County in Ohio, United States
"Muskingum County" redirects here. Not to be confused with
Muskegon County
.
County in Ohio
Muskingum County
(
m?-
SKING
-(g)?m
) is a
county
located in the
U.S. state
of
Ohio
. As of the
2020 census
, the population was 86,410.
[2]
Its
county seat
is
Zanesville
.
[3]
Nearly bisected by the
Muskingum River
, the county name is
based on
a
Delaware
American Indian
word translated as "town by the river"
[4]
[5]
or "elk's eye".
[6]
Muskingum County comprises the
Zanesville, OH
Micropolitan Statistical Area
, which is also included in the
Columbus-Marion-Zanesville, OH Combined Statistical Area
. The Zanesville Micropolitan Statistical Area is the second-largest statistical area within the Combined Statistical Area, after the Columbus Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Name
[
edit
]
The name
Muskingum
may come from the
Shawnee
word
mshkikwam
'swampy ground'.
[7]
The name may also be from
Lenape
"Machkigen,"
referring to thorns, or a specific species of thorn bush.
[8]
Muskingum
has also been taken to mean 'elk's eye' (
mus w?shkinkw
) by
folk etymology
, as in
mus
'elk'
[9]
+
w?shkinkw
'its eye'.
[10]
Moravian missionary
David Zeisberger
wrote that the Muskingum River was called Elk's Eye "because of the numbers of elk that formerly fed on its banks."
[11]
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
, the county has a total area of 673 square miles (1,740 km
2
), of which 665 square miles (1,720 km
2
) is land and 8.0 square miles (21 km
2
) (1.2%) is water.
[12]
It is the fourth-largest county in Ohio by land area.
Adjacent counties
[
edit
]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1810
| 10,036
| | ?
|
---|
1820
| 17,824
| | 77.6%
|
---|
1830
| 29,334
| | 64.6%
|
---|
1840
| 38,749
| | 32.1%
|
---|
1850
| 45,049
| | 16.3%
|
---|
1860
| 44,416
| | ?1.4%
|
---|
1870
| 44,886
| | 1.1%
|
---|
1880
| 49,774
| | 10.9%
|
---|
1890
| 51,210
| | 2.9%
|
---|
1900
| 53,185
| | 3.9%
|
---|
1910
| 57,488
| | 8.1%
|
---|
1920
| 57,980
| | 0.9%
|
---|
1930
| 67,398
| | 16.2%
|
---|
1940
| 69,795
| | 3.6%
|
---|
1950
| 74,535
| | 6.8%
|
---|
1960
| 79,159
| | 6.2%
|
---|
1970
| 77,826
| | ?1.7%
|
---|
1980
| 83,340
| | 7.1%
|
---|
1990
| 82,068
| | ?1.5%
|
---|
2000
| 84,585
| | 3.1%
|
---|
2010
| 86,074
| | 1.8%
|
---|
2020
| 86,410
| | 0.4%
|
---|
2000 census
[
edit
]
As of the
census
[17]
of 2000, there were 84,585 people, 32,518 households, and 22,860 families living in the county. The population density was 127 inhabitants per square mile (49/km
2
). There were 35,163 housing units at an average density of 53 units per square mile (20/km
2
). The racial makeup of the county was 93.91%
White
, 4.01%
Black
or
African American
, 0.21%
Native American
, 0.27%
Asian
, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
, 0.20% from
other races
, and 1.37% from two or more races. 0.52% of the population were
Hispanic
or
Latino
of any race.
There were 32,518 households, out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% were
married couples
living together, 12.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.90% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,185, and the median income for a family was $41,938. Males had a median income of $31,537 versus $22,151 for females. The
per capita income
for the county was $17,533. About 9.90% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the
poverty line
, including 17.90% of those under age 18 and 10.00% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
[
edit
]
As of the
2010 United States Census
, there were 86,074 people, 34,271 households, and 23,125 families living in the county.
[18]
The population density was 129.5 inhabitants per square mile (50.0/km
2
). There were 38,074 housing units at an average density of 57.3 units per square mile (22.1 units/km
2
).
[19]
The racial makeup of the county was 93.0% white, 3.8% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.2% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.8% of the population.
[18]
In terms of ancestry, 25.2% were
German
, 15.5% were
Irish
, 11.1% were
American
, and 10.9% were
English
.
[20]
Of the 34,271 households, 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.5% were non-families, and 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age was 39.5 years.
[18]
The median income for a household in the county was $39,538 and the median income for a family was $48,425. Males had a median income of $40,183 versus $28,668 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,561. About 13.0% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the
poverty line
, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
[21]
Education
[
edit
]
The county is served by 7 high schools:
John Glenn High School
in
New Concord
(East Muskingum Local School District),
Philo High School
confusingly not located in Philo but instead across the river in
Duncan Falls
(Franklin Local School District),
Maysville High School
located in
South Zanesville
(Maysville Local Schools),
Bishop Rosecrans
(
Catholic
high school in downtown Zanesville),
Tri-Valley High School
located in
Dresden
(Tri-Valley Local School District),
West Muskingum High School
located in Zanesville (West Muskingum Local School District), and
Zanesville High School
which, as the name implies, is in Zanesville (Zanesville City School District).
Each high school is the only high school in school districts of the same name, the exception being Roscrans as the district is referred to as Bishop Fenwick.
The county is also served by three colleges,
Muskingum University
,
Zane State College
, and a branch campus of
Ohio University
known as
Ohio University Zanesville.
Politics
[
edit
]
Muskingum County is a Republican stronghold county in presidential elections. The 1964 election is the most recent in which the county voted Democratic, but
Bill Clinton
came within 48 votes of carrying it in 1996.
United States presidential election results for Muskingum County, Ohio
[22]
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
27,867
|
68.86%
|
11,971
|
29.58%
|
629
|
1.55%
|
2016
|
24,056
|
64.59%
|
11,123
|
29.86%
|
2,066
|
5.55%
|
2012
|
19,264
|
51.81%
|
17,002
|
45.73%
|
913
|
2.46%
|
2008
|
20,549
|
52.39%
|
17,730
|
45.20%
|
946
|
2.41%
|
2004
|
22,254
|
57.26%
|
16,421
|
42.25%
|
191
|
0.49%
|
2000
|
17,995
|
55.16%
|
13,415
|
41.12%
|
1,214
|
3.72%
|
1996
|
13,861
|
42.04%
|
13,813
|
41.89%
|
5,298
|
16.07%
|
1992
|
14,168
|
40.81%
|
11,670
|
33.61%
|
8,882
|
25.58%
|
1988
|
19,736
|
62.31%
|
11,691
|
36.91%
|
247
|
0.78%
|
1984
|
21,821
|
67.98%
|
10,037
|
31.27%
|
243
|
0.76%
|
1980
|
17,921
|
54.82%
|
12,584
|
38.50%
|
2,183
|
6.68%
|
1976
|
15,358
|
51.07%
|
14,178
|
47.15%
|
534
|
1.78%
|
1972
|
19,897
|
63.99%
|
10,313
|
33.17%
|
884
|
2.84%
|
1968
|
15,260
|
48.13%
|
13,089
|
41.28%
|
3,356
|
10.59%
|
1964
|
11,635
|
35.88%
|
20,792
|
64.12%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1960
|
21,518
|
61.88%
|
13,254
|
38.12%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1956
|
22,788
|
69.27%
|
10,110
|
30.73%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1952
|
21,244
|
62.98%
|
12,490
|
37.02%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1948
|
16,049
|
55.54%
|
12,765
|
44.18%
|
81
|
0.28%
|
1944
|
17,577
|
58.00%
|
12,729
|
42.00%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1940
|
19,395
|
55.18%
|
15,753
|
44.82%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1936
|
15,454
|
47.44%
|
16,265
|
49.93%
|
854
|
2.62%
|
1932
|
16,366
|
54.04%
|
13,378
|
44.17%
|
541
|
1.79%
|
1928
|
22,120
|
76.81%
|
6,507
|
22.60%
|
171
|
0.59%
|
1924
|
15,571
|
65.71%
|
6,709
|
28.31%
|
1,417
|
5.98%
|
1920
|
13,862
|
58.56%
|
9,437
|
39.87%
|
372
|
1.57%
|
1916
|
7,597
|
51.32%
|
6,328
|
42.75%
|
877
|
5.92%
|
1912
|
4,134
|
29.59%
|
5,376
|
38.47%
|
4,463
|
31.94%
|
1908
|
8,080
|
52.36%
|
6,576
|
42.62%
|
775
|
5.02%
|
1904
|
7,597
|
54.54%
|
5,511
|
39.57%
|
820
|
5.89%
|
1900
|
7,365
|
51.10%
|
6,667
|
46.25%
|
382
|
2.65%
|
1896
|
7,245
|
50.67%
|
6,871
|
48.05%
|
183
|
1.28%
|
1892
|
6,123
|
47.78%
|
6,230
|
48.62%
|
461
|
3.60%
|
1888
|
6,234
|
49.97%
|
5,884
|
47.17%
|
357
|
2.86%
|
1884
|
5,896
|
50.25%
|
5,696
|
48.54%
|
142
|
1.21%
|
1880
|
5,804
|
51.63%
|
5,336
|
47.46%
|
102
|
0.91%
|
1876
|
5,232
|
48.66%
|
5,457
|
50.75%
|
63
|
0.59%
|
1872
|
4,558
|
51.28%
|
4,304
|
48.42%
|
27
|
0.30%
|
1868
|
4,677
|
50.78%
|
4,534
|
49.22%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1864
|
4,422
|
53.16%
|
3,896
|
46.84%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1860
|
4,004
|
49.39%
|
3,550
|
43.79%
|
553
|
6.82%
|
1856
|
3,172
|
41.44%
|
3,391
|
44.30%
|
1,092
|
14.27%
|
Culture
[
edit
]
The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society was originally created as an auxiliary of the
American Anti-Slavery Society
[23]
and held its first meeting
Putnam, Ohio
, in April 1835.
[24]
In 1872, Zanesville
annexed
the town of Putnam. It is now the Putnam Historic District of Zanesville.
[25]
The
Muskingum County Library System
serves the communities of Muskingum County from its administrative offices in
Zanesville, Ohio
. This includes service to
Dresden
,
Duncan Falls
,
New Concord
, and
Roseville
. In 2005, the library loaned more than 918,000 items to its 73,000 cardholders. Total holding are over 328,000 volumes with over 190 periodical subscriptions.
[26]
The Wilds
is a 9,154 acres (37.04 km
2
) wildlife preserve open to visitation for a fee.
Communities
[
edit
]
City
[
edit
]
Villages
[
edit
]
Townships
[
edit
]
Census-designated places
[
edit
]
Other unincorporated communities
[
edit
]
Historical places
[
edit
]
- Irville - Former populated place in Licking Township, removed for the creation of Dillon Lake.
- Mattingly Settlement
- Named for the many members of the Mattingly family who settled in Muskingum Township.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Ohio County Profiles: Muskingum County"
(PDF)
. Ohio Department of Development. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 16, 2004
. Retrieved
April 28,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
2020 census
- ^
"Find a County"
. National Association of Counties. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2011
. Retrieved
June 7,
2011
.
- ^
"Muskingum County"
.
Ohio History Central
. Retrieved
January 7,
2019
.
- ^
"History of the Muskingum County"
.
Muskingum County Website
. Retrieved
January 7,
2019
.
- ^
First Explorations of Kentucky
. Filson Club. 1898. p.
133
. Retrieved
January 7,
2019
.
form the muskingum.
- ^
Mahr, August C. (1957).
"Indian River and Place Names in Ohio"
.
Ohio History
.
66
(2).
Ohio Historical Society
: 137?158
. Retrieved
June 18,
2021
.
- ^
"Lenape Dictionary"
(PDF)
. October 2000.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on July 27, 2004
. Retrieved
December 7,
2018
.
- ^
"mus"
.
Lenape Talking Dictionary
. Archived from
the original
on March 15, 2012
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
- ^
"weshkinkw"
.
Lenape Talking Dictionary
. Archived from
the original
on February 1, 2016
. Retrieved
May 22,
2012
.
- ^
David Zeisberger (1910).
David Zeisberger's History of Northern American Indians
. Press of F.J. Heer. p.
44
.
- ^
"2010 Census Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from
the original
on May 4, 2014
. Retrieved
February 9,
2015
.
- ^
"U.S. Decennial Census"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
February 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Historical Census Browser"
. University of Virginia Library
. Retrieved
February 9,
2015
.
- ^
Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995).
"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
February 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000"
(PDF)
. United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on March 27, 2010
. Retrieved
February 9,
2015
.
- ^
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
a
b
c
"DP-1 Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2020
. Retrieved
December 27,
2015
.
- ^
"Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density: 2010 - County"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2020
. Retrieved
December 27,
2015
.
- ^
"DP02 SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES ? 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2020
. Retrieved
December 27,
2015
.
- ^
"DP03 SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS ? 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2020
. Retrieved
December 27,
2015
.
- ^
Leip, David.
"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections"
.
uselectionatlas.org
. Retrieved
May 3,
2018
.
- ^
"Ohio Anti-Slavery Society - Ohio History Central"
.
www.ohiohistorycentral.org
. Retrieved
October 13,
2017
.
- ^
"Narrative of Riotous Proceedings"
.
utc.iath.virginia.edu
. Retrieved
October 13,
2017
.
- ^
National Park Service
.
"Putnam Historic District"
.
Archived
from the original on June 14, 2019
. Retrieved
November 3,
2019
.
- ^
"2005 Ohio Public Library Statistics:Statistics by County and Town"
. State Library of Ohio. Archived from
the original
on September 24, 2006
. Retrieved
October 30,
2006
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Places adjacent to Muskingum County, Ohio
|
---|
|
39°58′N
81°57′W
/
39.97°N 81.95°W
/
39.97; -81.95