Morrow County, Ohio

Morrow County
County
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°32′N 82°48′W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Founded	March 1, 1848
Named for	Jeremiah Morrow
Seat	Mount Gilead
Population  (2000)
• Total	31,628
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Website	www.morrowcounty.info

Morrow County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. Shawnee people used the area for hunting purposes before white settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Morrow County was organized in 1848 from parts of four neighboring counties and named for Jeremiah Morrow, Governor of Ohio from 1822 to 1826. As of 2000, the population was 31,628. Its county seat is Mount Gilead⁶. The center of population of Ohio is also located in Mount Gilead.

Famous people born in Morrow County include (1) Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States, who was born near Blooming Grove, Ohio in northeast Morrow County; (2) Quaker abolitionist Richard Dillingham, who was born in Peru Township; (3) Reverend Frank W. Gunsaulus, cleryman, writer and educator (see Illinois Institute of Technology), who was born in Chesterville, Ohio; and (4) writer Dawn Powell, who was born in Mount Gilead.

Morrow County's historic, World War I Victory Memorial Shaft, unique in the United States, is located in the center of downtown Mount Gilead. Other areas interesting to the tourist include: Mount Gilead State Park; Amish farms and businesses near Johnsville and Chesterville; the Mid-Ohio Race Track near Steam Corners; the rolling Allegheny foothills of eastern Morrow County; the site of the birthplace of President Warren G. Harding near Blooming Grove; the site of the former Ohio Central College in Iberia; the early 19th century architecture of buildings in Chesterville, Ohio; the Revolutionary War Soldiers' Memorial in Mount Gilead; the Civil War monument in Cardington; and the mid-19th century architecture of the Morrow County Courthouse and Old Jail in Mount Gilead.

Geography

Map of Morrow County, Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels

Old Morrow County Jail.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,055 km² (407 mi²). 1,052 km² (406 mi²) of it is land and 3 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.28%) is water. Morrow County is considered to be a part of "Central Ohio."

Adjacent counties

• Crawford County (north)
• Richland County (northeast)
• Knox County (southeast)
• Delaware County (southwest)
• Marion County (west)

Municipalities

Cardington Chesterville

Edison Fulton

Marengo Mount Gilead

Sparta

Townships

Bennington Canaan Cardington Chester

Congress Franklin Gilead Harmony

Lincoln North Bloomfield Perry Peru

South Bloomfield Troy Washington Westfield

Other places

• Blooming Grove
• Iberia
• Shauck

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 31,628 people, 11,499 households, and 8,854 families residing in the county. The population density was 30/km² (78/mi²). There were 12,132 housing units at an average density of 12/km² (30/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.37% White, 0.27% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. 0.58% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,499 households out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were married couples living together, 8.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.00% were non-families. 19.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.09.

Morrow County Courthouse.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,882, and the median income for a family was $45,747. Males had a median income of $33,129 versus $22,454 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,830. About 6.60% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.40% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Main article: Ohio county government

References

• Morrow County Government's website

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