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Ohio Counties

There is eighty-eight counties in the state of Ohio. The Ohio Constitution allows counties to set up a charter government as many cities and villages do, but only Summit County has done so.

Paulding County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Paulding
Year Organized: 1820
Square Miles: 416

Court House:

115 North Williams Street, Room B-1
County Courthouse
Paulding, OH 45879-1282

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Residents named the county in honor of John Paulding, a hero of the American Revolution. Paulding helped capture Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American history.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On February 12, 1820, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Paulding County. Residents named the county in honor of John Paulding, a hero of the American Revolution. Paulding helped capture Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American history. Paulding County was originally part of territory set aside for Ohio’s Indian people by the Treaty of Greeneville. White settlement of the county occurred very slowly, due to the Great Black Swamp occupying most of the land. During the 1830s and 1840s, completion of the Miami and Erie Canal and the Wabash and Erie Canal helped spur settlement, but still water from the Great Black Swamp and from a water reservoir for the canals covered much of the county. It was not until 1887 that residents were able to drain most of the Great Black Swamp and the reservoir, opening the land to farming and further settlement.

Paulding County is located in the northwestern part of Ohio. Its western border helps form the boundary between Ohio and Indiana. The county seat is Paulding, which is the largest city in the county with a population of 3,595 people in 2000. Less than one percent of the county’s 416 square miles are deemed to be urban. The county averages forty-nine people living in each square mile. Between 1990 and 2000, the county experienced a one percent decrease in population. This is typical of Ohio’s more rural counties, as residents seek better opportunities in the state’s larger cities. In 2000, the county’s residents numbered 20,293 people.

Most of Paulding County’s residents find employment in agricultural positions. Manufacturing, government, and retail positions finish second, third, and fourth respectively. In 1999, the county’s per capita income was 19,961 dollars, with 7.7 percent of the county’s residents living below the poverty level.

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

Sources

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

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1995&nm=Paulding-County

Neighboring Counties:

Defiance County (north)
Putnam County (east)
Van Wert County (south)
Allen County, Indiana (west)

Cities and Towns:

- Antwerp	village	Incorporated Area
- Auglaize	township
- Broughton	village	Incorporated Area
- Brown	township
- Carryall	township
- Cecil	village	Incorporated Area
- Crane	township
- Emerald	township
- Grover Hill	village	Incorporated Area
- Haviland	village	Incorporated Area
- Latty	village	Incorporated Area
- Melrose	village	Incorporated Area
- Oakwood	village	Incorporated Area
- Paulding (County Seat)	village	Incorporated Area
- Payne	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."

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