Every couple of months or so different snapshots about the Buckeye State of Ohio will be featured.

Just like the place where you live, Ohio is loaded with facts which very people may actually know.  Being relatively new to Ohio (arriving here about 13 years ago), I am still searching and discovering more.

Ohio is sometimes referred to as the “Buckeye” state.  But, how many people really know what a Buckeye is?  The Buckeye tree is found throughout the state, and its nut is also called a Buckeye.  While the trees are found in other Midwestern locations, only Ohio has adopted it. 

Besides being a nickname for the state, Buckeyes is also used as the name for The Ohio State University’s athletic teams.  To be honest, it seems a bit strange to use the name of a “worthless nut” for a college sports team name.

Ohio was granted statehood in 1803 while Thomas Jefferson was President.  However, does anyone know the rest of the story?  When the American Congress approved statehood for Ohio, they forgot one significant step.  Ohio’s state constitution was not ratified by the federal government.  This error was overlooked until 1953 when President Dwight Eisenhower signed legislation approved by Congress to rectify this oversight. 

Ohio is home to eight of America’s Presidents.  Any Americans who can name them all should be applying for a spot on the game show “Jeopardy.”  With the exception of William Henry Harrison, all were born in Ohio.  Harrison was born in Virginia, but lived in Ohio when he was elected President. 

The remaining Presidents include:  Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, and Warren G. Harding.  There has not been a President from Ohio since Harding (elected in 1920).  Seeing that Harding has been ranked as one of the most inefficient Presidents in history, one might understand why Ohio has been on the Presidential sidelines ever since.