Marion County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Marion
Year Organized: 1820
Square Miles: 404

Court House:

222 W. Center Street
County Building
Marion, OH 43302-3646

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Residents named the county in honor of for General Francis "The Swamp Fox" Marion, a hero of the American Revolution.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On February 12, 1820, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Marion County. Residents named the county in honor of Francis Marion, a hero of the American Revolution. The county was the home of United States President Warren G. Harding. The Ohio Historical Society now operates Harding’s home as a museum. Harding is also buried in the county.

Marion County is located in the north central portion of Ohio. The county seat is Marion, which is the largest population center, with almost thirty-eight thousand residents in 2000. This marked a ten percent growth in the town’s population since 1990, and the county, itself, experienced a three percent growth rate, to a total population of 66,217 people, during this same time period. Much of this growth resulted from Franklin County and Delaware County residents trying to escape the busyness of Columbus. An average of 164 people live in each of Marion County’s 404 square miles.

Despite the tremendous growth, Marion County remains heavily rural, but subdivisions and businesses are quickly taking over much of this land. Manufacturing businesses are the county’s largest employer, with retail and government positions finishing second and third respectively. The Marion Power Shovel Company, a manufacturer of construction equipment, was historically one of the county’s largest employers. The Ohio State University Marion also employs numerous residents. The county’s average income was approximately twenty-two thousand dollars per person in 1999, with almost twelve percent of the population living in poverty.

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

Sources

Marion County, Ohio History Central, July 24, 2008,

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1969&nm=Marion-County

Neighboring Counties:

Crawford County (northeast)
Morrow County (east)
Delaware County (south)
Union County (southwest)
Hardin County (west)
Wyandot County (northeast)

Cities and Towns:

- Big Island	township
- Caledonia	village	Incorporated Area
- Claridon	township
- Grand	township
- Grand Prairie	township
- Green Camp	village	Incorporated Area
- La Rue	village	Incorporated Area
- Marion (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Morral	village	Incorporated Area
- New Bloomington	village	Incorporated Area
- Pleasant	township
- Prospect	village	Incorporated Area
- Richland	township
- Salt Rock	township
- Tully	township
- Waldo	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

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