Warren County, Ohio

Warren County, Ohio
Warren County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 242,337. Its county seat is Lebanon and largest city is Mason. The county is one of Ohio's most affluent, with the highest median income of the state's 88 counties. The county was established on May 1, 1803, from Hamilton County; it is named for Dr. Joseph Warren, a hero of the Revolution who sent Paul Revere and the overlooked William Dawes on their famous rides and who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Warren County is part of the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Warren County was established in 1803. The first non-Native American settlers were migrants from New England. During the election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln received 60% of the vote in Warren County, and in 1864 he was reelected with 70% of the vote in the county. From that time on the county was a stronghold of the Republican party, with Ulysses S. Grant going on to carry the county by large margins in both 1868 and 1872.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. The county is a rough square with the sides about long.
Adjacent counties
Montgomery County (northwest)
Greene County (northeast)
Clinton County (east)
Clermont County (south)
Hamilton County (southwest)
Butler County (west)
Boundaries
Warren County was created by the first Ohio General Assembly in the Act of March 24, 1803, which also created Butler and Montgomery Counties. The act defined Warren County as "all that part of the county of Hamilton included within the following bounds, viz.: Beginning at the northeast corner of the county of Clermont, running thence west with the line of said county to the Little Miami; thence up the same with the meanders thereof to the north boundary of the first tier of sections in the second entire range of townships in the Miami Purchase; thence west to the northeast corner of Section No. 7 in the third township of the aforesaid range; thence north to the Great Miami; thence up the same to the middle of the fifth range of townships; thence east to the County line; thence with same south to the place of beginning." Originally this included land now in Clinton County as far east as Wilmington.
Clinton County proved a continuing headache to the legislature. The Ohio Constitution requires that every county have an area of at least four hundred square miles (1,036 km2). Clinton County's boundaries were several times adjusted in an effort to comply with that clause of the constitution. One of them, the Act of January 30, 1815, detached a strip of land from the eastern side to give to Clinton. That would have left Warren under four hundred square miles (1,036 km2), so a portion of Butler County (the part of Franklin Township where Carlisle is now located) was attached to Warren in compensation. The 1815 act was as follows:
Section 1—That all that part of the county of Butler lying and being within the first and second fractional townships in the fifth range, and adjoining the south line of Montgomery County, shall be and the same is hereby attached to and made part of the county of Warren.
Section 2—That eleven square miles 28 km2 of the territory of the county of Warren and extending parallel to the said eastern boundary of Warren County, along the whole length of such eastern boundary from north to south, shall be and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the county of Clinton."
Except for the sections formed by the Great and Little Miamis, the sides are all straight lines.
Lakes and rivers
The major rivers of the county are the Great Miami River, which flows through the northwest corner of the county in Franklin Township, and the Little Miami River which zig-zags across the county from north to south. There is one sizable lake, the Caesars Creek Reservoir, created by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam on Caesars Creek in the northeast part of the county in Massie Township.
Demographics
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 158,383 people, 55,966 households, and 43,261 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 58,692 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.66% White, 2.73% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population.
There were 55,966 households, out of which 39.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.20% were married couples living together, 8.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.70% were non-families. 18.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.70% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 34.00% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 9.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 102.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,952, and the median income for a family was $64,692. Males had a median income of $47,027 versus $30,862 for females. The per capita income for the county was $25,517. About 3.00% of families and 4.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.40% of those under age 18 and 4.70% of those age 65 or over.
2010 census
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 212,693 people, 76,424 households, and 57,621 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 80,750 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.5% white, 3.9% Asian, 3.3% black or African American, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 2.2% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 28.7% were German, 14.1% were Irish, 12.0% were English, 11.6% were American, and 5.0% were Italian.
Of the 76,424 households, 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 24.6% were non-families, and 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.14. The median age was 37.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $71,274 and the median income for a family was $82,090. Males had a median income of $61,091 versus $41,331 for females. The per capita income for the county was $31,935. About 4.7% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.6% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Warren County is home to the Mason Business Center, a research and development facility for Procter and Gamble (P&G), whose global headquarters are located in downtown Cincinnati.
Originally built in 1995 after three years of construction, P&G recently completed expansion of a new Beauty and Innovation Center in 2019, adding an additional 1,000 jobs for a total of 2,800 employees at the site. Mason is also home to the corporate headquarters of LensCrafters.
Top employers
According to the county's 2019 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the county are:
Government and infrastructure
Warren County has a 3-member Board of County Commissioners that administer and oversee the various County departments, similar to all but 2 of the 88 Ohio counties. The original county commissioners in 1804 were Robert Benham, Matthias Corwin and William James. The elected commissioners now serve four-year terms. Warren County's current elected commissioners are:
County Commissioners: Tom Grossmann (R), Shannon Jones (R), and David Young (R).
Hospitals
Atrium Medical Center – Middletown (Formerly Middletown Regional Hospital)
Bethesda Medical Center at Arrow Springs – Lebanon (Branch of Bethesda North Hospital)
Post offices
The following post offices, with ZIP codes, serve Warren County:
Blanchester, 45107
Carlisle, 45005
Cincinnati (Sharonville branch), 45241
Cincinnati (Symmes branch), 45249
Clarksville, 45113
Dayton (Centerville/Washington Twp. branch), 45458
Franklin, 45005
Harveysburg, 45032
Goshen, 45122
Kings Mills, 45034
Lebanon, 45036
Loveland, 45140
Maineville, 45039
Mason, 45040
Miamisburg, 45342
Middletown, 45044
Monroe, 45050
Morrow, 45152
Oregonia, 45054
Pleasant Plain, 45162
South Lebanon, 45065
Springboro,45066
Waynesville, 45068
Telephone service
These are the telephone companies serving Warren County: CenturyLink (CL); FairPoint Communications (FP); Cincinnati Bell (Cin); AT&T (AT&T); TDS Telecom (TDS); and Frontier Communications (F). Warren County is in the 513 and 937 area codes.
The following exchange areas serve Warren County, listed with the area code and incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC) abbreviation from above serving that exchange (list may not be up-to-date):
Bellbrook (937-AT&T): 310, 661, 848
Blanchester (937-F): 783
Butlerville (513-TDS): 877
Centerville (937-AT&T): 350, 619, 885, 886
Clarksville (937-F): 289, 501, 574, 577
Franklin (937-AT&T): 514, 550, 557, 704, 743, 746, 748, 790, 806, 928
Germantown (937-FP): 855
Lebanon (513-CL): 228, 282, 331, 695, 696, 836, 850, 932, 933, 934
Little Miami (513-Cin): 239, 248, 274, 334, 340, 444, 453, 575, 576, 583, 600, 677, 683, 697, 707, 716, 722, 774, 831, 833, 965
Mason (513-CL): 336, 339, 398, 459, 492, 573, 622, 754, 229, 234, 701, 770
Miamisburg-West Carrollton (937-AT&T): 247, 353, 384, 388, 530, 560, 847, 859, 865, 866, 914
Middletown (513-AT&T): 217, 222, 224, 261, 267, 292, 306, 318, 320, 355, 392, 420, 422, 423, 424, 425, 433, 435, 464, 465, 571, 594, 649, 705, 727, 783, 804, 849, 890, 915
Monroe (513-AT&T): 360, 539
Morrow (513-CL): 899
New Burlington (937-F): 488
South Lebanon (513-CL): 268, 480, 494
Spring Valley (937-AT&T): 317, 659, 862
Springboro (937-AT&T): 743, 746, 748, 885, 886 - (513-CL): 902, 915, 956
Waynesville (513-CL): 897
Politics
Warren County has long been one of the most Republican counties in Ohio, and has been since the party was established in the 1850s. Since the first presidential election after its founding, 1856, Warren County has supported the Republican candidate for president all but once, the exception being 1964 when Warren County voted for Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson over Barry M. Goldwater. In 2008, Warren County cast the largest net vote for John McCain of any Ohio county. Before the Republican Party was formed, Warren County supported the Whigs.
The Republican trend is no less pronounced at the state level. Since 1869, Warren County has almost always supported the Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio, the exceptions being in 1924 when it supported Vic Donahey, 1932 (George White), 1952 (Frank Lausche), and 1958 (Michael V. DiSalle). However, other than DiSalle, each of these four Democrats, who were all victorious statewide, were conservative Democrats.
In local races, Warren County occasionally elected Democrats for much of the 20th century. In 1976, two of the three county commission seats were won by Democrats, and as late as the 1990s, local elections between Democrats and Republicans frequently remained competitive. However, with the massive expansion of Warren County's population in the 1990s, the county swiftly became a Republican stronghold, this being indicated by the fact that Republicans' typically ran unopposed. In elections between 1996 and 2012, in which eight county offices were on the ballot, no Democrat filed to run. In November 1999, the last elected Democrat to hold office in Warren County, a member of the Educational Service Center (county school board), lost her seat to a Republican.
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Education
Public school districts
Blanchester City School District (also in Brown, Clermont, and Clinton)
Carlisle Local School District (also in Montgomery)
Carlisle High School, Carlisle (the Indians)
Clinton-Massie Local School District (also in Clinton)
Franklin City School District
Franklin High School, Franklin (the Wildcats)
Goshen Local School District (also in Clermont)
Kings Local School District
Kings High School, Kings Mills (the Knights)
Lebanon City School District
Lebanon High School, Lebanon (the Warriors)
Little Miami Local School District (also in Clermont)
Little Miami High School, Morrow (the Panthers)
Loveland City School District (also in Clermont and Hamilton)
Mason City School District
William Mason High School, Mason (the Comets)
Middletown City School District (also in Butler)
Monroe Local School District (also in Butler)
Princeton City School District (also in Butler and Hamilton)
Springboro Community City School District (also in Montgomery)
Springboro High School, Springboro (the Panthers)
Wayne Local School District
Waynesville High School, Waynesville (the Spartans)
Warren County Vocational School District
Warren County Career Center, Lebanon
Xenia City School District (also in Greene and Clinton)
Private schools
Bishop Fenwick High School – Franklin
Lebanon Christian School – Lebanon
Mars Hill Academy - Mason
Middletown Christian Schools – Franklin
St. Margaret of York School – Loveland
Liberty Bible Academy – Mason
St. Susanna Parish School – Mason
Royalmont Academy – Mason
St. Francis de Sales – Lebanon
CinDay Academy - Springboro
Virtual schools
Warren County Virtual Community School
Vocational schools
Warren County Career Center Website
Colleges and universities
Warren County has no native colleges or universities, but was the original site selected for Miami University which instead located in Oxford, Ohio in 1809. National Normal University, a teachers college, was in Lebanon from 1855 until 1917 when it closed. Several colleges offer classes in Warren County at various locations, including Sinclair Community College of Dayton, the University of Cincinnati, and Wilmington College. Sinclair opened a branch in the Mason area in 2007. The University of Cincinnati owns of land at the intersections of I-71 and Wilmington road, but no plans for development on the site have been announced.
Libraries
The county has six public libraries:
Franklin Public Library - Franklin
Lebanon Public Library - Lebanon
Mary L. Cook Public Library – Waynesville
Mason Public Library - Mason
Salem Township Public Library - Morrow
Springboro Public Library - Springboro
Transportation
Highways
Interstate 71
Interstate 75
U.S. Route 22
U.S. Route 42
State Route 3
State Route 28
State Route 48
State Route 63
State Route 73
State Route 122
State Route 123
State Route 132
State Route 350
State Route 741
Airports
Warren County has one public airport, designated as Lebanon-Warren County Airport (I68). The runway is a 4502' x 65' paved and lighted north–south runway (01/19), and parallel taxiway. Navigation and communications equipment includes PAPI, AWOS, Pilot Controlled Lighting, and UNICOM. The airport runway, taxiway, and navigation equipment is owned by the county. The county leases a public terminal, but other facilities are privately owned and operated under contract by a Fixed-base operator. The airport serves general and business aviation, but has no commercial airlines.
There are also two privately owned operating airports in the county; Waynesville airport, also known as Red Stewart Field (40I), and Caesar Creek Gliderport (2OH9), both with grass runways. Operations have ceased at two former private paved runway airports, Brownie's Lebanon Airport (19I), and Lebanon San Mar Gale (OH79).
Rail and Bus
Warren County does not have passenger train service except for a scenic train that runs between Lebanon and Mason. Freight trains still serve Carlisle, and on a limited basis, Monroe, Mason, and Lebanon. Historically, there have been several trains that ran through the county whose stops became cities and villages. These trains include the Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway, the Middletown and Cincinnati Railroad, and the Little Miami Railroad whose path is now replaced by the Little Miami Bike Trail. There have been proposals to run commuter trains from Cincinnati to the Kings Island area, but none have ever found sufficient support or funding.
There is no public bus transportation based in Warren County, but there is limited service from Cincinnati to Mason and Kings Island. Middletown also runs bus service to eastern portions of Middletown that are in Warren County.
Waterways
There are no commercially navigable waterways in Warren County, but the Warren County Canal did operate in the 19th century as a branch of the Miami and Erie Canal, bringing freight to Lebanon by canal boat. Recreationally, the Little Miami River can be traveled by canoe or kayak for its length through the county, and motorized boating can be done at Caesar's Creek Lake.
Media
The Journal-News circulates in Franklin, Springboro, Lebanon, and Turtlecreek Township. The Dayton Daily News, circulates in the northern part of the county. The Cincinnati Enquirer circulates through most of the county while the Cincinnati Post abandoned all distribution in the county in 2004.
Among its weekly papers was The Western Star, the oldest weekly in the state and the oldest newspaper west of the Appalachians published under its original name. It was closed on January 17, 2013. The Star, like the Pulse-Journal in Mason and the Star-Press in Springboro, was owned by the parent of the Middletown Journal and the Dayton Daily News, Cox Media Group. Other weeklies include the Franklin Chronicle.
For a time in the mid-1990s, Lebanon was the home of commercial radio station WMMA-FM, begun by Mike and Marilyn McMurray in 1994. The McMurrays sold to what was then known as American Radio Systems License Corp. a Boston-based chain of stations which also owned Cincinnati stations WGRR-FM and WKRQ (both since sold to various other owners). The new owners moved the station to Hamilton County. In 2010, the only radio station in the county at the time was WLMH-FM, a student-run station at Little Miami High School in Hamilton Township. It went off the air around 2010, and in 2012, the FCC removed WLMH from their database and cancelled their license as a result of no broadcasts for over a year.
Warren County is assigned to the Cincinnati television market, but Dayton television stations treat it as part of their market as well.
Recreation and attractions
Kings Island: Theme park
Western & Southern Open: Professional tennis tournament
The Beach Water Park: Outdoor water park
Great Wolf Lodge: Indoor water park resort
Ozone Zipline Adventures: Ziplines ranging from 250 feet to 1300 feet
Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad: Nostalgic, themed train rides
Fort Ancient: American Indian earthen mounds
Caesar Creek State Park and Caesar Creek Lake
Caesar's Creek Pioneer Village
Little Miami Scenic Trail: Scenic bike trail
Lebanon Countryside Trail
The Golden Lamb: Ohio's oldest continuously operating inn
La Comedia Dinner Theatre: Professional dinner theater
Morgan's Canoe Livery: Canoe rental on Little Miami National Scenic River
Bella Balloons & Gentle Breeze Balloons: Balloon sightseeing tours
Vertical Advantage Helicopters: Helicopter sightseeing tours
Start Skydiving: Skydiving
Red Stewart Airfield: Airplane sightseeing tours from a grass-strip airfield
Cincinnati AVP Open: Professional beach volleyball tournament
Warren County Historical Society Museum
Glendower State Memorial
Lebanon Raceway
Ohio Renaissance Festival
Lebanon Horse-Drawn Carriage Parade & Festival
The Christmas Ranch
Communities
Cities
Carlisle (part)
Franklin
Lebanon (county seat)
South Lebanon
Loveland (part)
Mason
Middletown (part)
Monroe (part)
Springboro (part)
Villages
Blanchester (part)
Butlerville
Corwin
Harveysburg
Maineville
Morrow
Pleasant Plain
Waynesville
Townships
Clearcreek
Deerfield
Franklin
Hamilton
Harlan
Massie
Salem
Turtlecreek
Union
Washington
Wayne
Census-designated places
Five Points
Hunter
Kings Mills
Landen
Loveland Park
Unincorporated communities
Beedles Station
Blackhawk
Blue Ball (a neighborhood of Middletown)
Brown's Store
Cozaddale
Crosswick
Dallasburg
Dodds
Edwardsville
Fort Ancient
Fosters
Genn Town
Greentree Corners
Hagemans Crossing
Hammel
Hillcrest
Henpeck
Hicks
Hopkinsville
Kenricksville
Level
Mathers Mill
Middleboro
Mount Holly
Murdoch
Oregonia
Pekin
Red Lion
Roachester
Rossburg
Ridgeville
San Mar Gale
Socialville
Twenty Mile Stand
Union Village
Utica
Zoar
Notable natives and residents
Neil Armstrong, Astronaut
Robert Benham, Pioneer politician
Clarence Brown, Jr., Congressman
John Chivington, Civil War officer
Thomas Corwin, Governor
Brant Daugherty, Actor
William H. P. Denny, Newspaper publisher
Clifford B. Harmon, Aviator
Woody Harrelson, Actor
Cordell Hull, Secretary of State
Bruce E. Ivins, Scientist
Michael Larson, Game-show contestant
Donald Lukens, Congressman
William C. McClintock, Newspaper publisher
John McLean, U.S. Supreme Court justice
Jeremiah Morrow, Governor
Marcus Mote, Early Ohio Artist
Anthony Muñoz, NFL player
Corwin M. Nixon, Ohio State Representative (1962-1992), Ohio House of Representatives Minority Leader (1979-1992)
Dan Patrick, Sports broadcaster
Marty Roe, Musician
Thomas Ross, Congressman
Larry Sparks, Musician
Wilson E. Terry, Spanish–American War soldier
Durbin Ward, Civil War general
Mark Whitacre, FBI informant, Inspiration for the book and movie The Informant!
Joseph Whitehill, Ohio state treasurer
See also
Historical articles about Warren County
Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway
Little Miami Railroad
Middletown and Cincinnati Railroad
National Register of Historic Places listings in Warren County, Ohio
Warren County Canal
State facilities in Warren County
Lebanon Correctional Institution
Warren Correctional Institution
Ohio Department of Transportation District 8 headquarters
References
Further reading
Elva R. Adams. Warren County Revisited. Lebanon, Ohio: Warren County Historical Society, 1989.
Robert Brenner. Maineville, Ohio, History: 100 Years as an Incorporated Town, 1850–1950. Cincinnati: John S. Swift, 1950.
The Centennial Atlas of Warren County, Ohio. Lebanon, Ohio: The Centennial Atlas Association, 1903.
Mabel Eldridge and Dudley Bryant. Franklin in the Great Miami Valley. Edited by Harriet E. Foley. Franklin, Ohio: Franklin Area Historical Society, 1982.
Harriet E. Foley, editor. Carlisle: The Jersey Settlement in Ohio, 1800–1990. 2nd ed. Carlisle, Ohio: The Editor, 1990.
Josiah Morrow. The History of Warren County, Ohio. Chicago: W.H. Beers, 1883. (Reprinted several times)
Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer. 6th ed. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme, 2001.
Thomas D. Schiffer. Peters & King: The Birth & Evolution of the Peters Cartridge Co. & the King Powder Co. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications, 2002.
William E. Smith. History of Southwestern Ohio: The Miami Valleys. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1964. 3 vols.
Rose Marie Springman. Around Mason, Ohio: A Story. Mason, Ohio: The Author, 1982.
Warren County Engineer's Office. Official Highway Map 2003. Lebanon, Ohio: The Office, 2003.
External links
Official county site
Quick facts – US Census
Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Warren County Historical Society
Series of articles on local history written by Dallas Bogen
Warren County genealogical information
1803 establishments in Ohio
Populated places established in 1803