SpringfieldNewsSun.com

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.

Kettering's population grew from 38,000 residents in 1955 to over 69,000 residents by 1970. From 1970 to 1980, the population shrank more than 12 percent. The decline continued through the 2000 census when population fell below 60,000 residents for the first time since the 1960s.