Mason

History

On June 1, 1803, Revolutionary War veteran William Mason paid $1,700 at auction to purchase of land in what is now downtown Mason. In 1815, he platted 16 lots on this land and named the village "Palmyra." In 1835, a petition was sent to the federal post office to correct the name of the town. The town had been listed as Kirkwood, possibly an error because the postmaster at the time was named William Kirkwood. When village officials were informed that there was another Palmyra in Ohio, the name was officially changed to "Mason." In 1923, Main Street was paved, prompting a celebration throughout the town. Mason remained a small farming community for another 125 years. In 1970, a year before the town was incorporated to become a city, there were fewer than 5,700 residents. In February 1997, Mason withdrew from surrounding Deerfield Township by forming a paper township called Mason Township. In 1928 the 50,000 watt, 831-foot WLW-AM tower was built on Tylersville Road. Six years after its construction, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the station's equipment be upgraded to operate at 500,000 watts, making it the most powerful broadcast station in the country at the time, powerful enough to broadcast across the Atlantic ocean. This proved bothersome for locals, as they could hear the broadcast through their bedsprings, downspouts, and fencing. In 1939, after complaints from other radio stations due to signal interference, the power was reduced back to 50,000 watts after the Federal Communications Commission chose not to renew the station's experimental broadcasting license. This decision was appealed by the Crosley Corporation, the company who operated the tower, and taken all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was denied.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The city has a short border along the Little Miami River.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,797
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  18,673
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  16,503
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,349
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,779
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,891
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  12,539
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,454

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-02-22
  2 km NE of Hillsboro, Ohio
• M 2.51 — 2024-01-28
  3 km SW of Old Washington, Kentucky
• M 3.04 — 2021-12-12
  2 km E of Manchester, Ohio
• M 2.78 — 2017-12-17
  6 km ENE of Germantown, Kentucky
• M 2.62 — 2015-05-11
  5 km ESE of Maysville, Kentucky
• M 2.6 — 2013-07-23
  6 km NNE of Germantown, Kentucky