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Urbana

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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a city and the county-seat of Champaign county, Ohio, U.S.A., about 47 m. W. by N. of Columbus. Pop. (1890) 6510; (1900) 6808, including 796 negroes and 4 05 foreign-born; (191o) 7739. Urbana is served by the Erie, the Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis, and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis railways, and by the Ohio Electric interurban line. It has a public library (1890) and a county children's home (1892), and is the seat of Urbana University (co-educational), founded in 1850 under the auspices of the New Church. The city is situated in a fertile farming region. Its manufactures include furniture, telephones, woollen goods, paper, foundry and machine-shop products, &c. Urbana was laid out in 1805 by Colonel William Ward, of Greenbriar, Va., who owned the land included in the original survey and gave many lots to the county on condition that the proceeds from their sale should be used for public improvements; it was incorporated as a village in 1816 and was chartered as a city in 1867. Colonel Ward was the grandfather of the sculptor J. Q. A. Ward, who was born here and here first pursued, unaided, his study of art. Urbana was also the home for several years. (after 1802), and is the burial place, of Simon Kenton, the famous pioneer and Indian fighter.