Wayne

Formed January 1, 1796 (3^rd county)

Wayne County (116,889), Wooster (27,229)

The classy Second Empire courthouse was erected in 1878 on Liberty Street at Market Street.  Liberty Street is Ohio State Highway 302 in this part of the town.  The facility is made of brown brick and masonry and designed by Thomas Boyd.  A Justice Center was built in 2002.  The courthouse features a tower and veterans memorials are across the street.  The county was formed on January 1, 1796 as the 3^rd county with Wooster as the only county seat.  There were 1819 and 1832 courthouses earlier.  Wayne County is named for American Revolutionary General Anthony Wayne.  The county seat was named for American Revolutionary General David Wooster. 

Wayne County government consists of a sheriff and 3 Commissioners.  Four Common Pleas Court Judges serve Wayne County.  The county is in northern Ohio.  Cleveland, Ohio is north and Columbus, Ohio is southwest of the county.  The county center is 3.8 miles Northeast of Wooster.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Medina, Summit, Stark, Holmes, and Ashland counties. 

The area of the county is 555.4 square miles.  It is 14 out of 88 in the state.  It ranks 24 out of 88 in population in the state.  It has a density of 210.5 persons per square mile making it 28 out of 88 in the state.  Wayne County has 47.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 71 cuts the northwest corner of the county from Medina County, north, to Ashland County, west.  United States Highway 30 crosses east to west from Stark County to Ashland County.  United States Highway 42 parallels Interstate Highway 71 from Medina to Ashland counties.  United States Highway 250 enters from Stark County, southeast, and exits to Ashland County, west.  The county is a rectangle.  Wooster is located in the southwest quarter of the county.  Wooster is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 23.3% of the county population.  This county is in the Wooster Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Rittman