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Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Hiram, Ohio

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Hiram Township. It lies in ZIP code area 44234. It stands on Derthick Hill. The Survey maps it on the Mantua quadrangle. 996 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,253 feet above sea level.

Hiram within Portage County

Population over time

2 figures

Hiram fell from 1,406 to 996 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,406
2020996-410 (-29%)

Then and now

1905 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 89 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Hiram, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Hiram, surveyed 1905

Compare 1905 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

6,350 words on this township

History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885 names this settlement in its chapter on Hiram Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

There is some doubt respecting the first settler in Hiram. By some it is thought that Abraham S. Honey, who made the first settlement in Mantua, was the man, and that he came as early as 1799, but that cannot be, for he, with his brother-in-law, Rufus Edwards, settled in Mantua, or at least made some improvements there, in the fall of 1798. Mr. John Harmon, one of the first settlers in Mantua, was under the impression that a man named William W. Williams came in the spring of 1799, built a cabin and made a clearing, but that he soon after left and settled in Cuyahoga County, where, in 1800, he built the first mill in that county. The truth, possibly, of this matter is, that when Honey left Mantua, which he did about 1802, he stopped during the spring or summer in Hiram, made a small clearing and built a cabin, but getting tired of the country, went away in the fall to Cuyahoga, where it is known that he lived several years.

Passage source: History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885.

In 1802 Elijah Mason, Elisha Hutchinson and Mason Tildeu came to the township and located their lands. Mason, who was from Lebanon, Conn. , selected the west half of Lot 23; Tilden, also from Connecticut, selected Lot 22, and Hutchinson, who was from Herkimer County, N. Y., selected a portion of Lot 23. They then returned to their Eastern homes. A permanent settler, but whose actual residence was only about one year or less, came in during this spring also. He was John Flemings, who began improvements on the southeast corner of the west half of Lot 33. He girdled the timber on sixteen acres and built a cabin, also put out a crop of corn and potatoes, which was the first crop raised in the township.

Passage source: History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885.

In the spring of 1803 Mason with his two sons, Roswell M. and Peleg S., lads of seventeen and nineteen, and Tilden and Hutchinson, came out, leaving their families at home, and made improvements on their lands, Mason clearing about 22 acres and putting it out in wheat, and building a cabin. Hutchinson also cleared twenty acres and built a cabin; Tilden, in like manner, clearing and building. Shortly after they came they discovered and named Silver Creek. They all then went back and were preparing to come out permanently the next spring, but the two sons of Mason refusing to again go into the wilds of the Reserve, the father was compelled to change his plans, and he purchased a farm in Vermont. This action of Mason induced the others to forego for the time emigrating Westward. Three of their hired men, however, were pleased with the country and concluded to settle here. They were Richard Redden, Jacob Wirt and Samuel Wirt, from Pennsylvania. Flemings, also becoming discouraged, concluded to leave when he found that Mason, Hutchinson and . Tilden were not coming, and he sold his place to Redden, the Wirts at the same time settling on the east half of Lot 38. Redden sent for his father and family, which was the first white family to winter in the township. Mason came in the summer of this year, 1804, and harvested his wheat, which was the first in the township, turning out well. His two companions disposed of their effects in Ohio as well as they could, and left the country.

Passage source: History of Portage County, Ohio, published 1885.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Hiram Township - it names this place 20 more 20 times.

Fires near this place

3 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Hiram between 2020 and 2020, burning about 1 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 November 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources16003
20 November 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources16005
17 November 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resources16004

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Portage County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 293 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 293 specimens collected within 10 miles of Hiram between 1884 and 1974: 195 Animalia, 94 Plantae, 4 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Woolman, Allen, John, Brobst, P. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Pyganodon grandis (Say, 1829)Pyganodon grandis (Say, 1829)1884G. DeanGarretsville
Specimen of Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw.Botrychium virginianum (L.) Sw.1904Rood, Almon N.; Roscoe J. WebbFreedom Twp
Specimen of Aeshna umbrosa Walker, 1908Aeshna umbrosa Walker, 19081936W. ThrasherGarrettville
A photograph of the species Melanerpes carolinus, not of this specimenMelanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758)1885Collector(s): S. N. DentonWindham
A photograph of the species Ambloplites rupestris, not of this specimenAmbloplites rupestris (Rafinesque, 1817)1893A. WoolmanCuyahoga River, Mantau, Ohio
A photograph of the species Ambystoma maculatum, not of this specimenAmbystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802)1893not recordedGarrettsville
A photograph of the species Catostomus commersonii, not of this specimenCatostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803)1893A. WoolmanCuyahoga River, Mantau, Ohio
A photograph of the species Esox americanus, not of this specimenEsox americanus vermiculatus Lesueur, 18461893A. WoolmanCuyahoga River, Mantau, Ohio
A photograph of the species Etheostoma blennioides, not of this specimenEtheostoma blennioides Rafinesque, 18191893A. WoolmanCuyahoga River, Mantau, Ohio
A photograph of the species Notropis cornutus, not of this specimenNotropis cornutus (Mitchill, 1817)1893A. WoolmanCuyahoga River, Mantau, Ohio
A photograph of the species Rhinichthys atratulus, not of this specimenRhinichthys atratulus (Hermann, 1804)1893A. WoolmanCuyahoga River, Mantau, Ohio
A photograph of the species Semotilus atromaculatus, not of this specimenSemotilus atromaculatus (Mitchill, 1818)1893WoolmanCuyahoga Lake, Mantua, Ohio

All 293 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Hiram: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Haueter Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Portage County

Storms near this place

12 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hiram in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 6 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHiram$15,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees.
July 2008HailHiram$10,000Quarter size hail was observed.
September 2003Thunderstorm WindHiram$3,000Thunderstorm winds downed a couple of large tree limbs.
July 2003HailHiram$2,000Nickel size hail was observed.
April 2026Thunderstorm WindHiram-Two trees downed in Hiram.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindHiram-Numerous trees and power lines downed in Hiram and Nelson Townships.
November 2020Thunderstorm WindHiram-Many trees down and roofs damaged in Hiram.
May 2010HailHiram-Penny sized hail was observed.
July 2006Tornado (F0)Hiram-During the evening hours of July 4th, a F0 tornado touched down in Portage County. This tornado touched down about three miles west of Hiram, and tracked mainly through an open field causing no damage to structures or crops. Spotter reports indicated that the tornado lifted just to the west of Hiram which was confirmed by evidence found by a damage survey team.
May 2005HailHiram-Penny size hail was observed.
June 2004HailHiram-Penny size hail was observed.
July 1996HailHiram-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Portage County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Hiram Rapids2.2 miles13
Jeddoe2.5 miles13
Garrettsville3.2 miles13
Blackbrook Valley Estates3.3 miles13
Mantua Corners4.1 miles13
Homestead Manor4.5 miles13
Mantua4.7 miles13
Nelson4.9 miles13

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on HiramAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1620123The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1064842. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.