Ohio has quite a history behind her. Today, there are 88 counties, and is 35th among the states in size (41,220 sq. miles).
It was originally part of a vast area of land known as the Northwest Territory, established by the Ordinance of 1787. It included all of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota.
Ohio became the great land experiment. Before the counties were formed, the land had been sub-divided. Four states held claims to Ohio - New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Virginia. Eventually, only Connecticut and Virginia held tracts for their own use.
The Connecticut Western Reserve, known as The Western Reserve was under U.S. jurisdiction, but reserved for Connecticut's exclusive use.
The Virginia Military District was land reserved by Virginia to pay its Revolutionary War veterans. Our country was dollar poor, but land rich.
Thre Fire Lands was part of the Western Reserve. It was set aside to compensate people from Connecticut burned out by the British during the Revolutionary. Contrary to what is sometimes taught, it was not land that had caught fire!
The Seven Ranges was land for public sale surveyed into the modern range and township land division that we are familiar with today.
Congress Lands were tracts held by the government for public sale.
Ohio Company Land was a private purchase. The first permanent settlement in Ohio, Marietta, was made by the Ohio Company.
The Donation Tract represented 100,000 acres that was to revert to the Ohio Company, provided it was settled within five years.
The Symmes Purchase was privately purchased for settlement. It was bought by John Symmes et al.
There were other land grants made later in Ohio, but these were the major ones.
Ohio had ten counties before it was made a state in 1803! These counties were: (clockwise, beginning in the northwest)
Wayne County (1796): the upper northwest part of the state.
Trumbull County (1800): primarily the Western Reserve/Fire Lands.
Jefferson County (1797): south of Trumbull County on the east.
Belmont County (1801): below Jefferson County.
Washington County (1788): the southeast part of the state.
Fairfield County (1800): smack dab in the middle!
Ross County (1798): west and south of Ross County.
Adams County (1797): below Ross County on the Ohio River.
Hamilton County (1790): western Ohio.
Clermont County (1800): between Hamilton and Adams Counties bordering the Ohio River.
From these ten counties came the 88 counties we know today!
