Middletown City Hall is located at One Donham Plaza, Middletown, Ohio 45042.
Phone: 513-425-7766,
Neighborhoods
Founded in 1802, Middletown [†] was most likely named after its midway location between Dayton and Cincinnati, and was incorporated in 1833 as a village along the east bank of the Great Miami River. Initial development and population growth were relatively modest through the 19th Century, though Middletown enjoyed rapid growth during the 20th Century as a result of expanded industrial activity. The city saw continuous and steady growth through the 1960s.
As a result, Middletown residents and businesses prospered and enjoyed a high quality of life throughout most of the 20th Century. As with most mid- western industrial cities, Middletown experienced job loss starting in the 1970s as industrial corporations merged, closed, or relocated to regions with more affordable production systems. This trend continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s, leaving the city in need of new business recruitment strategies.
Ground was broken on the Miami-Erie Canal on July 21, 1825. The canal became the major transportation line between Cincinnati and Toledo. The water power it created generated the cityÕs numerous paper mills along the river. Construction of railroads soon followed the canal and further improved MiddletownÕs accessibility. Steel and paper industries flourished in Middletown. The American Rolling Mill Company (Armco) was founded in 1899, and ground was broken for the steel plant the following year. The first steel was produced in Middletown in 1902. In 1948 it adopted the Armco name and soon thereafter changed its name to Armco Steel Corp. In 1993, the company moved its headquarters to Pittsburgh and renamed itself AK Steel Holdings reflecting its Armco roots and sizable investment by Kawasaki. The company was later acquired by the Cleveland Cliffs in late 2019.
Initial development in Middletown occurred in nuclear fashion with a strong and vibrant downtown commerce center located adjacent to the Great Miami River and along routes now known as State Route (SR) 4, SR 73, Main Street, and Central Avenue. Streets radiated out from Downtown providing access to adjacent neighborhoods, industries, and agricultural land located at the urban fringe. Neighborhoods grew steadily outward as the cityÕs population grew over time in response to increased industrialization.
The advent of post WW II housing and the opening of Interstate 75 (I-75) in the 1950s created a gradual but steady shift in development patterns from the west side to the east. Effects of this shift are still present today; many industrial and commercial buildings stand as vestiges of the areaÕs history.
† City Staff and Consultants,
Nearby Towns: Carlisle City • Lemon Township •