Clinton County, Ohio

Clinton County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Wilmington
Year Organized: 1810
Square Miles: 411

Court House:

46 South South Street
County Courthouse
Wilmington, OH 45177-2280

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The county took its name from George Clinton, the Vice-President of the United States in 1810.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On February 19, 1810, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Clinton County. The county took its name from George Clinton, the Vice-President of the United States in 1810. Many of the county's early residents were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers). They played an important role in the Underground Railroad during the 1830s, 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s, helping runaway slaves find freedom in the North. The Quakers also established Wilmington College during the 1870s.

Clinton County is located in southwestern Ohio. The county is primarily rural, with just over one percent of its 411 square miles deemed to be urban areas. Wilmington is the largest metropolitan area, with a population of 11,921 people in 2000. It is also the county seat and home to a National Weather Service station. In 2000, the county's next largest community was Blanchester, with a population of 4,220 people. Unlike many of Ohio's predominantly rural counties, Clinton County experienced more than a fourteen percent growth between 1990 and 2000, raising the county's total population to 40,543 residents. The county averages almost ninety-nine people per square mile.

Most Clinton County residents work in the transportation sector. In this order, manufacturing, sales, service industry, and government positions rank second, third, fourth, and fifth in employment opportunities for Clinton County residents. Agriculture ranks sixth, although the county consists of some of the most fertile and productive soil in the United States. In 1999, the per capita income was just under twenty-six thousand dollars, with nine percent of the population living in poverty.

Most voters in Clinton County claim to be independents, yet in recent years, they have overwhelmingly supported Republican Party candidates at the national level.

Sources

Clinton County, Ohio History Central, July 23, 2008,

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1914&nm=Clinton-County

Neighboring Counties:

Greene County (north)
Fayette County (northeast)
Highland County (southeast)
Brown County (south)
Clermont County (southwest)
Warren County (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Adams	township
- Blanchester	village	Incorporated Area
- Clark	township
- Clarksville	village	Incorporated Area
- Liberty	township
- Martinsville	village	Incorporated Area
- Midland	village	Incorporated Area
- New Vienna	village	Incorporated Area
- Port William	village	Incorporated Area
- Richland	township
- Sabina	village	Incorporated Area
- Wilmington (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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