McArthur is a village in and the county seat of Vinton County, Ohio, United States. It is located southeast of Chillicothe. The population was 1,783 at the 2020 census.
History
McArthur was laid out and platted in 1815. It was originally called McArthurstown and was named for Duncan McArthur, an army general in the War of 1812. The oldest surviving building is the McArthur Hotel, which was built in 1839.
The Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) purchased the McArthur Hotel in December 2021, from Kathryn Matteson, the previous owner. In 2022, the Vinton County CVB began a revitalization project on the McArthur Hotel. On July 8, 2025, a fire inside the McArthur Hotel led to extensive damages. The building was declared a "total loss" by insurance companies. Cleanup and renovation begun in 2026, while attempting to maintain as much of the historic, external construction as possible. An agreement was formed between Dakota Dunn and Stellar Films to document the entire renovation, with hopes to pitch it to major television networks such as HGTV and The History Channel.
Geography
McArthur is located at the junction of U.S. Route 50 and Ohio State Route 93.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Demographics
thumb|McArthur Village Hall
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,701 people, 700 households, and 451 families living in the village. The population density was . There were 771 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 98.1% White, 0.1% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.8% of the population.
There were 700 households, of which 34.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.6% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.
The median age in the village was 35.3 years. 27.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.3% were from 45 to 64; and 15.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 45.7% male and 54.3% female.
2000 census
As of the census
McArthur has a public library, the Herbert Wescoat Memorial Library.
Notable people
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- Pete Abele – politician and judge
- Dick Bates – Major League Baseball pitcher
- Benson Dillon Billinghurst – superintendent and educator
- Edward Franklin Bingham – Vinton County prosecuting attorney and judge
- Horatio C. Claypool – U.S. Representative
- Maude Collins – First female elected sheriff in the state of Ohio
- Thomas S. Crow – Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
- Thomas Wren – U.S. Representative from Nevada