Knox

Formed March 1, 1808 (28^th county)

Knox County (62,711), Mount Vernon (16,939)

The 1856 red brick courthouse sits on High Avenue at Gay Street.  United States Highway 36 is High Avenue in the town.  The courthouse was remodeled in 1890.  Daniel Clark is the architect of this Greek Revival facility.  The building was renovated in 1974.  The structure features faux columns and a tower.  The County Office Building is next door.  Veteran memorials are down the street in the center of town.  The county was formed on March 1, 1808 from Fairfield County as the 28^th county.  Mount Vernon has always been the county seat.  It is named for United States Secretary of War Henry Knox.  Mount Vernon is named for the estate of United States President George Washington. 

Knox County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  One Common Pleas Court Judge serves Knox County.  Knox County is in central Ohio.  Cleveland, Ohio is northeast and Columbus, Ohio is southwest of the county.  The county center is 3.6 miles Northeast of Mount Vernon.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Ashland, Holmes, Coshocton, Licking, Delaware, Morrow, and Richland counties. 

The area of the county is 527.1 square miles.  It is 21 out of 88 in the state.  It ranks 40 out of 88 in population in the state.  It has a density of 119.0 persons per square mile making it 44 out of 88 in the state.  Knox County has 39.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 36 travels through the county from east to west from Coshocton County to Delaware County.  United States Highway 62 goes northeast to southwest from Holmes County to Licking County.  The county is a rectangle with an extra foot sticking out of the southwest corner.  Mount Vernon is located in the southwest corner of the county.  Mount Vernon is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 27.0% of the county population.  This county is in the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.