Erie County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the northern portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 75,622. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Sandusky. The county is named for the Erie tribe, whose name was their word for "wildcat". It was formed in 1838 from the northern third of Huron County and a portion of Sandusky County. Erie County comprises the Sandusky, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

- Canton, OH

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

History

Erie County was created in 1838 from a portion of Huron County. A few subsequent changes to Erie County's boundaries occurred shortly after its initial formation.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (60%) is water. It is the second-smallest county in Ohio by land area after Lake County . The county is bordered on the north by

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

; the opposite shore is made up of two counties in Ontario, Canada. It is drained by the

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

and

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...

rivers. Near the Huron River are several ancient earthwork mounds and enclosures constructed by early indigenous peoples. Sandusky has extensive quarries of valuable limestone. The surface is generally level, and the soil alluvial and exceedingly fertile.

Adjacent counties and municipalities

* Essex County,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

(north, across Lake Erie) * Chatham-Kent municipality,

(north, across Lake Erie) *

Lorain County Lorain County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 312,964. Its county seat is Elyria, Ohio, Elyria. The county was physicall ...

(east) * Huron County (south) * Sandusky County (west) * Ottawa County (northwest)

Major highways

* (

Ohio Turnpike The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor between Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs east–west in the northern section o ...

) * (

) * * * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 79,551 people, 31,727 households, and 21,764 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 312 people per square mile (121/km²). There were 35,909 housing units at an average density of 141 per square mile (54/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.64%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 8.64%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.21% Native American, 0.37%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.53% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.60% from two or more races. 2.09% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 35.7% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 9.2%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, 8.2%

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, 8.1%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, and 7.8%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

ancestry according to

Census 2000 The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...

. There were 31,727 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.40% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 25.50% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,746, and the median income for a family was $51,756. Males had a median income of $39,249 versus $23,697 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $21,530. About 6.00% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 11.60% of those under age 18 and 6.80% of those age 65 or over. In 2008, the Census Bureau announced that the county's population had declined to an estimated 77,323 by July 1, 2007.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

, there were 77,079 people, 31,860 households, and 21,011 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 37,845 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.0% white, 8.6% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.8% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.4% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 38.8% were

, 15.2% were

, 11.7% were

, 8.5% were

, and 4.6% were

. Of the 31,860 households, 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.1% were non-families, and 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 43.4 years. The median income for a household in the county was $46,593 and the median income for a family was $61,247. Males had a median income of $46,211 versus $32,621 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,290. About 8.5% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the

, including 17.1% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Patrick Shenigo (D) is the Chairman of the Erie County Commission, the highest elected position in the county. From 1992 to 2012, Erie County had been reliably Democratic. In 2016, however, it swung from a 12.3% margin for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

to a 9.5% margin for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

, tracking with Trump's unexpectedly strong showing in the Rust Belt.

County officials

Courthouse

Erie County's courthouse at 323 Columbus Avenue in Sandusky was built in 1872 by Cleveland architects Myer and Holmes in a richly ornamented

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

style. Most of the façade was remodeled beginning in 1936 in Art Deco in a

WPA WPA may refer to: Computing *Wi-Fi Protected Access, a wireless encryption standard *Windows Product Activation, in Microsoft software licensing * Wireless Public Alerting (Alert Ready), emergency alerts over LTE in Canada * Windows Performance An ...

project led locally by architect Henry Millott. Some of the original façade remains visible around the bottom row of windows.Erie County Courthouse, Built in the 1870s
/ref>

Education

All or part of eleven school districts serve Erie County and its residents:
Bellevue City School District
includes parts of

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

and Groton Township.
Edison Local School District
includes parts of Berlin Heights and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Perkins Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid- and southern England. Another derivation com ...

, and

Townships.
Firelands Local School District
includes parts of Florence Township.
Huron City School District
includes parts of

and

, and

Townships.
Kelleys Island Local School District
includes all of

Kelleys Island Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio, and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. The British originally called it Sandusky Island. Later the United States took it over and officially designated it as Island Number 6 ...

.
Margaretta Local School District
includes parts of Bay View and

Castalia Castalia ( grc, Κασταλία), in Greek mythology, was a naiad-nymph, a daughter of Achelous who inhabited the Castalian spring in Delphi. In older traditions, Castalian spring already existed by the time Apollo came to Delphi searching f ...

, and Groton and Margaretta Townships.
Monroeville Local School District
includes parts of Oxford Township.
Perkins Local School District
includes parts of Groton,

, Margaretta,

, and

Townships.
Sandusky Central Catholic Schools
includes Sandusky's three catholic Parishes (St. Mary's, Sts. Peter & Paul, and Holy Angels).
St. Peter's School
a private catholic elementary school in Huron
Sandusky City School District
includes all of Sandusky.
Vermilion Local School District
includes parts of

and

Townships.
Western Reserve Local School District
including parts of Florence Township.

Communities

Cities

(part) *

* Sandusky (county seat) *

(part)

Villages

* Bay View * Berlin Heights *

(part)

Townships

* Groton *

* Margaretta *

https://web.archive.org/web/20160715023447/http://www.ohiotownships.org/township-websites

Census-designated places

* Beulah Beach * Crystal Rock * Mitiwanga * Whites Landing

Unincorporated communities

* Avery *

Axtel Axtel S.A.B. de C.V., known as Axtel, is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey. It offers telephone, internet, and television services through FTTH in 45 cities of Mexico as well as IT Services. It is ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

* Bloomingville *

Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

* Ceylon * Fairview Lanes *

* Ruggles Beach * Sandusky South

Places of interest

Blue Hole A blue hole is a large marine cavern or sinkhole, which is open to the surface and has developed in a bank or island composed of a carbonate bedrock ( limestone or coral reef). Their existence was discovered in the late 20th century by fishe ...

* Cedar Point * Plum Brook Station *

Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace The Thomas Alva Edison Birthplace is a historic house museum at 9 Edison Drive in Milan, Ohio, Built in 1841, it was the birthplace of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), born on February 11, 1847. It was designated a National Hi ...

References

External links

Erie County Government's website
{{coord, 41.51, -82.61, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OH_source:UScensus1990 1838 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1838 Ohio counties in the Western Reserve

History

Geography

Adjacent counties and municipalities

Major highways

Demographics

2000 census

2010 census

Government and politics

County officials

Courthouse

Education

Communities

Cities

Villages

Townships

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Places of interest

See also

References

Further reading

External links