Hardin 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 west central 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 30,696.2020 census
/ref> 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 Kenton. The county was created in 1820 and later organized in 1833. It is named for John Hardin, an officer in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Hancock County (north) * Wyandot County (northeast) * Marion County (east) * Union County (southeast) * Logan County (south) * Auglaize County (southwest) * Allen County (northwest)

Demographics

2000 census

At the 2000

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 ...

, there were 31,945 people, 11,963 households and 8,134 families living in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 12,907 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 ...

, 0.70%

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 ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.23% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 0.78% 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. 96.9% spoke English and 1.4% German as their first language. There were 11,963 households, of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.00% 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, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.00% were non-families. 26.50% 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 2.51 and the average family size was 3.03. 24.30% of the population were under the age of 18, 15.40% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $34,440 and the median family income was $42,395. Males had a median income of $33,393 compared with $21,695 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 $16,200. About 8.90% of families and 13.20% 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 15.20% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 32,058 people, 11,762 households, and 7,950 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 13,100 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.7% white, 0.8% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.5% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 33.0% were German, 15.1% were Irish, 13.2% were American, and 9.6% were English. Of the 11,762 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% were non-families, and 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age was 34.7 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,343 and the median income for a family was $55,274. Males had a median income of $41,191 versus $32,313 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,100. About 9.6% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the

, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Hardin County is a Republican Party stronghold. The last Democrat to win the county was Lyndon B. Johnson in his 1964 landslide. The county is currently represented by Robert McColley in the Ohio Senate, and Ty Mathews in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

. Federally, the county is drawn into Ohio's 4th Congressional District, represented by

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. ...

Airports

Ada Airport is a privately owned, public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

located one nautical mile (1.85 km) northwest of the central business district of Ada, a village in Hardin County. Hardin County Airport is the largest paved facility and is located 3 miles south of Kenton, Ohio on CR 135. The runway is 4,803 feet long at an elevation of 1,030 feet. Maintenance, fuel and storage are available.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Science

Currently, there is a working Artesian aquifer operating in the county.

Media

Two newspapers, the daily '' The Kenton Times'' of Kenton and the weekly '' The Ada Herald'' of Ada, operate in Hardin County. Radio stations include WKTN of Kenton and WOHA of Ada, a radio station owned by Holy Family Communications. WOCB-LP TV48 is a local Christian television station in downtown Kenton covering channels 39.1-39.4.

Communities

City

* Kenton (county seat)

Villages

* Ada * Alger *

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

* McGuffey * Mount Victory * Patterson * Ridgeway

Townships

* Blanchard * Buck *

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufactu ...

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

* Goshen * Hale * Jackson *

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

* Lynn * Marion * McDonald * Pleasant *

Roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...

* Taylor Creek * Washington

Census-designated place

* Dola

Unincorporated communities

* Blanchard * Foraker * Grant * Grassy Point * Hepburn *

Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. Founded in Adelaide, it was an automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter that sold cars under its own marque in Australia. It was ...

* Huntersville * Jumbo * Jump * Maysville * Mentzer * Pfeiffer *

* Silver Creek * Yelverton

Notable people

* Nehemiah Green, fourth Governor of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

''From Kenton'' * James S. Robinson, Civil War General and Secretary of State for Ohio * John R. Goodin, Democratic congressman from Kansas * William Lawrence, Republican congressman involved with the attempt to impeach Andrew Johnson * Jacob Parrott, first recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

* Paul Robinson, creator of the long-running '' Etta Kett'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate ''From Ada'' * Rollo May, an American existential

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

* Lee Tressel, football coach, father of former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel * John Berton, award-winning computer graphics animator and visual effects supervisor. * Carey Orr, cartoonist. ''From Alger'' * Ray Brown —

Homestead Grays The Homestead Grays (also known as Washington Grays or Washington Homestead Grays) were a professional baseball team that played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues in the United States. The team was formed in 1912 in sports, 1912 by Cum ...

pitcher ''From

'' * Willard Rhodes, ethnomusicologist (1901–1992) * Dean Pees, NFL coach

References

External links

*
Hardin County Chamber & Business AllianceHardin County GIS webpage
{{Coord, 40.66, -83.66, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OH_source:UScensus1990 1833 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1833