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

Lorain, Ohio

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Lorain City. It lies in ZIP code area 44052. It stands on Black River. The Survey maps it on the Lorain quadrangle. 65,211 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 610 feet above sea level.

Research this city

This curated hub for Lorain County, Ohio brings together the page's documented record links, visible map or image evidence where published, and routes to related local records.

What is documented here?

Use the page's provenance and linked records to distinguish the source material from the site's navigation and summaries.

How should I cite it?

Open the original record, preserve its repository and identifier, then use the citation tool for this page as a path back to the source.

Where should I go next?

Follow the county or state hub for related places and records, then use the guide for a source-aware research sequence.

Lorain within Lorain County

Population over time

2 figures

Lorain grew from 64,097 to 65,211 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.

Year	People	Change
2010	64,097
2020	65,211	+1,114 (+2%)

Then and now

1901 to 1986

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Lorain, surveyed 1986

Topographic sheet of Lorain, surveyed 1901

Compare 1901 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Lorain city, in the words of 1879.

1879, Lorain City

Game

Game of the smaller kinds was very abundant before the hunters became too numerous. It cannot be positively stated that any old bears were killed in the township after the settlement was begun; but there is a vague tradition to the effect that Solomon Root and Joseph Ross once found two in a whitewood tree in the southwest part of the town, and killed them.

Read the rest of this passage

Photographs

8 photographs,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

H. M. Gillette Residence, Route 18, Blue Goose Corners, Wellington, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Lewis House, Avon Center Road, Avon, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

John Mercer Langston House, 207 East College Street, Oberlin, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

William Baldauf House, Avon Center Road, Avon, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Captain Tracey House, Ashland-Overlin & Bursley Roads, Huntington, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Robinson-Fitch House, Avon Center Road, Avon, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Clark-Pratt-Kemery Residence, Route 58, Huntington, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Sweet House, Detroit Road, Avon, Lorain County, OH
Unattributed, . Library of Congress

Specimens collected nearby

12 of 1,145 shown

Museums hold 1,145 specimens collected within 10 miles of Lorain between 1853 and 1975: 689 Animalia, 363 Fungi, 83 Plantae, 6 Unrecorded, 4 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. A. Wright, A. E. Ricksecker 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.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Coniophora byssoides (Pers.) P.Karst.	1896	F. D. Kelsey	Oberlin.
Gloeophyllum trabeum (Pers.) Murrill	1899	A. A. Wright	Oberlin.
Stereum fasciatum (Schwein.) Fr.	1899	A. E. Ricksecker	N. of Oberlin
Ammocrypta pellucida (Putnam, 1863)	1853	Baird, Spencer Fullerton	Black River, below falls at Elyria, Ohio
Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque, 1819	1853	S. Baird	Black River Elgria Ohio (above falls)
Etheostoma caeruleum Storer, 1845	1853	S. Baird	Elyria, Ohio
Etheostoma maculatum Kirtland, 1840	1853	S. Baird	Elyria, Ohio
Aecidium nesaeae W.R.Gerard	1894	Kelsey, F.D.	Lorain County, Ohio
Ammodramus savannarum pratensis (Vieillot, 1818)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Oberlin Field W of Athletic Park, Lorain, Ohio, USA
Aulacomnium palustre (Hedw.) Schwägr.	1894	F. D. Kelsey
Carpodacus purpureus purpureus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Morgan's Woods, NW Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA
Catharus ustulatus (Nuttall, 1840)	1894	Jones, L. (Lynds)	Morgan's Woods, NW Oberlin, Lorain, Ohio, USA

All 1,145 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries nearby

7 within 5 miles

The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Lorain: 3 past producers, 3 producers, 1 plant. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Gypsum-Anhydrite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Lorain Plant-National Gypsum	Gypsum-Anhydrite	Plant
Lorain Plant - Marathon Steel	Iron	Producer
Lorain Plant - U.S. Steel	Iron	Producer
Lorain Elyria Sand Company, Inc Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
Lorain Elyria Sand Company, Inc Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer
Loraine Loading Dock	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
National Sand & Gravel Co Dredge	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Lorain County

Storms nearby

60 since 1994

The National Weather Service names Lorain in 60 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 35 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 10 flash flood, 2 waterspout. The reports record 2 deaths. 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.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
July 2005	Flash Flood	Lorain	2 killed, $1,200,000	Thunderstorms dumped very heavy rains on the City of Lorain. The heaviest rains fell on the northeastern quadrant of the city where extensive flash flooding occurred. As much as three inches of rain fell between 3 and 4:30 pm as thunderstorms trained over the same small area. An elderly couple was killed around 4:15 pm after they drove their automobile into a flooded underpass on State Route 611 (Henderson Road) just a couple blocks east of State Route 57 (Broadway). The underpass filled with more than 12 feet of water in just a few minutes. Efforts to rescue the couple were unsuccessful. An automated rain gage just south of the underpass recorded 2.56 inches of rain between 3 and 4 pm and a total of 2.76 inches by 4:30 pm. A second underpass on State Route 57 (East 28th Street) was flooded by as much as ten feet of water. Much of Broadway Road was reported to be flowing "like a river" during the peak of the storm. Severe flooding was reported on most of the major thoroughfares in the northeastern portion of Lorain including Elyria Road, North Ridge Road, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Oberlin Avenue. Flood waters on Elyria Road were as much as six feet deep with two to three feet of flowing water reported at other locations. Dozens of vehicles became stranded in the flood waters and rescue efforts were severely hampered by the widespread nature of the flooding. Industrial areas south and west of the Black River were inundated by flood waters. Damage to homes and business in the City of Lorain and Sheffield Township from both flash flooding and basement flooding was extensive. At least 14 families were displaced by flooding. At least five City of Lorain police cars were destroyed by flooding. Flooding also was reported along Beaver Creek on the west side of Lorain. The creek left it's bank and damaged several homes.
November 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,400,000	Thunderstorm winds well in excess of 60 mph caused extensive damage in the City of Lorain and Sheffield Lake. A school in Sheffield Lake lost a large section of roof and suffered extensive water damage. 46 homes in the area were damaged by the strong winds, flying debris and fallen trees. Of this total, eight homes were beyond repair and classified as being destroyed. Several homes in Lorain and surrounding areas were also damaged by fallen trees. Hundreds of trees were downed in the county.
August 2007	Flash Flood	Lorain	$1,500,000	Heavy rain developed across the county during the morning hours of the 7th, and flash flooding quickly developed across northern portions of Lorain County. In the City of Lorain, one report described a man driving down East 28th Street and quickly turning around to avoid becoming stranded in the high water. Shortly after he turned around, he saw cars that continued down the street begin to float in the high water. Floodwaters quickly affected other streets throughout the City of Lorain with numerous reports of stranded cars and vehicle rescues. With conditions deteriorating, roads and underpasses throughout the city were closed. Heavy rainfall also caused flooding of a nursing home and damage to at least forty homes. \|\|In Sheffield Township several rescues were performed on people stranded in the quickly rising waters. Newspaper articles indicate that flooding of buildings also took place in Avon and Vermilion.\|\|Rainfall reports in Lorain County include 1.66 inches at the Lorain-Elyria Airport and 3.77 inches in Sheffield Lake.
September 2005	Flash Flood	Lorain	$1,100,000	no account filed
October 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$300,000	A 68 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured in Avon Lake. Thunderstorm winds downed dozens of trees in Lorain and Avon Lake. A large tree fell on a house in Avon Lake and caused unrepairable structural damage. The house and its contents were a total loss. An adjacent garage was also blown down and destroyed.
June 2014	Flash Flood	Lorain	$120,000	Heavy rainfall around 2 to 4 inches fell over Lorain County on the evening of June 25th. The first round of showers began from 3 to 5 p.m. and was the heaviest from 7 to 9 p.m. The highest amount measured was 3.72 inches in Elyria. This resulted in significant flooding to the area with numerous homes inundated. In Elyria about 8:55 p.m., a manhole cover popped off on Gulf Road, leaving a hole big enough for a submarine, a dispatchers transmission said. At 9:20 p.m., state Route 57 north between state Route 254 and Schadden Road in Elyria was blocked off, said police Lt. Lee Frank. Martin's Run Creek in Lorain caused flooding of several streets between West 35th Street and Oberlin Avenue. The Oberlin Police Department confirmed there were areas of flooding all throughout the city of Oberlin. Oberlin streets were blocked in many areas because of high water, including Prospect Street, North Main Street and South Professor Street.
June 2011	Hail	Lorain	$100,000	Nickel to golf ball sized hail was observed. Many vehicles were damaged by the hail.
August 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$75,000	A line of thunderstorms moved off of Lake Erie and caused damage from Lorain east along the lake shore to Sheffield Lake. Many trees were down, including some on houses. Power outages were reported across the area. Wind gusts were estimated to be at least 60 mph.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$50,000	Trees and power lines were downed. One large limb fell on a house. Wind gusts were estimated at 60 miles per hour.
September 1994	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$50,000	Trees and large limbs were downed, some on power lines. At least one home was damaged by a fallen tree.
March 1998	Storm Surge/Tide	Lorain	$50,000	no account filed
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$35,000	Thunderstorm winds toppled a large tree on top of two cars. One car was destroyed, the second heavily damaged.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$25,000	Three power poles were reported down, and wires were in the road. Also, a large limb was reported down.
April 2023	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$20,000	Large tree downed onto a house in Lorain. Visible damage to house.
October 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$20,000	Around a dozen trees were downed in and around Lorain. One tree landed on the roof of a house in Lorain and caused some damage.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$15,000	A 61 mph wind gust was measured in Lorain and many trees were knocked down in Amherst and Lorain.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree in the City of Lorain. The tree landed on a parked car causing considerable damage.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed at least three trees and several large limbs.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several trees.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Several trees were reported down from the City of Lorain to Grafton. A tree was also reported down in Lagrange Township.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Several large trees and power lines were reported down.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
July 1998	Flash Flood	Lorain	$10,000	Heavy thunderstorm rain caused flooding of many roads.
October 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a couple trees near the intersection of State Route 57 and East 36th Street. One of the trees blocked a portion of State Route 57.
January 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	A wind gust of 65 mph was measured by a trained spotter. Also, trees and large limbs were reported down from the thunderstorm wind gusts.
May 2002	Hail	Lorain	$5,000	Dime size hail was reported three miles east of Lorain.
June 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$5,000	Trees and power lines were downed.
June 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$3,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs which blocked roads.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$3,000	Several trees and large limbs were reported down in Lakeview Park in Lorain.
June 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$3,000	Two trees were reported down in Lorain and Avon Lake.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	South Lorain	$2,000	Gazebo was damaged in the 1800 block of East 33rd Street of Lorain. Numerous trees were downed in the same area.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed numerous large tree branches in the area.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a few large tree limbs.
August 2005	Hail	Lorain	$2,000	Nickel size hail was observed.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$2,000	Thunderstorm winds downed two large tree limbs.
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	$1,000	Thunderstorm winds downed a tree.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	South Lorain	-	About 25 trees downed in and near Oakwood Park in Lorain.
August 2023	Hail	Lorain	-	Hail up to quarter-size in Lorain.
June 2022	Hail	South Lorain	-	Hail up to nickel-size at Elyria Avenue and North Ridge Road in Elyria.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	Utility pole snapped in Lorain.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	Numerous trees and power poles down in Lorain and two miles north of Lorain. Time estimated via radar.
May 2014	Hail	Lorain	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
July 2011	Hail	Lorain	-	Nickel sized was reported.
August 2011	Hail	Lorain	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
May 2011	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Multiple thunderstorms move over Lorain County between the 25th and 26th of May. The storms on the 25th saturated the ground, allowing for rapid runoff from storms on the 26th. A storm moved over Lorain County late on the 26th with rainfall rates over an inch per hour. Numerous roads were flooded and several were closed. In the hardest hit city of Lorain there was waist deep flooding in Gulf Street and Ohio Street near the elementary school.
May 2011	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Lorain County experienced their third straight day of flooding on the 14th. Storms brought around an inch of additional rainfall, but this in addition to already swollen streams and saturated ground cover was enough to trigger additional flooding. Several creeks came out of their banks and water was running across several roads. The speed that the water rose caught motorists by surprise as many cars stalled in high water.
May 2010	Hail	Lorain	-	Penny sized hail was observed.
August 2001	Waterspout	Lorain	-	A large waterspout was observed on Lake Erie approximately four miles offshore of Lorain. No damage occurred.
September 2001	Waterspout	Lorain	-	Three waterspouts were observed on Lake Erie just northeast of Lorain. No damage occurred.
October 1999	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Thunderstorms dumped 1.6 inches of rain on the City of Lorain in less than one hour. Over a foot of standing water was reported on many streets and East 28th Street had to be closed for a period of time. Other streets with flooding included Popular, Olive, Oakdale and West 17th.
August 1997	Tornado (F0)	Lorain	-	A tornado briefly touched down near the intersection of Leavitt and Skyline Roads one mile south of Lake Erie. No damage was reported.
August 1997	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	Heavy thunderstorm rain caused flooding of roads, underpasses and low lying areas. Some roads were impassable and closed to traffic.
September 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	no account filed
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	no account filed
July 1999	Hail	Lorain	-	no account filed
January 1998	Flash Flood	Lorain	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	Lorain	-	no account filed
November 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Lorain	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lorain 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Penfield Junction	2.2 miles	15
South Lorain	2.6 miles	15
Beaver Park	3.6 miles	15
Oakpoint (historical)	3.7 miles	15
Vincent	4.2 miles	16
Amherst	4.3 miles	15
Lake Breeze	4.5 miles	16
Sheffield Lake	4.9 miles	16

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 Lorain	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q609698	The 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 1077529. 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.

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.