Newcomerstown

History

The name comes from a Lenape (Delaware) village established in the 1760s by Netawatwees (c. 1686-1776), also known as Newcomer. Newcomer migrated to the area from Cuyahoga Falls with his band of Lenape Indians. The Lenape name of the town was Gekelukpechink, meaning "still water." The town was used as a meeting place for the Iroquois Great Council, and English and American traders called it Newcomer's town. By 1771, more than one hundred dwellings had been built. In 1776, more than seven hundred Lenape and several traders lived in the town. Soon after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the Lenape moved west to Coshocton. In 1971, Newcomerstown elected 19-year-old Ronald Hooker as its mayor, making him one of the two youngest elected officials in United States history according to LIFE magazine. Hooker, a junior at Ashland College who did not smoke, drink, or swear, campaigned on a platform of increasing local industry and cracking down on "young hotrodders" who loudly raced up and down the streets at night while townspeople were sleeping. More than two thirds of voters wrote in Hooker's name on their ballots.

Geography

Newcomerstown is located along the Tuscarawas 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

• Port Washington Elementary School
  Elementary · Port Washington · 404 students
• West Elementary School
  Elementary · Newcomerstown · 296 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• Newcomerstown High School
  High · Newcomerstown · 239 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Newcomerstown Middle School
  Middle · Newcomerstown · 224 students · 16:1 ratio
• East Elementary School
  Elementary · Newcomerstown · 125 students · 17.9:1 ratio