By: Melinda Krick, Paulding County Bicentennial Committee
Act establishing counties was passed Feb. 12, 1820
PAULDING – Wednesday, Feb. 12, marks the 200th anniversary of the Ohio General Assembly enacting a law to establish 14 counties in the last remaining unorganized area of Ohio. The act took effect a few weeks later on April
1.Twelve of the 14 counties were named for heroes of the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. (See list below.)
Paulding County is named for John Paulding, who, along with fellow patriots David Williams and Isaac Van Wart, captured Major John André in 1780. André’s arrest led to the discovery of Benedict Arnold’s plans to become a traitor.
The three young militiamen were hailed as national heroes, receiving a federal pension, farmland in New York State and the first-ever U.S. military decoration. None of the trio ever set foot in Ohio or visited their namesake counties here.
The date of Feb. 12 was chosen by the Paulding County Bicentennial Committee to officially launch the county’s 200th birthday year. Following an hour-long program with Gov. Mike DeWine as keynote speaker, the courthouse will be open to the public from 7-10 p.m. for the unveiling of 20 montages of historic photographs from around the county.
Below is the act as printed in the proceedings of the Eighteenth General Assembly beginning in December 1819. Spellings remain as originally printed. Section 3 and Section 4 of the act, both pertaining to Wood and Sandusky counties, are omitted here.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
An Act, for the erection of certain counties therein named.
Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General assembly of the state of Ohio, That all that part of the lands lately ceded by the Indians to the United States, which lies within this state, shall be, and the same is hereby erected into fourteen separate and distinct counties, to be bounded and named as follows, viz.
First to include townships one, two and three south, in the first, second, third and fourth ranges, and to be known by the name of Vanwart;
Second, to include all of said ranges south of said township, to the northern boundaries of the counties heretofore organised, and to be known by the name of Mercer;
Third, to include townships one and two south, and one and two north, in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth ranges, and to be known by the name of Putnam;
Fourth, to include all of the last named ranges, south of said second townships, to the northern boundaries off the organised counties, and to be known by the name of Allen;
Fifth, to include townships one and two south, and one and two north, in the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth ranges, and to be known by the name of Hancock;
Sixth, to include all the last mentioned ranges, south of said second township, and running south with the range lines to the northern boundaries of the organised counties, and to be known by the name of Hardin;
Seventh, to include townships one, two and three south, in ranges thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen, and all that may lie between the same and the west line of Richland county, and to be known by the name of Crawford;
Eighth, to include all of the last mentioned ranges, south of said third townships, and to run south with said range lines, to the northern boundaries of the organised counties, and east with the township lines to Richland county line, and to be known by the name of Marion;
Ninth, to include townships one, two and three north, in ranges thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen, and to be known by the name of Seneca;
Tenth, to include all of the last mentioned ranges north of said third townships, to the northern boundary of the state, and to be known by the name of Sandusky;
Eleventh, to include all of ranges nine, ten, eleven and twelve north of the second townships north in said ranges, and to run north with the same to the state line, and to be known by the name of Wood;
Twelfth, to include all of ranges five, six, seven and eight north of the second township north, in said ranges, and to run north with the same to the state line as aforesaid, and to be known by the name of Henry;
Thirteenth, to include townships one, two and three north, in the first, second, third and fourth ranges, and to be known by the name of Paulding;
Fourteenth, to include all of the first, second third and fourth ranges north of the third townships north in said ranges, and to run north with the same to the state line, and to be known by the name of Williams.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the counties of Crawford and Marion shall be attached to the county of Delaware; the county of Hardin shall be attached to the county of Logan; the county of Allen shall be attached to the county of Shelby; the counties of Vanwart and Mercer shall be attached to the county of Dark; the counties of Hancock, Henry, Putnam, Paulding and Williams shall be attached to the county of Wood; and the county of Seneca shall be attached to the county of Sandusky, until otherwise directed by law.
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Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That on the first Monday of April next, the legal voters residing within said counties of Wood & Sandusky, or counties attached thereto, shall assemble in their respective townships at the usual place of holding township elections, and elect their several township and county officers, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the temporary seat of justice for said county of Wood, shall be fixed at the town of Maumee, and the temporary seat of justice for the said county of Sandusky shall be fixed at Croghansville, until commissioners shall be appointed by the general assembly, to fix the permanent seats of justice for the said counties of Wood and Sandusky.
This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of April next.
JOSEPH RICHARDSON,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
ALLEN TRIMBLE,
Speaker of the Senate.
February 12, 1820.
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Where the counties got their names:
Allen – Col. John Allen, killed during the War of 1812.
Crawford – Col. William Crawford, a soldier in the French & Indian War and American Revolution; executed by Indians in 1782.
Hardin – Col. John Hardin, officer in the Revolution and militia commander on the Ohio frontier; ambushed while acting as peace emissary to the Shawnee.
Hancock – John Hancock, first signer of Declaration of Independence.
Marion – Gen. Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion, officer in the Revolutionary War.
Mercer – Brigadier General Hugh Mercer, Revolutionary War officer, killed in action.
Paulding – John Paulding, captor of Major André, Revolutionary War.
Putnam – Major General Israel Putnam, served in French & Indian War and Revolutionary War.
Sandusky – Derived from the Wyandot word meaning “water” or “cold water.”
Seneca – Named for the Seneca people who were the original inhabitants.
Van Wert – Isaac Van Wart, captor of Major André, Revolutionary War.
Williams – David Williams, captor of Major André, Revolutionary War.
Wood – Eleazer D. Wood, Army officer and engineer for General William Henry Harrison’s army, who built Fort Meigs in War of 1812; killed in action.
