TOLEDO

TOLEDO, the fourth largest city in Ohio in the early twenty-first century, began in 1680 as a French trading post. Ceded to the British in 1763, it became part of the U.S. Northwest Territory in 1787. Canals and railroads helped establish Toledo as a major inland port and center of industry. During the Progressive Era, Toledo won national recognition for urban reform. Historically, Toledo has been a major producer of glass and automotive products, but these industries declined, and from 1970 to 2000 employment in the Toledo metropolitan area decreased markedly. During this same period, population declined from 383,062 to 313,619, although city leaders question the accuracy of the 2000 federal census. Toledo has experienced other problems. A 1967 race riot caused extensive property damage, injuries, and arrests. Public schools were closed for several weeks in 1976 and 1978 because of teacher strikes. In July 1979 a bitter dispute between the city government and police and firemen led to a two-day general strike and costly arson fires. In the 1980s and 1990s, Toledo sought to emphasize its strong medical, cultural, and higher educational institutions. New downtown buildings and the Portside festival marketplace along the Maumee River were indicative of business leaders' commitment to the city.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jones, Marnie. Holy Toledo: Religion and Politics in the Life of "Golden Rule" Jones. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1998.

Korth, Philip A., and Margaret R. Beegle. I Remember Like Today: The Auto-Lite Strike of 1934. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1988.

McGucken, William. Lake Erie Rehabilitated: Controlling Cultural Eutrophication, 1960s–1990s. Akron, Ohio: University of Akron Press, 2000.

John B.Weaver/a. e.

See alsoBoundary Disputes Between States ; Canals ; Great Lakes ; Labor ; Michigan, Upper Peninsula of ; Northwest Territory ; Ohio ; Railroads .