History
Chesapeake is derived from the Algonquin name for "place where water is spread out".
Before the turn of the 19th Century, the following schools existed within Union Township now known as the Chesapeake Union Exempted Village School District:
Bethel - Located next to the Methodist Church at Bethel (One room - all eight grades)
Bear Creek - Located on Bear Creek about one and one-half miles
Big Branch - Located at the fork of the road on Big Branch
Chesapeake Central - A six room building located at the foot of the Sixth Street bridge in Chesapeake
Upper Chesapeake - A two room building located on Rockwood Avenue in Chesapeake
Coryville - Located near the Defender Methodist Church in Coryville
Getaway - Located next to the Methodist Church in Getaway
Henson Hollow - Located at the mouth of the creek in Henson Hollow
Rankins Creek - Located at the mouth of Rankins Creek in Getaway
Red Oak - Located two miles from the top of the hill on Greasy Ridge
Union - Located on Route 775 at Bartrumsville
Bradrick - A two room building at the top of Bradrick Hill in Bradrick
All eight grades were taught in these buildings until the existence of the first high school in 1921.
Chesapeake High School had its beginning in the fall of 1921 when a small group of Chesapeake ninth graders were sent home from Central Junior High School in Huntington because of overcrowded conditions.
Parents met with the Chesapeake Board of Education and arrangements were made for the temporary use of a second floor room in the Fraternal Hall Building - then used only for lodge meetings, church services, and a grocery store. The one large room was a classroom, gymnasium and study hall. There wasn't a library, no modern heating or lighting, and no laboratory equipment of any kind. One teacher, Willard McDaniel of Rio Grande, Ohio, taught all subjects consiting of English, math, health, and social sciences.
The total enrollment that first year was twenty-eight, all freshmen and sophmores. (The latter had attended Proctorville High School in their freshman year.)
The next year, 1922, the school was moved to the first floor of the same building where it occupied two large rooms. Another teacher, John Dillon of Proctorville, was added to the one-man faculty.
In the fall of 1923, the upper grades of the elementary school and the high school exchanged buildings; there the high school remained for two years.
At the end of the third year in the spring of 1924, Chesapeake High School held its first graduation exercises in the Christian Church.
The second graduating class (1925) was slightly larger; there were six regular students and three who completed only a small part of their high school work at Chesapeake. Exercises were again held in the Christian Church.
During this time a building project was under way, and in the fall of 1925 the first high school building was ready for use. Enrollment had increased; new teachers were added; and the first adequate equipment was provided.
Steadily increasing demands for better facilities made necessary, in t1948, the addition of ten rooms to the high school building. These rooms housed most of the elementary students in the district; thus eliminating one and two-room buildings.
Chesapeake's rapid growth soon made necessary more extensive building programs and after several years of planning sessions, meetings, and seemingly fruitless preparations, a new high school and elementary school were built in 1956.
When school opened in 1956, three buildings were in existence, East Elementary, West Elementary, and High School.
In 1989, the first high school building (East Elementary) was replaced with the construction of a new high school that exists today.
Geography
Chesapeake is located at 38°25'41?N 82°27'17?W (38.428066, -82.454832). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.56 square miles (1.45 km2), of which 0.47 square miles (1.22 km2) is land and 0.09 square miles (0.23 km2) is water.
Demographics
U.S. Decennial Census 2010
Chesapeake is a village in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. The population was 745 at the 2010 census. It lies across the Ohio River from Huntington, West Virginia, at the mouth of Symmes Creek. A bridge across the Ohio River connects Chesapeake to Huntington's downtown area.
At one time, this was the only bridge connection across the Ohio River linking Ohio to Huntington. In recent years, bridges across the Ohio River connecting Ohio to Huntington's East and West sides have been built.
Chesapeake is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area(MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649.
Government
The city is run by an elected Mayor-council government system.
Education
Chesapeake Union Exempted Village School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and Chesapeake High School.[10]Chesapeake has a public library, a branch of Briggs Lawrence County Public Library.
Chesapeake High School, commonly referred to locals as "The Peake" is a public high school in Chesapeake, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Chesapeake Union Exempted Village School District. Chesapeake's first high school was established in 1924 at what is now the Chesapeake Community Center. Their athletic teams' nickname is the Panthers. Their school colors are purple and white. They have football, basketball, baseball, softball, track and field, golf, soccer, volleyball, and wrestling programs. The athletic programs compete in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The principal of Chesapeake is Chris Smith, and the assistant principal is Aaron Rice. In 2013, the total enrollment of Chesapeake High School was approximately 650 students.