Nathan Perry is recognized by many as the first settler in Lorain County and Azariah Beebe with his wife were the first family. Hostilities with the British forced them to move to Columbia Township. It was named Black River Township in 1817.

In 1820 Augustus Jones and William Murdock who had been ship builders before the War of 1812 were offered land along the mouth of the Black River. They accepted the offer and were the start of Lorain’s ship building industry. By 1836 Lorain was established as a lake port.

Lorain was considered unincorporated known as Black River Village and was renamed in 1837 as Charleston Village. The village was incorporated as Lorain in 1874 and became a city in 1896.

By the mid-20th-century, almost all of Black River Township was encompassed by the City of Lorain.

As of the 2020 census, the City of Lorain had a population of 65,211. It is the ninth largest city in the State of Ohio.