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is an All-American City located in Butler and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Formerly in Lemon, Turtlecreek, and Franklin townships, Middletown was incorporated by the Ohio General Assembly on February 11, 1833, and became a city in 1886. The city was the home of AK Steel Holding Corporation (formerly Armco), a major steel works founded in 1900 until offices were moved to West Chester Township, Ohio in 2007, Rogers Ltd., Inc. (a.k.a. Rogers Jewelers) but AK Steel's factory still resides in Middletown. Middletown contains a small municipal airport known as Hook Field, (airport code MWO), but is no longer served by commercial airliners, only for general aviation. A regional campus of Miami University is located in Middletown.
The population of Middletown as of the 2000 census was 51,605, as Middletown continues to focus on an outward growth from annexation rather than from interior redevelopment. Its name is believed to have come from its founder, Stephen Vail, but questions remain unanswered as to why. One local historian stated that the town received its name because Mr. Vail had come from Middletown, New Jersey. Another writer believed that the town was named Middletown because it was the midway point of navigation on the Great Miami River, which was then considered a navigable stream. Vail centered the town in Fractional Section 28 of Town 2, Range 4 North. The Towne Mall, located near I-75, is the main shopping center of the city.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.8 square miles (66.8 km