City Of Kettering

Kettering History

The earliest settler in what is now Kettering was John Patterson, a farmer who built the area’s first log cabin in 1798. In 1841, an expanding population forced the creation of Van Buren Township, a name that would remain for more than 100 years.

In November of 1952, voters of Van Buren Township approved the incorporation of the Village of Kettering, named for its most outstanding citizen, the famous philanthropist and inventor of the automobile self-starter, Charles. F. Kettering. A special census in 1955 recorded the village population at 38,118 qualifying it for city status.

Kettering was proclaimed a city on June 24, 1955, by the Secretary of the State of Ohio. Voters approved adoption of a Home Rule Charter and Council-Manager form of government, which went into effect on January 1, 1956. Seven council representatives are elected for four-year terms on a non-partisan basis, one from each of the four districts and two at-large, plus the mayor.

Location: Montgomery County, Ohio, five miles south of Dayton

Land area: 18.4 square miles, (School District, 28 square miles)

Latitude: 39 degrees, 42 minutes, 15 seconds north

Longitude: 84 degrees, 10 minutes, 15 seconds west

Population: 57,862 according to the 2020 census

Annual budget: $65,566,726

Number of City employees: 400 full-time

Number of Sworn Police Officers: 
82

Number of Career Firefighters and Paramedics: 
51

Number of Volunteer Firefighters: 
107

Sister Cities:
 Steyr, Austria; Kettering, England

Miles of Streets: 
250

Housing Units: 
The City of Kettering has 27,602 housing units.

Businesses and Employers: 
Approximately 1,700

Shopping: 16 major shopping areas in the city with nearby access to two major regional malls and downtown Dayton

Climate:
 Kettering is located five miles south of Dayton, which is near the center of the Miami Valley River Valley. Kettering is in a “moderate” climate region. The highest elevation in Kettering is 1,090 feet above sea level; the lowest elevation is 750 feet; and the mean elevation is 920 feet. Precipitation — which is rather evenly distributed throughout the year — and moderate temperatures help to make the Miami Valley a rich agricultural region. High relative humidity during much of the year causes some discomfort to people with allergies. Temperatures of zero or below will be experienced in about four years out of five. Extreme temperatures are usually of short duration. The downward slope of about 700 feet in the 163 miles of the Miami River may have some moderating influence on the winter temperatures in the Miami Valley.

The average last occurrence of freezing temperatures in the spring is mid-April, while the average first occurrence in the autumn is late October. Cold, polar air flowing across the Great Lakes causes much cloudiness.