Guernsey County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Cambridge
Year Organized: 1810
Square Miles: 522

Court House:

627 Wheeling Avenue #300
County Commissioners
Cambridge, OH 43725-2292

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Residents named the county after the "Isle of Guernsey."

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On January 31, 1810, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Guernsey County. Residents named the county after the "Isle of Guernsey."

Guernsey County is located in eastern Ohio, in the heart of Appalachia. It is predominantly rural, with less than one percent of the county's 522 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Cambridge, which, in 2000, was the county's largest urban center with a population of 11,520 people. Guernsey County experienced a slight increase in population—roughly 4.5 percent—between 1990 and 2000, raising the total number of residents to 40,792 people. Many residents of Ohio's rural communities are seeking better lives and more opportunities in the state's cities, but Guernsey County seems to be remaining stable in population. The county averages seventy-eight people per square mile.

The largest employers in Guernsey County are service industries, such as health care and communications, with sales positions a close second. During the late nineteenth century, Guernsey County became famous for its glass manufacturing. While the county's glass production has declined, a tourist industry, consisting largely of glass collectors, has arisen in its place. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was 18,641 dollars, with 15.4 percent of the people living in poverty.

Most voters in Guernsey County claim to be independents, yet in recent years, they have supported Republican Party candidates at the national level by small margins.

Among Guernsey County's more prominent residents were astronaut John Glenn, Jr., and actor William Boyd, who played Hopalong Cassidy in movies and on television

Sources

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

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1936&nm=Guernsey-County

Neighboring Counties:

Tuscarawas County (north)
Harrison County (northeast)
Belmont County (east)
Noble County (south)
Muskingum County (west)
Coshocton County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Adams	township
- Buffalo	township
- Byesville	village	Incorporated Area
- Cambridge (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Center	township
- Cumberland	village	Incorporated Area
- Fairview	village	Incorporated Area
- Kimbolton	village	Incorporated Area
- Knox	township
- Liberty	township
- Lore City	village	Incorporated Area
- Millwood	township
- Old Washington	village	Incorporated Area
- Pleasant City	village	Incorporated Area
- Quaker City	village	Incorporated Area
- Richland	township
- Salesville	village	Incorporated Area
- Senecaville	village	Incorporated Area
- Valley	township
- Westland	township
- Wheeling	township
- Wills	township

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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