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Ohio Counties

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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.

Williams County, Ohio

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

County Seat: Bryan
Year Organized: 1820
Square Miles: 422

Court House:

One Courthouse Square
County Courthouse
Bryan, OH 43506-1791

Etymology - Origin of County Name

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

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

On February 12, 1820, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Williams County. Residents named the county in honor of David Williams, a hero of the American Revolution. Williams helped capture Benedict Arnold, the most notorious traitor in American history. Williams County was originally part of territory set aside for Ohio's Indian people by the Treaty of Greeneville. The land comprising this county also came under dispute between Ohio and Michigan during the "Toledo War."

Williams County is located in the northwestern part of Ohio. Its western border helps form the boundary between Ohio and Indiana, and its northern border helps form the boundary between Ohio and Michigan. The county seat is Bryan, which is the largest community in the county, with a population of 8,333 people in 2000. Just over one percent of the county's 422 square miles are deemed to be urban. The county averages ninety-three people living in each square mile. Between 1990 and 2000, the county experienced a six 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 39,188 people.

Most of Williams County's residents find employment in agricultural positions, with seventy-five percent of the county's acreage under cultivation. Manufacturing, retail, and service positions finish second, third, and fourth respectively. In 1999, the county's per capita income was 25,226 dollars, with 6.8 percent of the county's residents living below the poverty level.

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

Sources
Williams County, Ohio History Central, July 24, 2008,
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2034&nm=Williams-County

Neighboring Counties:

Hillsdale County, Michigan (north)
Fulton County (east)
Henry County (southeast)
Defiance County (south)
DeKalb County, Indiana (southwest)
Steuben County, Indiana (northwest)

Cities and Towns:

- Alvordton	village	Incorporated Area
- Balance of St. Joseph	township
- Blakeslee	village	Incorporated Area
- Brady	township
- Bridgewater	township
- Bryan (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Center	township
- Edgerton	village	Incorporated Area
- Edon	village	Incorporated Area
- Florence	township
- Holiday City	village	Incorporated Area
- Mill Creek	township
- Montpelier	village	Incorporated Area
- Northwest	township
- Pioneer	village	Incorporated Area
- Pulaski	township
- St. Joseph	township
- Stryker	village	Incorporated Area
- Superior	township
- West Unity	village	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."