Founding
The township of Boardman Ohio was founded by Elijah Boardman in the late 1780's. The northern areas are suburban spillovers from Youngstown Ohio. Traditionally, Boardman was an agricultural community with grain crops and apple orchards.
Growth
Boardman originally had a population of 873 people. In the early years, roads in Boardman were mostly all dirt and poorly maintained. The township was divided into quadrants, and a farmer in each area was responsible for maintaining the roads in his area. Significant growth of Boardman did not take place until the 1920's. Due to the depression in the 1930's, growth was at a stand still but continued after. The township reached a population of 5,500 by 1930. Boardman has a population of 35,376 (2013). Boardman has shrunk 4.94% since 2000.
Significant Changes
Urbanization did not take place until after World War I. During this time period, subdivisions were developed along both sides of Southern Boulevard from the Youngstown city line south to Mathews Road. The state of Ohio and Mahoning county was responsible for maintaining the roads. With the improvement of Market Street and Glenwood Avenue in the 1930s and with more frequent use of the automobile, additional subdivisions were developed. These included Forest Glen, Ridgewood Estates and The Boardman Park Allotment. With developing these neighborhoods, this is when the residential era started in Boardman, and these areas are still in the township today. Boardman currently consists of over 500 streets and 164 cul-de-sacs, with a radius of 144.258 miles.