Muskingum

Formed March 1, 1804 (19^th county)

Muskingum County (86,412), Zanesville (24,773)

The outstanding 1877 Classical Revival and Italianate courthouse sits on Main Street between 4^th and 5^th streets.  Main Street is United States Highway 40 in the city.  Henry E. Myer is the masonry courthouse architect.  The building was enlarged in 1993.  The structure features a tower and veteran memorials are on the grounds.  There was an 1809 facility that was also used as the State Capitol.  Zanesville has always been the county seat.  Muskingum County was organized on March 1, 1804 from parts of Washington and Fairfield counties as the 19^th county.  It is named for the Native American word for “by the river side.”  The county seat is named for settler Ebenezer Zane. 

Muskingum County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Six Common Pleas Court Judges serve Muskingum County.  The county is in the eastern part of the state.  Columbus, Ohio is west and Cleveland, Ohio is north of the county.  The county center is in Zanesville 3.3 miles East of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Coshocton, Guernsey, Noble, Morgan, Perry, and Licking counties. 

The area of the county is 664.6 square miles.  It is 4 out of 88 in the state.  It ranks 31 out of 88 in population in the state.  It has a density of 130.0 persons per square mile making it 38 out of 88 in the state.  Muskingum County has 39.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 70 crosses the county east to west from Guernsey County to Licking County.  United States Highway 22 enters from Guernsey County, east, and exits to Perry County, southwest.  United States Highway 40 is joined with United States Highway 22 from Guernsey County, splits and continues to parallel Interstate Highway 70 into Licking County.  The county is a rectangle with its bottom quarter shifted east.  The county seat is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Zanesville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 28.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced MUS-KEEN-GUM.  This county is in the Zanesville Micropolitan Statistical Area.