Lorain

City and port in Lorain County, north-central Ohio, USA, at the mouth of the Black River on Lake Erie, 40 km/25 mi southwest of Cleveland; population (2000) 68,700. An important Great Lakes port, it has shipbuilding yards and manufactures steel, communications equipment, cars, and heavy construction equipment. Tourism and commercial fishing are also significant factors in the regional economy.

The community was first settled in 1807 and was incorporated As Charlestown in 1836; it was renamed Lorain in 1874. Its industrial sector slumped when the city suffered many plant closings and the loss of thousands of jobs during the 1980s and early 1990s.