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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.

Pickaway County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Circleville
Year Organized: 1810
Square Miles: 502

Court House:

207 South Court Street
County Courthouse
Circleville, OH 43113-1601

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The county was named after the Indian name "Piqua."

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On January 12, 1810, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Pickaway County. The county was named after the Indian name "Piqua."

Pickaway County is located in south central Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with 1.4 percent of the county s 502 square miles consisting of urban areas. The county seat is Circleville. With a population of 13,485 people, Circleville was the county s largest community in 2000. Unlike most of Ohio s predominantly rural counties, Pickaway County experienced an increase in population - 9.3 percent - between 1990 and 2000, increasing the total number of residents to 52,727 people. The main reason for this increase was the large number of residents from Columbus, in nearby Franklin County, who sought to escape that city s busyness by moving to more rural, neighboring counties. Pickaway County averages 105 people per square mile.

Farming is the largest employer in Pickaway County, with eighty-three percent of the county s acreage under cultivation. Agriculture is followed closely by manufacturing businesses and government positions. Retail businesses and service industries rank a distant fourth and fifth respectively. Pickaway County residents rank fourth in soybean and fifth in corn production in Ohio. In 1999, the per capita income in the county was 20,364 dollars, with 11.3 percent of the people living in poverty.

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

Circleville is the home to an annual pumpkin festival. Begun in 1903, the festival attracts more than 300,000 people a year. It is currently the sixth largest festival held in the United States, and since organizers charge no admission fee, the festival has become known as the "Greatest Free Show on Earth." For a time, Pickaway County also served as the home of songwriter Benjamin Hanby and musician Ted Lewis. Mingo Indian Chief Logan also resided here. The Ohio Historical Society operates the Logan Elm State Memorial in Chief Logan's honor.

Sources

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

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1998&nm=Pickaway-County

Neighboring Counties:

Franklin County (north)
Fairfield County (east)
Hocking County (southeast)
Ross County (south)
Fayette County (southwest)
Madison County (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Ashville	village	Incorporated Area
- Circleville (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Commercial Point	village	Incorporated Area
- Darby	township
- Darbyville	village	Incorporated Area
- Deercreek	township
- Laurelville	village	Incorporated Area
- Lockbourne	village	Incorporated Area
- Muhlenberg	township
- New Holland	village	Incorporated Area
- Orient	village	Incorporated Area
- Pickaway	township
- Saltcreek	township
- Scioto	township
- South Bloomfield	village	Incorporated Area
- Tarlton	village	Incorporated Area
- Walnut	township
- Williamsport	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

Online High Schools

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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