I am sharing a few early maps of Ohio and a little history about the formation of Ohio’s Counties.  A few years after the “Northwest Territory was established, counties such as Hamilton Knox, and Wayne overlapped both Ohio and Indiana, as shown depicting the state circa 1797.

This is an 1802 map of counties established in Ohio, -shortly before it  became a state in 1803.

When Ohio was admitted to the union in as the 17th state, it contained 17 counties.  The northern Michigan boundary was still undecided.  As mentioned in an earlier post, there’s a practical reason for counties to form.  In the early US, tax collectors at would visit the landowners to collect payment.

However, once the population grew, this practice became impractical and citizens began paying taxes at the courthouse. If you were in a large county, it may have took days to travel to and from the courthouse.  Lawmakers decided each taxpayer had to live within a day’s ride to the courthouse. As the population continued to grow, the map continued to change.  A rush continued to accommodate horse-and-buggy transportation.  This practice was a common rule of thumb when Ohio formed.   Today Ohio has 88 counties.

Here is a list of Ohio 88 counties organized by the year they were formed.

County                             Date Established 

Adams County                     Jul 10, 1797

Allen County                        Mar 1, 1820

Ashland County                  Feb 24, 1846

Ashtabula County               Jun 7, 1807

Athens County                    Mar 1, 1805

Auglaize County                  Feb 14, 1848

Belmont County                   Sep 7, 1801

Brown County                      Mar 1, 1818

Butler County                       May 1, 1803

Carroll County                      Jan 1, 1833

Champaign County              Mar 1, 1805

Clark County                         Mar 1, 1818

Clermont County                  Dec 6, 1800

Clinton County                     Mar 1, 1810

Columbiana County             May 1, 1803

Coshocton County              Jan 31, 1810

Crawford County                 Apr 1, 1820

Cuyahoga County               Jun 7, 1807

Darke County                       Jan 3, 1809

Defiance County                  Apr 7, 1845

Delaware County                 Apr 1, 1808

Erie County                           Mar 15, 1838

Fairfield County                   Dec 9, 1800

Fayette County                    Mar 1, 1810

Franklin County                   Apr 30, 1803

Fulton County                      Apr 1, 1850

Gallia County                        Apr 30, 1803

Geauga County                    Mar 1, 1806

Greene County                     May 1, 1803

Guernsey County                 Mar 1, 1810

Hamilton County                  Jan 2, 1790

Hancock County                  Apr 1, 1820

Hardin County                      Apr 1, 1820

Harrison County                  Feb 1, 1813

Henry County                       Apr 1, 1820

Highland County                 May 1, 1805

Hocking County                   Mar 1, 1818

Holmes County                    Jan 20, 1824

Huron County                      Mar 7, 1809

Jackson County                   Mar 1, 1816

Jefferson County                 Jul 29, 1797

Knox County                        Mar 1, 1808

Lake County                         Mar 6, 1840

Lawrence County                 Dec 21, 1815

Licking County                     Mar 1, 1808

Logan County                      Mar 1, 1818

Lorain County                      Dec 26, 1822

Lucas County                       Jun 20, 1835

Madison County                  Mar 1, 1810

Mahoning County               Mar 1, 1846

Marion County                     Apr 1, 1820

Medina County                    Feb 18, 1812

Meigs County                       Apr 1, 1819

Mercer County                     Apr 1, 1820

Miami County                       Mar 1, 1807

Monroe County                   Jan 29, 1813

Montgomery County          May 1, 1803

Morgan County                   Dec 29, 1817

Morrow County                   Mar 1, 1848

Muskingum County            March 1, 1804

Noble County                       Apr 1, 1851

Ottawa County                     Mar 6, 1840

Paulding County                  Apr 1, 1820

Perry County                        Mar 1, 1818

Pickaway County                 Mar 1, 1810

Pike County                          Feb 1, 1815

Portage County                    Jun 7, 1807

Preble County                       Mar 1, 1808

Putnam County                    Apr 1, 1820

Richland County                  Mar 1, 1808

Ross County                         Aug 20, 1798

Sandusky County                Apr 1, 1820

Scioto County                      May 1, 1803

Seneca County                     Apr 1, 1820

Shelby County                     Apr 1, 1819

Stark County                         Feb 13, 1808

Summit County                     Mar 3, 1840

Trumbull County                  Jul 10, 1800

Tuscarawas County            Mar 15, 1808

Union County                       Apr 1, 1820

Van Wert County                 Apr 1, 1820

Vinton County                      Mar 23, 1850

Warren County                    May 1, 1803

Washington County           Jul 27, 1788

Wayne County                     Mar 1, 1812

Williams County                  Apr 1, 1820

Wood County                      Apr 1, 1820

Wyandot County                 Feb 3, 1845

One can see that the state was settled as the government released lands for settlement in the map below.  Of lands in the Northwest Territory, Ohio was first to become a state.

Welcome to “Sharing the Stories of History with Tim Mann”!

                                           

Meet Timothy A. Mann, a passionate historian born and raised in the heart of Shelby County, Ohio where Tim’s roots run deep in the rich soil of American history. As the author of articles and books, including “Frontier Miscellany Concerning the Miami County Ohio Militia,” “Colonel John Mann, His Kith and Kin,” and “Frontier Militia – The War of 1812,” Tim’s literary contributions have enlightened and inspired countless history enthusiasts.