Athens County

administration
The Athens County Courthouse , along with two other buildings, listed in the NRHP as Athens Governmental Buildings since 1979
US state :	Ohio
Administrative headquarters :	Athens
Address of the administrative headquarters:	County Courthouse 15 S. Court Street Athens, OH 45701-2836
Foundation :	February 20, 1805
Made up from:	Washington County
Area code :	001 740
Demographics
Residents :	64,757 (2010)
Population density :	49.4 inhabitants / km ²
geography
Total area :	1317 km²
Water surface :	5 km²
map

Website : www.athenscountygovernment.com

The Athens County is a county in the US state of Ohio . At the 2010 census , the county had 64,757 residents and a population density of 49.4 people per square kilometer. The county seat is the university city of Athens .

geography

The county is located in southeast Ohio, with its southeastern tip reaching the Ohio River , which forms the border with West Virginia . Athens County covers an area of 1,317 square kilometers, of which five square kilometers are water. It borders on the following neighboring counties:

Hocking County	Perry County	Morgan County
Vinton County		Washington County
	Meigs County	Wood County, West Virginia

Land use

In Athens County, 2.47% of the total area (1,317 km²) is built-up area (residential buildings, traffic areas, commercial areas, etc.). Only smaller parts of the county are used as arable land (5.62%) and grassland (12.96%). By far the largest part of Athens County is covered by the vast forests with 77.79% of the area. Only 0.76% of the county occupies open waters. Less than 0.5 percent of the county is uncovered or taken up by mining .

history

Athens County was formed on February 20, 1805 from parts of Washington County. It was named, like the district capital, after the Greek city of Athens . The reason for this was that the Ohio University was founded here at that time .

One place in the county has the status of a National Historic Landmark , the Manasseh Cutler Hall . 28 buildings and sites in the county are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (as of April 6, 2018).

Demographic data

growth of population
Census	Residents	± in%
1810	2791	-
1820	6338	127.1%
1830	9787	54.4%
1840	19,109	95.2%
1850	18,215	-4.7%
1860	21,364	17.3%
1870	23,768	11.3%
1880	28,411	19.5%
1890	35.194	23.9%
1900	38,730	10%
1910	47,798	23.4%
1920	50,430	5.5%
1930	44,175	-12.4%
1940	46.166	4.5%
1950	45,839	-0.7%
1960	46,998	2.5%
1970	54,889	16.8%
1980	56,399	2.8%
1990	59,549	5.6%
2000	62,223	4.5%
2010	64,757	4.1%
Before 1900 1900–1990 2000–2010

Hocking River near Athens

As of the 2010 census , Athens County had 64,757 people in 22,283 households. The population density was 49.4 inhabitants per square kilometer.

The racial the population was composed of 91.8 percent white, 2.7 percent African American, 0.3 percent Native American, 2.7 percent Asian and other ethnic groups; 2.1 percent were descended from two or more races. Regardless of ethnicity, 1.5 percent of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Statistically, 2.44 people lived in each of the 22,283 households.

15.8 percent of the population were under 18 years old, 74.1 percent were between 18 and 64 and 10.1 percent were 65 years or older. 49.9 percent of the population was female.

The median income for a household was 31,559 USD . The per capita income was $ 16,642. 30.3 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.

Places in Athens County

Citys

Villages

Unincorporated Communities

The Plains

other unincorporated communities

structure

Division of Athens County

Athens County is divided into 14 townships :

economy

The largest employer in Athens County is Ohio University . Other significant employers include the Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare , Hocking College , the health sector ( Diagnostic Hybrids , O'Bleness Memorial Hospital ), other services and the growing number of smaller businesses in the retail and hospitality sector.

In the history of Athens County, salt mining initially provided jobs, followed by coal mining and logging. These have long played an important role in the economic development of Athens County.

Mining has long past its peak and only a small, insignificant part has survived. Only Buckingham Coal operates the mining of hard coal in Trimble Township in the far north of Athens County. With various gravel pits and limestone pits, further representatives of the raw material extraction sector can be found in several places in the county. Oil and gas wells, albeit on a smaller scale, have also been found and developed in Athens County.

Both grassland and arable farming as well as horticulture have decreased in their share of the national product, but both still play a role in the regional economy that has recently become more important.

Forestry is still particularly important in the north of the county, where much of the land is forested. The headquarters of Wayne National Forest , one of the state-owned enterprises, located between the towns of Athens and Nelsonville .

Tourism is a growing component of the economic structure. Athens County is known for handicrafts and musicians, and there are cultural offerings to match. There are also opportunities for hunting and fishing. Over 30 km of cycle paths open up the area between the two most important towns in Athens County, Athens and Nelsonville. Parks and forest areas round off the spectrum of tourist attractions.

In the service sector, the university and other educational and training institutions play a role in the economic structure of Athens County. More than a quarter of the county's residents are either enrolled, teaching, administrative or technical staff at Hooking College or Ohio University as either a student or trainee.