Knox 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 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 62,721.2020 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 ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. The county is named for Henry Knox, an officer in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

who was later the first

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

. Knox County comprises the Mount Vernon, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH Combined Statistical Area.

History

Knox County was formed from Fairfield County in 1808.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water. Approximately 58% of the county is farmland and 28% is forested.Reed, Alan. March 17, 2012
"County crop, livestock receipts at $110M."
'' Mount Vernon News''. Accessed: March 17, 2012. Most of the county lies in the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau with rolling hills and valleys. Although the relief is not sharp, some elevations in the county reach over 1400 feet above sea level.

Adjacent counties

* Richland County (north) * Ashland County (far northeast) * Holmes County (northeast) * Coshocton County (east) * Licking County (south) * Delaware County (southwest) * Morrow 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 2010, there were 60,921 people, 22,607 households, and 15,693 families living in the county. There were 24,997 housing units. The racial makeup of the county was 96.7%

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 ...

, 0.8%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% 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 ...

, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. 1.2% 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. There were 22,607 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% 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, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 27.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.04. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.0% under the age of 20, 7.9% from 20 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.3 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. The median income for a household in the county was $48,734, and the median income for a family was $50,034. 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 $22,628. About 9.4% of families and 13.0% 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 19.2% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over. In Knox county, the 2000 census reported that the number of same-sex couples was 91 and the percent of same-sex couples out of all households was 0.46%.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 60,921 people, 22,607 households, and 15,693 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 25,118 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, 0.4% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 30.5% were German, 14.4% were Irish, 13.9% were English, and 9.2% were American. Of the 22,607 households, 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.6% were non-families, and 25.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age was 38.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $45,655 and the median income for a family was $55,881. Males had a median income of $41,762 versus $30,836 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,204. About 9.1% of families and 13.1% of the population were below the

, including 18.8% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Knox County is a Republican stronghold county in presidential elections. The last time it supported Democrats was for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Government

People, who represent the county in various elected positions, at different levels of the government include:

County Commissioners

* Theresa Bemiller, Republican * Bill Pursel, Republican * Thom Collier, Republican

State Senate

* Andrew Brenner, Republican, Ohio's 19th Senatorial District

State representative

* Rick Carfagna, Republican, Ohio's 68th Representative District

United States House of Representatives

* Troy Balderson, Republican,

Ohio's 12th congressional district Ohio's 12th congressional district is a United States List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in central Ohio, covering Athens County, Ohio, Athens County, Coshocton County, Ohio, Coshocton County, Fairfield County ...

United States Senators

* Bernie Moreno, Republican,

* Jon Husted, Republican,

Economy

A large portion of Knox County's economy is based on agriculture, with gross cash receipts for crops and livestock at $110 million for 2011. Corn is the primary crop, followed by soybeans and livestock. Mount Vernon, the county seat, is home to major employers in the county, Siemens Energy Inc. (formerly Rolls-Royce Energy Systems, Inc. and Cooper Industries before that) and Ariel Corporation, both of which are manufacturers of components used in the natural gas industry. Major employers in the county also include Kenyon College located in Gambier, Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, and the Kokosing Construction Company near Fredericktown. In 2023 and 2024, the county was in the thrall of a misinformation campaign against Frazier Solar, a proposed solar farm in the county. Fossil fuel interests financed the local newspaper (Mount Vernon News), sent text messages to residents, funded an ostensibly grassroots opposition group and funded speakers who talked about the dangers of solar energy.

Education

* Kenyon College * Mount Vernon Nazarene University

Communities

City

(county seat)

Villages

* Brinkhaven * Centerburg * Danville * Fredericktown * Gambier * Martinsburg * Utica

Townships

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

* Brown * Butler *

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

* Clinton *

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

* Harrison * Hilliar *

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

* Jackson * Jefferson *

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 ...

* Middlebury * Milford * Miller * Monroe * Morgan * Morris * Pike * Pleasant * Union * Wayne

Census-designated places

* Apple Valley * Bladensburg *

* South Mount Vernon

Unincorporated communities

* Amity * Ankenytown * Artanna * Bangs * Batemantown * Brandon * Five Corners * Green Valley * Greer * Hunt * Jelloway * Knox *

Lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

* Millwood * Monroe Mills * Morgan Center * Mt. Liberty * North Liberty * Palmyra * Pipesville * Rich Hill * Rossville *

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

* Zuck

Notable people

Notable people, who lived or worked in Knox County, include the following: * Thomas Peter Akers, United States Congressman * Sean M. Decatur, chemist and former president of Kenyon College * Dan Emmett, songwriter of "Dixie" * George Hunt,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Attorney General *

Paul Lynde Paul Edward Lynde (; June 13, 1926January 10, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, and game-show panelist. A character actor with a distinctively campy and snarky persona that often poked fun at his closeted homosexuality, Lynde was well know ...

, actor (''Bewitched'', ''Hollywood Squares'') *

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

, actor * Luke Perry, actor

References

External links

Knox County Government

Knox County Sheriff's Office
{{authority control 1808 establishments in Ohio