Boardman Township is one of the fourteen

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

Mahoning County Mahoning County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 228,614. Its county seat and largest city is Youngstown. The county is named for a Lenape word meaning "at the licks" or "there is a lick", refe ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. The population was 40,213 at the 2020 census. A suburb directly south of

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

, it is the second largest municipality in the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area and is a major retail hub for the region. The township is contiguous with the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

of Boardman, Ohio as designated by the U.S. Census Bureau.

History

The community of Boardman was founded by

Elijah Boardman Elijah Boardman (March 7, 1760 – August 18, 1823) was an American politician who served as a senator from Connecticut. Born to a noted and politically connected Connecticut family, he served in the Connecticut militia before becoming a noted ...

, a land agent of the

Connecticut Land Company The Connecticut Company or Connecticut Land Company (e.-1795) was a post-colonial land speculation company formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the eastern parts of the newly chartered Connecticut Western Re ...

and later U.S. Senator, in the late 1790s as township 1, range 2 within the

Connecticut Western Reserve The Connecticut Western Reserve was a portion of land claimed by the Colony of Connecticut and later by the state of Connecticut in what is now mostly the northeastern region of Ohio. The Reserve had been granted to the Colony under the terms o ...

. The township was formally established in 1806, although the township government lists it as 1805 on its seal, documents, and signage. It is the only Boardman Township statewide. Boardman was traditionally an agricultural community with grain crops and apple orchards throughout the 19th century. Around the turn of the century, the railroad led to Southern Park, a horse racing facility on Washington Boulevard. Thus, the area was an early draw for

urbanites. Because of its agricultural nature and proximity to Youngstown, Boardman was ripe for strip development starting as early as 1950. Around this time, the northern areas of the township were developed into suburban spillover from Youngstown's south side. Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

developer from Youngstown, began his company in Boardman. Boardman Plaza on U.S. Route 224 was one of the first

strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...

s in the country. Established in 1950 by DeBartolo, the plaza had three full-service

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

s within a few hundred feet of each other. Today one must travel at least to get the same food service. Later, circa 1970, DeBartolo opened the more contemporary Southern Park Mall near the intersection of US 224 and Market Street. Also around 1950, the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, one of the largest steel manufacturers in the country, opened a headquarters complex in Boardman across from the DeBartolo Corporation. Here, a whole new "suburban" work environment was started; with a white shirt dress code, it was antiseptic and wholly removed from the dirt and grit of the steel mills farther north. When the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company closed in 1977, a large campus was left for others to develop. Today, the former headquarters is the center of the Southwoods Health medical campus as well as a branch of

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergraduate colleges a ...

and various restaurants. The fast food chain

Arby's Arby's is an American fast food sandwich restaurant chain with more than 3,300 restaurants system wide and third in terms of revenue. In October 2017, ''Food & Wine'' called Arby's "America's second largest sandwich chain (after Subway)". Arby ...

opened its first location in Boardman in 1964. The chain moved to a new building in the 1990s across the street from the original building on Route 224 next to St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church where it currently operates. The Arby's is owned and operated by the now internationally known chain. The original building was occupied by a bird shop until 2021 and is now vacant. The township has numerous listings on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, including St. James Episcopal Church, the oldest structure in the township, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Southern Park Stable, the Forest Glen Estates Historic District, the Mill Creek Park Historic District, and the Newport Village Historic District.

Geography

Centered at 41°2'20" North, 80°39'55" West in the central part of the county, it borders the following townships and municipalities: *

– north * Struthers – northeast * Poland Township and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

– east * Springfield Township – southeast * Beaver Township – south * Canfield Township – west * Austintown Township – northwest corner Currently, there are no incorporated communities within Boardman Township, as it is contiguous with the

of Boardman. Parts of the village of

in the east and the city of

in the northeast occupy areas originally zoned to Boardman Township. Within Boardman, there are numerous neighborhoods, including the Newport Village Historic District. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.11%, is water.

Neighborhoods

Demographics

According to the 2019 American Community Survey and 2020 census, there were 40,213 people, 17,477 households, and 10,171 families residing in the township. The population density was 660.3 people per sq. km. The racial makeup of the township was 83.5%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 7.51%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.82% Asian, 0.16% American Indian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.23% from other races, and 5.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.76% of the population.

Economy

Boardman is a large, sprawling suburb. It is a busy community south of Youngstown composed of many businesses, being one of the main

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and ...

hubs of the

Mahoning Valley The Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, typically known as the Mahoning Valley (and historically the Steel Valley), is a metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania the United States, with th ...

. Its main competitor is the northern U.S. Route 422 "Strip" in

Niles, Ohio Niles is a city in southern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, situated at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek. The city's population was 18,443 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan a ...

, a similar suburb of

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

. The primary corridor of development is along U.S. Route 224, with commercial space along almost the entirety of the township's length of the road except a portion zoned to

Mill Creek Park Mill Creek Park (officially known as Mill Creek MetroParks) is a metropolitan park located in Youngstown, Ohio. The Trust for Public Land ranks one part of Mill Creek as the 142nd largest park located within the limits of a US city. Mill Creek ...

. Running north-south,

Ohio State Route 7 State Route 7 (SR 7), formerly known as Inter-county Highway 7 until 1921 and State Highway 7 in 1922, is a north–south state highway in the southern and eastern portions of the U.S. state of Ohio. At about in length, it is the longest s ...

is also a primary artery of commercial development, with important centers such as the St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital located along this route. At the intersection of Routes 7 and 224 lies Southern Park Mall, which is the largest single shopping destination in

. Furthermore, a new area of development is surging along the South Avenue artery which parallels the southern extension of Interstate 680 between its Midlothian and Western Reserve Road exits. The location of Boardman at the meeting point of several major local roadways allows it to be a center of commercial activity amongst the southern suburbs of the Youngstown–Warren area. Boardman abuts one of the Youngstown area's most popular attractions,

. Within the park grounds, there is an rose garden, several small waterfalls, a lily pond with geese and turtles, marshlands, and Lanterman's Mill, where grain is ground daily. In addition, there is a 36-hole golf course.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees. The board employs a township administrator for day-to-day administration of township services. The current members of the board of trustees are Brad Calhoun, Tom Costello, and Larry Moliterno, and the current township administrator is Jason Loree.

Education

The Boardman Local School District manages public education within most of the township and some surrounding areas. It consists of Boardman High School (grades 9–12), Boardman Glenwood Junior High School (grades 7–8), Boardman Center Intermediate School (grades 4–6), Robinwood Lane Elementary School, Stadium Drive Elementary School, and West Boulevard Elementary School (all K–3). Certain outlying areas of the township are managed by the Canfield Local School District, the Poland Local School District, and the Youngstown City School District. Boardman is also home to a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, namely the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

St. Charles School (grades K-8), although further private schools exist in neighborhoods of Youngstown that abut Boardman such as Valley Christian School (grades K-12) and the Montessori School of the Mahoning Valley (grades K-8). Boardman has a public library, a branch of the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County. Located in Boardman is also th
Boardman Training Center
a post-secondary education facility that focuses on preparing students for healthcare certifications in months.

Notable people

* Homer C. Blake,

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and founder of Boardman Township * Ricardo Condori, long-distance runner *

Dana DeLorenzo Dana Rose DeLorenzo (born January 1, 1983) is an American actress and former radio personality and producer. She is best known for her starring role as Kelly Maxwell in the Starz horror-comedy series ''Ash vs Evil Dead'' (2015–2018). Career ...

, actress, former radio personality and producer * Terence Dials, former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player * D. J. Durkin,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

coach, defensive coordinator at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

* John Greco, former professional American football guard *

Elizabeth Hartman Mary Elizabeth Hartman (December 23, 1943 – June 10, 1987) was an American actress of the stage and screen. She debuted in the popular 1965 film ''A Patch of Blue'', playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for ...

, actress * Mary Ellen Kay, television and film actress *

Bernie Kosar Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...

, former professional American football

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

best known for roles with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

and

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

* Corey Linsley, professional American football

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from '' ...

, singer and Broadway actress * Norm Purucker, collegiate American football player *

Amy Salerno Amy Salerno (born October 17, 1956) is a former Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995 through 2002. Her district consisted of a portion of Franklin County, Ohio. She was succeeded by D ...

, member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

from the 23rd district * Joe Schiavoni, judge, former Minority Leader of the Ohio Senate *

Jason Spitz Jason Spitz (born December 19, 1982) is a former American football center who last played for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He won S ...

, former professional American football

* Sue Thomas, first deaf FBI agent, author * Steve Vallos, former professional American football

References

External links

Township websiteCounty websiteMill Creek MetroParks
{{authority control Townships in Mahoning County, Ohio Urban townships in Ohio 1806 establishments in Ohio Townships in Ohio