Mercer County, Ohio facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mercer County
U.S. county
Mercer County courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Ohio
Ohio's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Ohio
Founded	January 2, 1824
Named for	Hugh Mercer
Seat	Celina
Largest city	Celina
Area
• Total	473 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Land	462 sq mi (1,200 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  2.3%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	42,528
• Density	90/sq mi (30/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th

Grand Lake St. Marys State Park

Graftonoceras fossil nautiloid, found near Coldwater, southern Mercer County.

Mercer County is located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,528. Its county seat is Celina. The county was created in 1820 and later organized in 1824. It is named for Hugh Mercer, an officer in the American Revolutionary War.

Mercer County comprises the Celina, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area

History

Mercer County was created in 1820 from land that had been attached to Darke and Shelby counties. Land south of the Greenville Treaty Line was still part of Darke County. An act establishing and fully organizing Mercer County took place on January 2, 1824. In 1837 Van Wert County was detached and the county line established is the current northern border of Mercer County. In 1839 Celina was established as the seat of Mercer County; St. Marys was the previous seat. In 1848 the area south of the Greenville Treaty Line to the current southern county line, was attached. When Auglaize County was formed, Mercer County's eastern border was moved 6 miles (9.7 km) west with the exception of the area south of the Greenville Treaty Line. This created the sharp point at Mercer County's southeast corner and was the last county line modification.

In the mid to late 1800s, Mercer County became home to many German immigrant farming families. Many of these German Americans had immigrated from northwestern Germany.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 473 square miles (1,230 km²), of which 462 square miles (1,200 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (2.3%) is water. The entire county has an elevation difference of less than 300 feet. The highest point is on the southern county line at 1071 feet above sea level. This is in proximity to the head waters for the Wabash River. The lowest point in the county is 780 feet above sea level. This point is located on the northern county line where the St. Marys River crosses over.

Drainage basins

Mercer County has two rivers running through it; the Wabash and the St. Marys. The Wabash watershed is part of the Gulf of Mexico's watershed. The St. Marys watershed is part of Lake Erie's watershed. Creeks between these two watersheds are within a mile of each other at some places in Mercer County. The summit line that divides the drainage basins is known as the St. Lawrence Continental Divide

Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek is the longest and largest creek in Mercer County. It stretches 19.7 miles and has two sections. The first section begins in southern farmland in the county and flows through the town of Montezuma, Ohio and into Grand Lake St. Marys. The other section of the creek begins as a spillway and empties into the Wabash River. Beaver Creek was originally one piece, but was split into two sections after the construction of Grand Lake. The creeks' spillway, and last section, has been the subject of controversy and multimillion-dollar lawsuits. Farmers along Beaver Creek claim their land floods because of the spillway that was put up in 1997, replacing the previous spillway, built in 1913.

Adjacent counties

• Adams County, Indiana (northwest)
• Van Wert County (north)
• Auglaize County (east)
• Shelby County (southeast)
• Darke County (south)
• Jay County, Indiana (southwest)

Demographics

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 40,814 people, 15,532 households, and 11,172 families living in the county. The population density was 88.3 inhabitants per square mile (34.1/km²). There were 17,633 housing units at an average density of 38.1 units per square mile (14.7 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.4% white, 0.4% Asian, 0.2% Pacific islander, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% black or African American, 0.6% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 1.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 58.7% were German, 8.8% were American, 8.3% were Irish, and 6.2% were English.

Of the 15,532 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 28.1% were non-families, and 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.11. The median age was 39.4 years.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,719 and the median income for a family was $60,215. Males had a median income of $42,441 versus $31,069 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,348. About 6.3% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.9% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

City

• Celina (county seat)

Villages

Townships

Unincorporated communities

• Carthagena
• Cassella
• Chattanooga
• Cranberry Prairie
• Erastus
• Macedon
• Maria Stein
• Mercer
• Padua
• Sebastian

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Mercer (Ohio) para niños