Ohio

Ohio is the seventeenth to become a state on March 1, 1803. Ohio was discovered by a French explorer and became British property after the French and Indian Wars. In 1783, the US obtained the land after the Revolutionary War. Ohio is one of the most industrious states, with major manufacturing plants located in or near major cities. Despite being the 34th biggest state in the US, Ohio is one of the the most populous states in the United States, placing in at the seventh most populous state as of 2013 with a population of 11,570,808 people.

Ohio’s state flag is the only state flag in all of the 50 states to not be rectangular. Instead, the flag is a shallowtail design, which was designed by John Eisemann in 1901 and adopted one year later. This symbolic state flag features a large blue triangle with seventeen white stars in it to represent the other seventeen states in the Union. There are three red and two horizontal stripes outside of the blue triangle which symbolize the hills and valleys of Ohio. Inside of the blue starred triangle is a red circle outlined in white, representing the buckeye nut that is native to Ohio (the tree which is comes from, the Buckeye Tree, is also the official state tree).

Ohio has been declared “the birthplace of aviation” due to the Wright Brothers, Wilbur and Orville. While their first flight took place in North Carolina, the brothers were residents of the state. The state has several aviation museums, all of which are beneficial to the tourism of Ohio. The aviation industry also provides jobs for millions of Ohio residents.

Many Ohio natives have become astronauts, including Neil Armstrong and John Glenn. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon in 1969 and John Glenn, not only was he a senator for the state of Ohio, but he was also a U.S. Marine Corps aviator. While he was still a senator for Ohio, Glenn flew back into space on the Discovery Space Shuttle in 1998.

More places to visit: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland to view history about musical legends. Hopewell Culture National Historic Park located in Chillicothe is known for having earthworks in many geometric shapes and sizes.