Springfield

Sister cities

• Lutherstadt Wittenberg
• City of Casey
• Pitești
• Kragujevac

History

The original pre-contact inhabitants of Springfield were the Shawnee people. During the 18th century, the Ohio Country saw warfare, waves of migration and displacement, and imposition of claims by rivaling colonial powers France and Britain. With the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the British became the sole European claimants of the region. The area was home to the major Shawnee village in the region, called Peckuwe or Piqua. It belonged to the Shawnee septs (sub-clans) of Pekowi and Kispoko and had a population of about 3,000. It stood at 39° 54.5′ N, 83° 54.68′ W, less than four miles southwest of the current city of Springfield and less than six miles from its center. During the Western theater of the American Revolutionary War, the area saw a major battle that pitted the Americans against the Shawnee and their indigenous allies. The Shawnees had formed an alliance with the British and the Lenape, the Wyandot, and the Mingo, refugees from warfare and displacements elsewhere, and had been raiding into Kentucky with the aim of driving out American settlers. Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief and warrior who later took part in the war of resistance against the U.S. and its expansionist settlement policy, lived in Piqua from 1777 until 1780. The Springfield area was officially ceded to the United States by the Shawnee and their indigenous allies under the Treaty of Greenville on 1795, six years before the settlement which became Springfield was founded. Springfield was founded in 1801 by European-American James Demint, a former teamster from Kentucky who named it for Springfield, Massachusetts. When Clark County was created in 1818 from parts of Champaign, Madison, and Greene counties, Springfield was chosen by the legislature over the village of New Boston…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. The Clarence J. Brown Reservoir is located on the northeast outskirts of Springfield. Springfield experiences a humid continental climate with cold winters and hot summers.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,052
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  8,470
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,241
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,565
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  6,254
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  6,073
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,012
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,809

Largest nearby schools

• Springfield High School
  High · Springfield · 1,516 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Shawnee Elementary School
  Elementary · Springfield · 1,010 students · 20.2:1 ratio
• Northwestern Elementary School
  Elementary · Springfield · 935 students · 21.3:1 ratio
• Greenon Elementary School
  Elementary · Enon · 893 students · 25.5:1 ratio
• Northwestern Junior/Senior High School
  High · Springfield · 733 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Shawnee Middle School/High School
  High · Springfield · 687 students · 17.2:1 ratio
• Global Impact STEM Academy
  High · Springfield · 664 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• Springfield-Clark County
  High · Springfield · 594 students · 11.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2026-02-22
  2 km NE of Hillsboro, Ohio
• M 2.9 — 2023-12-09
  5 km W of Jackson Center, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2008-09-30
  5 km SW of Kettlersville, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2006-08-15
  3 km NE of Fort Shawnee, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2006-05-12
  2 km E of Lima, Ohio