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Ohio is a midwestern U.S. state stretching from the Ohio River and Appalachian Mountains in the south to Lake Erie in the north.

While Ohio was declared a state in 1803 (its boundaries and constitution were approved by Thomas Jefferson), it didn’t get the presidential stamp of approval until 1953. Dwight D. Eisenhower signed and backdated Ohio's admittance to the union.

The state takes its name from the Ohio River. Ohio originated from the Iroquois word ohi-yo’, which means “great river.” Ohio has over 40,000 miles of waterways.

It is known as the “Mother of Modern Presidents.”. Of the eight U.S. Presidents to come from Ohio, only one (Ulysses S. Grant) served two full terms, and four died in office. William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia but moved to Ohio after marrying his wife, who was from North Bend, and he later became an Ohio Senator. He held the shortest term of any president, dying of pneumonia one month after delivering the longest inauguration speech in U.S. presidential history. The seven other presidents from Ohio — Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield (assassinated while in office), Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley (assassinated), William H. Taft and Warren G. Harding (died of a stroke in office) — were born here.

It’s often said that Ohio is the decision state when it comes to presidential elections. That is because only eight presidents have lost in Ohio and gone on to the White House. The last U.S. President to be elected without winning Ohio was John F. Kennedy in 1960.

Ohio’s flag is not rectangular like all the other state flags. Its pennant design is one-of-a-kind. According to the Ohio State Flag Code, the flag is to be folded 17 times to represent Ohio as the 17th state to join the union.