Sandusky, city, seat (1838) of Erie county, northern Ohio, U.S. It lies along Sandusky Bay (Lake Erie’s largest natural harbour [there bridged to Port Clinton]), about 60 miles (100 km) west of Cleveland. In the 18th century the French and British established trading posts in the area, and Fort Sandusky, which was built by the British in 1745, was burned in May 1763 during Pontiac’s War (a Native American uprising). Sandusky was a supply depot during the War of 1812; Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s naval victory (Sept. 10, 1813) over the British occurred about 25 miles (40 km) northwest, near Put-in-Bay. Previously known as Ogontz Place, named for an Ottawa Indian chief, the site was settled (1816) by Connecticut residents who had been awarded the land for losses suffered from British raids during the American Revolution. It was also briefly known as Portland. The present name (from a Wyandot [Wendat] Indian word meaning “cold water” or “pure water”) was adopted in 1818. The first railroad arrived in 1835. In the 1850s Sandusky was a terminus of the Underground Railroad, an escape route for slaves. Johnson’s Island in Sandusky Bay was a prison for Confederate officers during the American Civil War.
Its harbour location south of Marblehead Peninsula and a cluster of offshore islands (notably Kelleys Island) has made Sandusky a focal point for a popular summer recreation area, and tourism is a major economic asset. Basic to the economy are fish markets, the lake trade (especially coal shipping), wineries, and industry (notably the manufacture of food processing equipment, steel, iron castings, automotive parts, chemicals and plastic, and paper products). The Firelands campus (1967) of Bowling Green State University is in Huron, 10 miles (16 km) east. Inc. town, 1824; city, 1845. Pop. (2000) 27,844; Sandusky Metro Area, 79,551; (2010) 25,793; Sandusky Metro Area, 77,079.