Loudonville

History

Loudonville was first inhabited by Delaware Nation peoples. The first white settlement was in 1810 when Stephen Butler built a single log cabin on the Black Fork of the Mohican River. In 1814, Thomas Jelloway and James Loudon Priest (the town's namesake) laid out the village of Loudonville, starting with twelve plots. A post office called Loudonville has been in operation since 1820. The town cemetery had its first burial in 1815. The town was officially incorporated on March 27, 1850. From 1913 to 1996, Loudonville was home to The Flxible Company, a manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, commercial cars (hearses, ambulances, and flower cars), intercity coaches, and city-transit coaches. During World War II, Flxible interrupted its normal production and instead built a variety of war goods. There was a devastating fire at the plant on January 2, 1947. The nearly all-glass 1927 expansion to Plant 1 made for frigid working conditions in the winter and required paint to be heated before it could be applied. An unknown employee accidentally knocked over a can of paint thinner, which spilled onto one of the heat plates for warming the paint. The fire was so massive that nearby houses were damaged. A part of the former Flxible plant was in use as a parts depot and service point for Motor Coach Industries until December 5, 2014, when all production was shut down. The theatre had a troubled history and was almost closed in the 1990s, but three freshmen from Loudonville High School raised $4,000 in a local talent show to keep it afloat. In 1914, the theater showed its first movie, the silent film Neptune's Daughter. The third, TJ and Sarah Bull House, is a Greek revival home built in 1852. The town got telephone service in 1899, when Star Telephone Company opened up in town.…

Geography

Loudonville is located along the Black Fork of the Mohican River, near Mohican State Park. The river system is navigable by canoe. There are a variety of camping, canoeing, fishing, hiking and picnicking activities available along the Mohican River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Loudonville High School
  High · Loudonville · 373 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Hillsdale Elementary School
  Elementary · Ashland · 310 students · 20.7:1 ratio
• McMullen Elementary School
  Elementary · Loudonville · 290 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• Budd Elementary School
  Middle · Loudonville · 201 students · 15.5:1 ratio