Washington 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 southeastern part 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 59,711.2020 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 ...

is Marietta. The county, the oldest in the state, is named for

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

. Washington County comprises the Marietta, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, WV-OH Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. It is the fifth-largest county in Ohio by land area. Washington County's southern and eastern boundary is the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The Muskingum River, Little Muskingum River, Duck Creek, and the Little Hocking River flow through the county to the Ohio River.

Adjacent counties

* Noble County (north) * Monroe County (northeast) * Tyler County, West Virginia (east) * Pleasants County, West Virginia (southeast) *

Wood County, West Virginia Wood County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 84,296, making it West Virginia's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Parkersburg. The county was formed in 1798 from the west ...

(south) * Athens County (southwest) * Morgan County (northwest)

Major highways

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

Protected areas

* Wayne National Forest (part) * Boord State Nature Preserve

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 63,251 people, 25,137 households, and 17,671 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 27,760 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.33%

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 ...

, 0.92%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.13% from other races, and 0.89% from two or more races. 0.51% 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. 29.5% were of German, 23.4% American, 12.3% English and 11.0% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 25,137 households, out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% 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, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.20% 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 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.50% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,275, and the median income for a family was $41,605. Males had a median income of $32,034 versus $21,346 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 $18,082. About 8.60% of families and 11.40% 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 15.70% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 61,778 people, 25,587 households, and 17,092 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 28,367 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.5% white, 1.1% black or African American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 29.3% were German, 16.7% were Irish, 11.8% were English, and 10.7% were American. Of the 25,587 households, 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 33.2% were non-families, and 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age was 43.0 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,654 and the median income for a family was $53,131. Males had a median income of $42,460 versus $28,828 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,786. About 10.8% of families and 15.2% of the population were below the

, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Washington County has a 3-member Board of County Commissioners that oversee the various County departments, similar to all but 2 of the 88 Ohio counties. Washington County's elected commissioners are: Eddie Place (R), James Booth (R), and Charlie Schilling (R).

Politics

Washington County typically votes Republican. In 1976, it was one of only two counties on the eastern Ohio border to vote for President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

, and in 1996, it was the only county on the eastern border to vote for

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

. Only five Democratic Party presidential candidates have won the county from 1856 to the present day, the most recent being Lyndon B. Johnson in his statewide & national landslide of 1964.

Education

There are six high schools that serve the people of Washington County (as of 2016). * Belpre Golden Eagles * Beverly Fort Frye Cadets * New Matamoras

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

Cougars * Marietta Tigers * Vincent Warren Warriors *

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 ...

Wildcats There is also the Washington County Career Center, a tech school, Washington State College of Ohio, a two-year college, and Marietta College, a four-year college. All are located in Marietta.

Communities

Map of Washington County Ohio With Municipal and Township Labels

Cities

* Belpre * Marietta (county seat)

Villages

* Beverly * Lower Salem * Lowell * Macksburg * Matamoras

Townships

* Adams * Aurelius * Barlow * Belpre * Decatur * Dunham * Fairfield * Fearing * Grandview *

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

* Lawrence *

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 ...

* Ludlow * Marietta * Muskingum * Newport * Palmer * Salem * Warren *

* Watertown * Wesley

Census-designated places

* Devola * Little Hocking * Newport * Reno *

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

Unincorporated communities

* Archers Fork * Barlow * Bartlett * Beavertown * Beckett * Bevan * Bloomfield *

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

* Briggs * Caywood * Churchtown * Coal Run *

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

* Cornerville * Cow Run * Cutler * Dalzell * Dart * Decaturville * Deucher *

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

* Dunham * Elba * Equity * Fillmore * Fleming * Germantown * Gracey * Grandview *

Layman In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

* Lower Newport * Luke Chute * Moore Junction * Moss Run * Newell Run * Oak Grove * Patten Mills * Pinehurst * Qualey *

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

Relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

* Sitka * Stanleyville * Tick Ridge *

Veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

* Wade * Warner * Watertown * Whipple * Wingett Run * Yankeeburg

References

External links

County website

The Marietta Times newspaper website
{{Coord, 39.46, -81.49, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-OH_source:UScensus1990 Appalachian Ohio Ohio counties on the Ohio River