Hamilton County, Ohio

County: Hamilton

State: Ohio

Lat/Long: 39.1833, -84.5333

Hamilton County is located in southwestern Ohio. Named in honor of Alexander Hamilton, it is bounded on the north by Butler and Warren counties, on the east by Clermont County, on the south by the Ohio River, and on the west by Dearborn County, Indiana. During the colonial period, the area that would become Hamilton County was home to the Miami and other Native American nations. White settlers began moving into the region after the American Revolution. On January 4, 1790, General Arthur St. Clair, governor of the Northwest Territory, issued a proclamation establishing Hamilton County, with Cincinnati as its seat of government. As originally organized, Hamilton County comprised one-eighth of the state of Ohio, but the Ohio General Assembly carved ten new counties out of it between 1800 and 1810, reducing it in size to its present boundaries. By the War of 1812, the U.S. Government had forced the Miami and other Native Americans to cede their lands and move west, and the population of Hamilton County began to increase rapidly. In 1800, the population was 14,692; by 1840, it had increased to 80,145, and by 1860, it was 216,410.

History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio (Cincinnati: S. B. Nelson, 1894), 17-18.