Ashland County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,447. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

and largest city is Ashland. The county is named for " Ashland", the home of Senator

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

near

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. It was formed in 1846 from parts of Huron, Lorain, Richland and Wayne Counties. Ashland County comprises the Ashland, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Mansfield-Ashland- Bucyrus, OH Combined Statistical Area.

History

Ashland County was formed on February 24, 1846, from portions of Huron, Lorain, Richland, and Wayne counties. Like the county seat, it was named after Ashland, the

-area home of

, a Kentucky senator. Henry Clay was very popular in the area of north-central Ohio due to the role he played in defusing the secession crisis of 1820 and the Nullification crisis of 1833. The region was settled overwhelmingly by migrants from

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and was culturally continuous with early

. Part of this meant political support for Henry Clay, opposition to slavery and opposition to secession during the aforementioned crises. Similarly, this meant the Whig Party was very popular in the region during that era. The first non-Native American settlers in the area that became Ashland County were a group of families from

Windham County, Connecticut Windham County ( ) is one of the eight counties in the U.S. state of Connecticut, located in its northeastern corner. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,418, making it the least populous county in Connecticut. It forms the core o ...

. Subsequent migration from 1800 to the mid-1820s came almost exclusively from the regions of rural

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Lorain County (north) * Medina County (northeast) * Wayne County (east) * Holmes County (southeast) * Knox County (southwest) * Richland County (west) * Huron County (northwest)

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 52,523 people, 19,524 households, and 14,018 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 20,832 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.54%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.81%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.21% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.65% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 36.8% were of German, 27.4% English and 8.8% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. 96.1% spoke English, 1.2% German and 1.0% Spanish as their first language. There were 19,524 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.06. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,179, and the median income for a family was $46,306. Males had a median income of $32,585 versus $22,334 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $17,308. About 7.10% of families and 9.50% 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 ...

, including 13.10% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 53,139 people, 20,196 households, and 14,017 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 22,141 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.3% white, 0.7% black or African American, 0.5% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 0.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.9% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 32.7% were German, 26.2% were English, 11.2% were Irish, and 5.2% were Italian. Of the 20,196 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.02. The median age was 39.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $44,542 and the median income for a family was $54,177. Males had a median income of $39,663 versus $31,012 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,558. About 10.2% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the

, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Prior to 1912, Ashland County was a Democratic Party stronghold in presidential elections voting Republicans only once since 1856. The county was a national bellwether from 1912 to 1936, but starting with the 1940 election, the county has become a Republican Party stronghold. Lyndon B. Johnson's win in 1964 is the lone time since then that a Democrat has won the county.

Transportation

The Ashland County Airport is located northeast of the central business district of the City of Ashland.

Park District

The Ashland County Park District was founded in 2002. Stephanie Featheringill is the current director. The park district currently consists of 18 parks throughout the county. Monthly bird walks are held at Byers Woods Park (located on 675 County Road 1754, Ashland, OH 44805) on the fourth Saturday of the month. A full list of seasonal events can be found through the park district webpage.

Communities

City

* Ashland (county seat)

Villages

* Bailey Lakes * Hayesville * Jeromesville * Loudonville * Mifflin * Perrysville * Polk * Savannah

Townships

* Clear Creek *

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

* Jackson *

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

* Mifflin * Milton * Mohican * Montgomery * Orange *

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

* Ruggles * Sullivan *

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

* Vermillion