Darke County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Greenville
Year Organized: 1809
Square Miles: 600

Court House:

520 S. Broadway Street
County Courthouse
Greenville, OH 45331-1927

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Residents named the county in honor of General William Darke, a hero of the American Revolution.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On January 3, 1809, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Darke County. Residents named the county in honor of General William Darke, a hero of the American Revolution. In 1795, General Anthony Wayne and the chiefs of thirteen Indian tribes signed the Treaty of Greeneville, forcing the natives to move to the northwestern corner of what would become Ohio. The sides signed the treaty at Fort Greene Ville, located in modern-day Darke County.

Darke County is located in the western part of Ohio. Its western border helps form the boundary between Ohio and Indiana. The county seat is Greenville, which is the largest city in the county with a population of 13,294 people in 2000. Approximately eighty-five percent of Darke County's six hundred square miles are covered in farms. Only 1.3 percent of the county is deemed to be urban. The county averages almost eighty-nine people living in each square mile. Between 1995 and 2000, the county experienced a three-tenths of one percent drop in population, a trend that holds true for many of Ohio's more rural counties, as residents seek better opportunities in the state's larger cities. In 2000, the county's residents numbered 53,309 people.

Most of Darke County's residents find employment in agricultural positions. In the state, the county ranks first in corn and soybean production and second in hog raising. Manufacturing, retail, and service positions finish second, third, and fourth respectively. In 1999, the per capita income was 23,678 dollars, with just over seven percent of the county's residents living below the poverty level.

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

Markswoman Annie Oakley ranks among the county's more famous residents. She is buried near Brock, Ohio.

Sources

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

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1919&nm=Darke-County

Neighboring Counties:

Mercer County (north)
Shelby County (northeast)
Miami County (east)
Montgomery County (southeast)
Preble County (south)
Wayne County, Indiana (southwest)
Randolph County, Indiana (west)
Jay County, Indiana (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Adams	township
- Allen	township
- Ansonia	village	Incorporated Area
- Arcanum	village	Incorporated Area
- Brown	township
- Castine	village	Incorporated Area
- Dayton	city	Incorporated Area
- Gettysburg	village	Incorporated Area
- Gordon	village	Incorporated Area
- Greenville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Hollansburg	village	Incorporated Area
- Ithaca	village	Incorporated Area
- Liberty	township
- Mississinawa	township
- Neave	township
- New Madison	village	Incorporated Area
- New Weston	village	Incorporated Area
- North Star	village	Incorporated Area
- Osgood	village	Incorporated Area
- Palestine	village	Incorporated Area
- Pitsburg	village	Incorporated Area
- Richland	township
- Rossburg	village	Incorporated Area
- Twin	township
- Union City	village	Incorporated Area
- Versailles	village	Incorporated Area
- Wabash	township
- Wayne Lakes	village	Incorporated Area
- York	township
- Yorkshire	village	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

Custom Search