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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.

Shelby County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Sidney
Year Organized: 1819
Square Miles: 409

Court House:

129 East Court Street
County Courthouse
Sidney, OH 45365-3060

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Residents named the county in honor of Isaac Shelby.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

On January 7, 1819, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Shelby County. Residents named the county in honor of Isaac Shelby. Shelby County was originally part of territory set aside for Ohio’s Indian people by the Treaty of Greeneville.

Shelby County is located in the western part of Ohio. The county seat is Sidney, which is the largest community in the county with a population of 20,211 people in 2000. No other community in Shelby County has a population over two thousand people. Only 1.6 percent of the county’s 409 square miles are deemed to be urban. The county averages 117 people living in each square mile. Between 1990 and 2000, the county experienced a 6.7 percent increase in population. This is unusual for Ohio’s more rural counties, as residents usually seek better opportunities in the state’s larger cities. In 2000, the county’s residents numbered 47,910 people.

Most of Shelby County’s residents find employment in agricultural positions. Farmers bring in more than seventy million dollars combined per year. The county is especially well known for its dairy cattle. Manufacturing businesses also employ thousands of workers, with retail positions and service industries employing a significantly smaller number of county residents. In 1999, the county’s per capita income was 25,520 dollars, with 7.6 percent of the county’s residents living below the poverty level.

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

Sources

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

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2012&nm=Shelby-County

Neighboring Counties:

Auglaize County (north)
Logan County (east)
Champaign County (southeast)
Miami County (south)
Darke County (west)
Mercer County (mathematical point in northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Anna	village	Incorporated Area
- Botkins	village	Incorporated Area
- Cynthian	township
- Dinsmore	township
- Fort Loramie	village	Incorporated Area
- Jackson Center	village	Incorporated Area
- Kettlersville	village	Incorporated Area
- Lockington	village	Incorporated Area
- Loramie	township
- McLean	township
- Newport	township
- Port Jefferson	village	Incorporated Area
- Russia	village	Incorporated Area
- Sidney (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Turtle Creek	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."

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