| Wapakoneta, Ohio | |
| Settlement Type: | City |
| Nickname: | Home of the First Man on the Moon, Home of Neil Armstrong, Moon City, Wapak |
| Pushpin Map: | Ohio#USA |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Pushpin Label: | Wapakoneta |
| Coordinates: | 40.5656°N -84.1911°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name1: | Ohio |
| Subdivision Name2: | Auglaize |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1782 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated |
| Established Date2: | March 2, 1849 |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Thomas A. Stinebaugh (R) |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 17.13 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 6.61 |
| Area Land Km2: | 17.00 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 6.56 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.13 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.05 |
| Elevation Ft: | 896 |
| Population Total: | 9957 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 585.79 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 1517.14 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Postal Code: | 45895 |
| Area Code: | 419, 567 |
| Website: | http://www.wapakoneta.net |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 39-80766[2] |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 2397191 |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Wapakoneta (locally) (commonly shortened to “Wapak”) is a city in and the county seat of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States.[3] Located along the Auglaize River, the city is about north of Dayton and south of Toledo. The population was 9,957 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Wapakoneta micropolitan area, which is included in the Lima–Van Wert–Celina combined statistical area.
Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, grew up in Wapakoneta, which is now the home of the Armstrong Air & Space Museum.
In 1748, the French built a trading post (Fort au Glaize, also known as "Wapakoneta Trading Post" or "AuGlaize Trading Post") about a half-mile northeast of the future site of Wapakoneta. After being re-established in 1760 as "Francis Duchouquet's Trading Post," the British later took over this territory after the French ceded it following defeat in the Seven Years' War. Neither they nor the later Americans (after independence) built a succeeding fort here. French-Canadian traders later reestablished a trading post at the site in 1784, which was abandoned after the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794.[4]
The city itself was established in the 1780s as a Shawnee settlement called "Waughpaughkonnetta" (possibly derived from the Shawnee word "Wa-po'kanite," meaning "the place of white bones"). After the Shawnee tribe was removed to Kansas in 1831, Wapakoneta was platted in 1833 and later named as the seat of Auglaize County in 1848.[5]
The Armstrong Air & Space Museum opened in Wapakoneta in 1972.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 6.26sqmi, of which 6.21sqmi is land and 0.05sqmi is water.[6]
Wapakoneta is on the Auglaize River and includes parts of Duchouquet, Pusheta, and Moulton Townships.
As of the census[7] of 2010, there were 9,867 people, 4,037 households, and 2,614 families residing in the city. The population density was 1588.9PD/sqmi. There were 4,332 housing units at an average density of 697.6/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 97.1% White, 0.4% African American, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.6% of the population.
There were 4,037 households, of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.2% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% 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 2.95.
The median age in the city was 37 years. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 24.4% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.
Wapakoneta is home to Wapakoneta High School. The city has a public library, the main branch of the Auglaize County Public Library.[8]
Wapakoneta has one sister city, as designated by the Sister Cities International: Lengerich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
Lengerich's neighboring municipalities, Ladbergen and Lienen, are sister cities with Wapakoneta's neighbors New Knoxville and Saint Marys, respectively.