Ashland County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,447. Its county seat and largest city is Ashland. The county is named for "Ashland", the home of Senator Henry Clay near Lexington, Kentucky. 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 Lexington, Kentucky-area home of Henry Clay, 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 and was culturally continuous with early New England. 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. Subsequent migration from 1800 to the mid-1820s came almost exclusively from the regions of rural Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

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

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Ashland County, Ohio – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|45,422

|46,535

|51,021

|51,352

|style='background: #ffffe6; |48,948

|98.36%

|97.95%

|97.14%

|96.64%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |93.33%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|311

|456

|419

|395

|style='background: #ffffe6; |383

|0.67%

|0.96%

|0.80%

|0.74%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.73%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|40

|48

|51

|77

|style='background: #ffffe6; |82

|0.09%

|0.10%

|0.10%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.16%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|131

|270

|286

|275

|style='background: #ffffe6; |322

|0.28%

|0.57%

|0.54%

|0.52%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.61%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|15

|39

|style='background: #ffffe6; |33

|x

|x

|0.03%

|0.07%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.06%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|85

|7

|30

|23

|style='background: #ffffe6; |103

|0.18%

|0.01%

|0.06%

|0.04%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|362

|477

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,714

|x

|x

|0.69%

|0.90%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.27%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|189

|191

|339

|501

|style='background: #ffffe6; |862

|0.41%

|0.40%

|0.65%

|0.94%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.64%

|-

|Total

|46,178

|47,507

|52,523

|53,139

|style='background: #ffffe6; |52,447

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 52,447. The median age was 41.5 years. 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 93.9% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.5% from some other race, and 3.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.6% of the population.

36.6% of residents lived in urban areas, while 63.4% lived in rural areas.

There were 20,700 households in the county, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.6% were married-couple households, 17.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 24.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. 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.

Of the 20,196&nbsp;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.

2000 census

As of the census 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, 0.81% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.65% of the population were Hispanic 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.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

<!-- U.S. SenRow should be -->

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. 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

thumb|175px|Map of Ashland County, Ohio, with municipal and township labels

City

  • Ashland (county seat)

Villages

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

Townships

  • Clear Creek
  • Green
  • Hanover
  • Jackson
  • Lake
  • Mifflin
  • Milton
  • Mohican
  • Montgomery
  • Orange
  • Perry
  • Ruggles
  • Sullivan
  • Troy
  • Vermillion

Census-designated places

  • Cinnamon Lake
  • Nankin
  • Sullivan

Unincorporated communities

  • Albion
  • Mohicanville
  • Nova
  • Paradise Hill
  • Redhaw
  • Rowsburg
  • Ruggles
  • Widowville

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Ashland County, Ohio

References

  • Ashland County Government's website