Newark, OH

Located 33 miles east of Columbus, Ohio, Newark is home to more than 46,000 residents. Newark is best known for having one of the Midwest's most interesting archaeological sites. The Newark Earthworks are the remnants of another time in the area's history - a time when the Hopewell Indians, a mound-building culture, peopled the land. From 100 BC to 500 AD, the Hopewell built these mounds, probably to be used as spots for social gatherings, trade, worship and ceremonies.

The remaining mounds cover several square miles of Newark. Probably the most interesting of these is the Octagon. The complex seems to have operated as a lunar observatory. When the moon is at the northernmost point of its orbit, it rises within one-half of one degree of the octagon's exact center. This is twice as precise as Stonehenge.

The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks as a whole was one of 14 sites nominated in January 2008 by the Department of the Interior for potential submission by the United States to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

Newark was once more rural and agriculture-based, but today features a manufacturing-heavy, but also well-diversified economic base. This is evidenced by its mixed workforce, which features both blue- and white-collar workers. Overall, workers in Newark tend to be in office support positions, sales or food service.

Newark features a long list of corporate citizens. Some of the more famous include Longaberger Company, an artisan-style basketmaker whose products are sold at home parties, and Holophane, which was founded in 1898 and is one of the world's oldest manufacturers of lighting-related products.

Industry also makes a significant impact. According to Business First, Newark is home to two of the top 25 industrial parks in central Ohio: the Newark Industrial Park and the Central Ohio Aerospace & Technology Center. The Newark Industrial Park hosts a variety of manufacturing heavy-hitters, including DOW Chemical and General Electric.

The Central Ohio Aerospace & Technology Center, meanwhile, sits on the site of the former Newark Air Force Base. The center is estimated to have a $200 million economic impact and is home to 18 different companies.

Newark also boasts a third industrial park - Tamarack Industrial Park, home to International Paper, and others.

The city's largest employers come from a mix of industries, including health care, government, education, retail and manufacturing:

• Licking County Memorial Hospital
• State Farm Insurance Company
• Licking County Government
• Owens Corning Corporation
• Newark City School District
• Meijer
• Anomatic Corporation

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Newark has a large population (almost 39 percent) of renters. The majority of Newark's housing stock is single-family homes, although there are also significant percentages of small apartment buildings and apartment complexes or high-rises. Most homes tend to have three bedrooms or fewer and were typically built before 1994.

The most expensive areas of Newark tend to be in the west-central and southwestern sections of town, with the more moderately priced neighborhoods in the northern part of the city. The more inexpensive neighborhoods are in the southeastern section of the city.

• Vanatta: This neighborhood is to the north, near Licking Springs Trout & Golf Club and two other golf courses. The mostly quiet area features a mix of owners and renters. Residents tends to be managers or other professionals or in sales. It is popular with a mix of ages, although certain neighborhoods more specifically draw seniors or young singles.
• North Central Ohio Technical College/Route 16: The area just north of Mound Builders Country Club is the city's most expensive. Residents tend to be upper-middle income and are of mixed ages. Newark's North Central Ohio Technical College adds to the area's cultures.
• City Center: Newark's historic City Center draws mostly renters. The area, with its smaller, historic housing, is popular with seniors and some young professionals.
• Swans: The city's southeasternmost section is also its cheapest. The area boasts mostly smaller housing that draws a mix of owners and renters. The mostly lower-middle-income residents tend to work in manufacturing.

FAMILY FUN

Dawes Arboretum: The nonprofit arboretum features more than 1,700 acres of plant collections, gardens and natural areas. The area also offers eight miles of hiking trails and a four-mile auto tour.

Newark Earthworks: Sometimes also referred to as Mound Builders Park, this area showcases the mound-building work of the area's original inhabitants, the Hopewell culture. The park features three sections of preserved native earthwork:

• Great Circle Earthworks is a 1,180-foot-wide circle, the largest circular earthwork in the Americas.
• Octagon Earthworks was used as a lunar observatory and is large enough to hold four Roman Colosseums.

Longaberger Corporate Headquarters: It's not the norm to put a company's headquarters on a list of attractions, but this building is anything but the norm. The headquarters for the basketmaking company is shaped like a gigantic rendition of the company's top seller, the Medium Market Basket.

Taft Reserve: The 450-acre reserve features more than six miles of horseback riding and hiking trails.

FOR VISITORS

National Heisey Glass Museum: The museum showcases more than 4,500 pieces of glassware produced by A. H. Heisey & Company in Newark from 1896 to 1957.

William C. Kraner Nature Center: This park district facility features a hands-on replicated archaeological dig, a Hopewell burial mound replica, a bird-watching window and computer workstations.

The Works: An interactive museum geared toward children, the Works features exhibits about art, technology and history on its five-acre campus.

LOCAL MEDIA

The Newark Advocate is the town's daily newspaper. Area radio stations include:

• WLRY, Channel 85.5 (Christian Contemporary)
• WOUZ, Channel 90.1 (Public Radio)
• WCOL, Channel 92.3 (Country)
• WSNY, Channel 94.7 (Adult Contemporary)
• WNCI, Channel 97.9 (Top 40)
• WBZX, Channel 99.7 (Rock)
• WJZA, Channel 103.5 (Smooth Jazz)
• WYBZ, Channel 107.3 (Oldies)
• WCKX, Channel 107.5 (Hip-Hop)