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city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States
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East Liverpool is a city in Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River at the convergence of the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia borders, about 30 miles (48 km) from both Pittsburgh and Youngstown. The city is most notable for its pottery industry, which was at one time the largest in the US.
Native American petroglyphs exist in the area surrounding East Liverpool, including on Babbs Island and near the Little Beaver Creek. Before the arrival of European Americans, Mingo, Lenape, and Wyandot peoples lived in the area until the Battle of Fallen Timbers led to the Ohio Country's colonization by European-Americans.
The Public Land Survey System of the United States was established by Congressional legislation in 1785 to provide an orderly mechanism for opening the Northwest Territory for settlement. The ordinance directed the Geographer of the United States, Thomas Hutchins, to survey an initial east–west baseline. Hutchins began in 1786, using as his starting point a stake on the north bank of the Ohio River placed by a 1785 survey team from Virginia and Pennsylvania to fix their common north–south boundary. Hutchins' work, completed in 1787, established the Seven Ranges. This survey is believed to be "the first mathematically designed system and nationally conducted cadastral survey in any modern country" and is memorialized by the Beginning Point of the U.S. Public Land Survey monument.
East Liverpool traces its founding to 1798 when Irish immigrant Thomas Fawcett purchased 1,100 acres of land along the Ohio River in what was then Jefferson County. In 1802, he platted the town of St. Clair, named for territorial governor Arthur St. Clair. It was called Fawcettstown for a time before being renamed Liverpool in 1816, after the port city of Liverpool, England. Over its first few decades, a grist mill, multiple stores, and wharves opened in the town. The first schoolhouse opened in 1820, and the first religious center opened in 1834 when an Episcopal Church was established on a 4th Street site provided by town developers. Liverpool was incorporated as East Liverpool in 1834 to avoid confusion with Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio.
Although Pittsburgh-based entrepreneurs invested in the town, it was smaller during this period than the nearby towns of New Lisbon and Wellsville. The arrival of English potter James Bennett in 1839 brought the establishment of the first bottle kiln site in East Liverpool, launching the town's largest industry and bringing in multiple waves of Western European immigration throughout the late 19th century. Another large employer outside of the pottery industry was the Crucible Steel Company in nearby Midland, Pennsylvania. By 1880, East Liverpool had grown to be the largest city in the county, and it reached over 20,000 residents before 1910.
In 1905, the first city hospital opened. As of 1914, East Liverpool was served by the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad. On October 22, 1934, local police and FBI agents led by Melvin Purvis shot and killed notorious bank robber Pretty Boy Floyd in a cornfield north of town after Floyd fled East Liverpool, and his body was returned to the town for embalming.
The western downtown area was cleared in the 1960s to make way for the 4-lane expansion of Ohio State Route 11. The city reached its peak population of more than 26,000 in 1970, but its pottery industry had already begun to decline by the mid-1960s. As with other industries, production moved to developing countries where labor costs were cheaper. This cost many jobs and, ultimately, population in the Upper Ohio Valley area, as people moved away in search of work. Many of the city's downtown businesses withdrew to strip malls in nearby Calcutta or left the area outright.
In the mid-1990s, the city renovated its downtown district. To improve its urban design, it installed Depression-era lightposts, developed a new center called Devon's Diamond, and reconstructed the old high school's clock tower. In 2010, East Liverpool lost its position as the most populous city in the county to Salem after 130 years and was later withdrawn from being a principal city in the micropolitan area. Restoration of two buildings in the Diamond Historic District and East Fifth Street Historic District began in 2024 as part of a $1.2 million incentive received from the state government.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 4.76 square miles (12.33 km2), of which 4.56 square miles (11.81 km2) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km2) is water.
Neighborhoods include:
As of the 2020 census, East Liverpool had a population of 9,958. The median age was 38.7 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.6 males age 18 and over.
99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 4,243 households in East Liverpool, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.1% were married-couple households, 22.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 4,970 housing units, of which 14.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.7%.
As of the census of 2010, there were 11,195 people, 4,601 households, and 2,892 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,455.0 inhabitants per square mile (947.9/km2). There were 5,316 housing units at an average density of 1,165.8 per square mile (450.1/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 91.7% White, 4.6% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.1% of the population.
There were 4,601 households, of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the city was 37.6 years. 25.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24% were from 25 to 44; 26.5% were from 45 to 64; and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.6% male and 52.4% female.
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,089 people, 5,261 households, and 3,424 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,010.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,162.3/km2). There were 5,743 housing units at an average density of 1,320.8 per square mile (510.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.85% White, 4.81% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.72% of the population.
There were 5,261 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 16.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,138, and the median income for a family was $27,500. Males had a median income of $27,346 versus $18,990 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,656. About 21.5% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.2% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.
The potteries of East Liverpool became the national center of ceramic toilet and table wares, with 85 firms operating at one time or another making two-thirds of the national output from 1880 to 1950. East Liverpool's pottery district encompasses the city itself and the surrounding towns of Chester, Newell, and Wellsville. In 1887, East Liverpool had 21 general ware potteries that employed 2,558 operatives. By 1923, the city's 17 pottery firms had 7,000 employees and operated 270 kilns, with $25 million in annual output (equivalent to $472.41 million in 2025). At various times, some of the largest potteries included the Goodwin Baggott Pottery; Knowles, Taylor & Knowles; Taylor, Smith & Taylor; The Hall China Company; and Homer Laughlin China Company.
Englishman James Bennett established the industry in 1839, making use of good transportation and rich local clays. It quickly became the community's leading industry. East Liverpool became known as "The Crockery City". Potters from Staffordshire, England, began pouring into East Liverpool, attracted by higher wages and the prospect of land ownership. By 1879, there were 24 potteries in East Liverpool, nearly all operated by English immigrants. As late as 1900, East Liverpool remained "essentially a transplanted potting town of Englishmen". Until the turn of the century about 85% percent of the population could trace its heritage to England. After the English, the second largest ethnic group in East Liverpool were German settlers. From 1870 to 1890, the city more than doubled in population each decade as it attracted new industrial workers with the growth of the pottery industry.
In the mid-19th century, East Liverpool produced most of the yellowware pottery used in the United States. Among the most famous of East Liverpool's ceramics was the porcelain known as Lotus Ware. Produced by Knowles, Taylor & Knowles in the 1890s, this Moorish- and Persian-influenced artware swept the competition at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Museum of Ceramics in downtown East Liverpool has the world's largest public display of Lotus Ware.
Two potteries continue to operate in the area: the American Mug & Stein Company and the Fiesta Tableware Company, formerly Homer Laughlin. Holly Black's ceramic-themed novel Doll Bones is set in East Liverpool due to its history in the industry.
In 1977, a toxic waste incinerator was proposed by Waste Technologies Industries, Inc. (WTI) in the city's East End neighborhood. Local investors believed the incinerator could be an alternative to the declining ceramics industry. However, ambiguity surrounding its potential impacts on public health and the environment led to protests against its construction. In 1991, a march against the incinerator's construction resulted in 33 people, including actor Martin Sheen, being arrested for trespassing. Campaigners pressured Governor George Voinovich through demonstrations at the Governor's Mansion, eventually prompting a limited health study and a moratorium on new incinerator permits, though WTI was exempted.
Text from the Wikipedia article “East Liverpool, Ohio”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.