Greene

Formed May 1, 1803 (15^th county)

Greene County (167,971), Xenia (25,431), Beavercreek (46,559)

The 1902 stone Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse serves Greene County.  Built on a square created by Main, Detroit, Market, and Whiteman streets, this courthouse stands out.  United States Highway 68 is Detroit Street.  Samuel Hannaford and Sons are the architects.  The building features a tower with a working clock and tile roof.  A canon sits on the grounds.  A County Building sits next to the courthouse.  The county was created on May 1, 1803 from parts of Hamilton and Ross counties as the 15^th county.  There was an 1843 courthouse earlier in Xenia, the only county seat.  The county was named for American Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene.  He is also the namesake of the county seat of Darke County.  Xenia is a Greek word meaning “hospitality.”  Greene County was the birthplace of 1 Ohio Governor, R. Michael DeWine. 

Greene County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Five Common Pleas Court Judges serve Greene County.  Greene County is in the southwest part of the state.  Dayton, Ohio is directly west and Columbus, Ohio is northeast of the county.  The county center is 2.4 miles East-Northeast of Xenia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Clark, Madison, Fayette, Clinton, Warren, and Montgomery counties. 

The area of the county is 414.9 square miles.  It is 60 out of 88 in the state.  It ranks 18 out of 88 in population in the state.  It has a density of 404.8 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 88 in the state.  Greene County has 74.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 35 crosses the county from northwest to southeast from Montgomery County to Fayette County.  United States Highway 42 enters from the northeast, Clark County, and exits to the southwest, Warren County.  United States Highway 68 travels north to south from Clark County to Clinton County.  The county is an overall rectangle.  The county seat is located slightly west and south of the center of the county.  Beavercreek is on the western border of the county.  Xenia is the county seat and Beavercreek is the largest city.  Xenia is 15.1% of the county population while Beavercreek is 27.7% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced ZEEN-YA.  This county is in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.