About Youngstown

Youngstown City Schools manages public education within the city. The district includes eight elementary schools, seven junior high schools and six high schools. The community also participates in Early College, in cooperation with Youngstown State University, which enables high school students to attend class on the college campus and earn college credit. Youngstown State, with approximately 13,000 students, has been recognized for offering lowest tuition of any public institution of higher learning in the state of Ohio. One of the university’s proudest assets is the Dana School of Music, regarded as one of the best non-conservatory schools of music in the nation.

The Youngstown-Warren area also has a regional branch of Kent State University. The branch is in Champion, Ohio, north of Warren. Another branch, The Kent State-Salem branch is located 25 minutes south of Youngstown.

The city is named after John Young, who surveyed the area in 1796 and then settled there. He purchased the entire township of 15,560 acres from the Western Reserve Land Company for $16,085. He plotted the town, which was recorded on August 19, 1802.

Many of the first settlers were from neighboring Pennsylvania. The first European-Americans to settle permanently were James Hillman and his wife Catherine Dougherty, from Pittsburgh. Within a year, the settlement included several families where Mill Creek meets the Mahoning River. Mahoning is believed to be a derivation of a Native American word for Salt Lick.

As the population increased, the area was divided into different townships and in 1867, Youngstown was chartered as a city. The discovery of coal in the community in the early 1800’s led to including Youngstown in the network of the Erie Canal. In 1856, the railroad came to the area and more growth followed.

Deposits of coal and iron helped to develop the area’s thriving steel industry, followed by metalworking and, later, auto parts manufacturing. Today, the city’s downtown includes the Youngstown Business Incubator, which houses start-up technology companies. Downtown includes the community’s financial center with several large banks. Area manufacturers are General Motors Lordstown Plant, Delphi, Packard Electric, WCI Steel, V & M Star Steel and Exal Corp. Businesses that started in the area include Good Humor Ice Cream Products, Islay’s Dairy and Schwebel’s Bakery. In the 1950’s the suburb of Boardman became site of one of the nation’s first modern shopping plazas.

The community has an array of cultural and recreational resources. Powers Auditorium, a former Warner Brothers movie palace, serves as primary music hall, as well as home of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra. Ford Recital Hall, built in 2006, serves as an addition to the restored Powers Auditorium. Stambaugh Auditorium is located on the city’s north side. Meanwhile, Oakland Center for the Arts locally produced plays, and Youngstown Playhouse provides community theater.

In addition, among the areas museums are Butler Institute of American Art, which was established as the first museum in the country dedicated only to American art. The McDonald Museum of Art, located nearby, showcases contemporary art. The area also boasts numerous parks and sport venues.