Utica is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in Knox and

Licking Licking is the action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to communicate with other animals. Many animals both gro ...

counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 ...

, along the North Fork of the Licking River. The population was 2,132 at the 2010 census. The village is home to the general headquarters (HQ) of the Velvet Ice Cream Company at the Ye Olde Mill just south of the village. The mill is a popular regional tourist attraction with an ice cream parlor and restaurant and wildlife and picnic areas. The village hosts the annual ice cream parade every

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend and the simultaneous Utica Ice Cream Festival.

History

Utica was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...

ted in 1815. The village was named after

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

. Utica was the largest hand blown window glass factory city in the US at the turn of the 20th century due to natural occurring silica and natural gas. The glass would be gathered in a molten ball and blown into a long tube. The ends would be cut off, the tube re-heated, cut, and laid flat creating the window glass. The glass companies closed with the

1929 crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

crash and development of new glass. Prior to the Civil War, Utica was an important stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. However, some local residents and a village historian claim that Utica was later a

sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, are all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practice a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminator ...

and recall Ku Klux Klan activity in the area in the 1920s.

Geography

Utica is located at (40.237493, -82.446797). 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 village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 2,132 people, 841 households, and 564 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 937 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.7%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.1% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 0.9% of the population. There were 841 households, of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.9% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the village was 37.4 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.4% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,130 people, 822 households, and 569 families living in the village. The

was 1,254.9 people per square mile (483.8/km). There were 888 housing units at an average density of 523.2 per square mile (201.7/km). The racial makeup of the village is 98.59% White, 0.09% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 0.94% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 822 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.05. In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $34,238, and the median income for a family was $40,750. Males had a median income of $31,281 versus $23,243 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $16,811. About 4.7% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 7.0% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

North Fork Local Schools operates two elementary schools, one middle school, and Utica High School. Utica has a public library, a branch of the Licking County Library System.

Notable people

Patt Morrison Patt Morrison is a journalist, author, and radio-television personality based in Los Angeles and Southern California. Media Morrison is a writer for the ''Los Angeles Times'', with the weekly '' 'Patt Morrison Asks' '' column, and received the ...

, author * Todd Londot, professional football player, New York Giants

References

{{Authority control Villages in Knox County, Ohio Villages in Licking County, Ohio Villages in Ohio 1815 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1815 Sundown towns in Ohio