Carroll County
About Us
About The Carroll County Commissioners
When the US government passed the Land Ordinance of 1785, on May 20, a land survey was made of the land in eastern Ohio then known as the Northwest Territory.
The land to be surveyed was called the “Seven Ranges”. This was the only land surveyed by government surveyors under the continental congress. The first line due west from the intersection of the Pennsylvania line with the Ohio River through what is now northern Carroll County. The line was 42 miles long. Thomas Hutchins, the chief geographer of the United States, ran this line from September 23 to October 22, 1785. Each township was numbered and divided into sections.
The first known white men to approach the area were the Revs. Frederick Post and John Heckewelder who were both Moravian Missionaries who began a settlement in Salem, Columbiana County and then traveled to Schoenbrunn and Gnadenhutten in Tuscarawas County.
Tradition tells us that about 1800, Jesse Palmer, a hunter settled in Washington Township on a stream that now bears his name. He is the first known individual to actually build and settle here. Of course, without land records for that time, it’s difficult to be certain who was the first. About the same time, John Jackman settled on land on the Elkhorn in Lee Township. Many others soon followed. During the second decade the settlement within the territory of this county was more rapid and many towns were formed.
In the session of Ohio State congress 1832-1833 Carroll County was formed from parts of Columbiana,Stark, Tuscarawas, Harrison and Jefferson counties. The population mainly originated from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, with a few Germans and Scotch-Irish. The land is somewhat hilly and has an area of 400 square miles.
The county was named for the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, Maryland. He died November 14, 1833 and our county was officially formed January 1833. Gen. H. A. Stidger of this county visited Mr. Carroll before his death and told him that Ohio had named a county in his honor and he was extremely pleased. There are 14 townships in Carroll County. They are: Augusta, Brown, Center, East, Fox, Harrison, Lee, Loudon, Monroe, Orange, Perry, Rose, Union and Washington.
Carroll County Historical Photos
Contact Us
119 South Lisbon Street, Suite 201
Carrollton, Ohio 44615
Phone: 330-627-4869
Fax: 330-627-6656
