironton had one of the first professional football teams in the United States, called the Ironton Tanks. The team was organized in 1919 and played through 1930. The football field previously used by the Tanks is now home to the Ironton High School Football team, the Ironton Fighting Tigers.

The Tanks began what is now the National Football League's Thanksgiving Day Game tradition of the Detroit Lions. The Tanks played a game in 1920 the day after Thanksgiving with the Lombards, a crosstown rival, winning 26–0. In 1922, they played and defeated the Huntington Boosters 12–0 on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 30. The Tanks continued playing on this national holiday each year thru 1930, which was the Tanks final season. Several Tank players (including Glenn Presnell) continued their football careers by joining the nearby Portsmouth Spartans, who continued the annual tradition until their demise after the 1933 season.

The Spartans' assets were acquired by businessman G.A. Richards and moved to Detroit, where they were renamed the Lions. Asked by Richards about ways to improve ticket sales, the players replied that they always got a good turnout on Thanksgiving Day. He promptly scheduled the first Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit.

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