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Muskingum County, Ohio Muskingum County Ohio Home Offices Auditor’s Office Commissioner’s Office Engineer’s Office Recorder’s Office Sheriff’s Office Treasurer’s Office Agencies Board of Developmental Disabilities Board of Elections Building Department Community Development Center for Seniors EMA / LEPC Dog Warden & Adoption Center Health Department Housing Department Human Resources Job & Family Services Land Bank Park District Planning Commission Rambo Health Center Recycling Center Soil & Water Title Office Utilities Office (Water & Sewer) Veterans Services Courts Clerk of Courts Common Pleas Court County Court Domestic Relations Court Probate Court Public Public Notices Calendar Of Events Employment Contacts Offices & Agencies Townships Villages COVID-19 Statements, Resources & Links Committed to keeping our community informed View All Welcome to Muskingum County, Ohio Home to our residents, businesses and growing community. Leading the way In education, community services, economic development and innovation. Building for the future. With a community rich in culture and history we look forward to the next 100 years. Muskingum County Ohio USA Muskingum County is located east of Columbus, Ohio, our state capital. Ebenezer Zane made a settlement here when he stopped on his way from Wheeling, now West Virginia, to Maysville, Kentucky. He was clearing a road called Zane’s Trace that ran across Ohio. Zanesville was established on March 1, 1804, by Zane’s son-in-law, John McIntire. He stayed in Zanesville and developed what would become Ohio’s second capital from 1810- 1812. Muskingum County was a hub of river traffic and is famous for the "Y" Bridge which was built at the confluence of the Muskingum and Licking Rivers. The county got its name from the Native American term , Moos-kin-gung meaning "a town on the side of the river." Some claim the natives called it the "Elk Eye River." Muskingum County contains a land area of 673 square miles, with Zanesville as its county seat. The population was listed at 84,884 in the 2010 census. Muskingum County offers many interesting historical, cultural and geographical features. We hope you will come visit us personally, but in the meantime, please enjoy our website. Year Established nd State Capital Square Miles + Population Muskingum County Land Reutilization Corporation Learn More Muskingum County Maps View All About Muskingum County On January 7, 1804, the Ohio government authorized the creation of Muskingum County. The county’s name came from an Indian word for "near the river". The Muskingum River flows through the county. Located on Zane’s Trace, the county grew quickly. In 1810, Zanesville, the county seat, became Ohio’s capital, replacing Chillicothe. The main reason for this change was an attempt by Democratic-Republicans in Ohio to solidify their control over eastern Ohio. The capital remained in Zanesville for only two years, returning to Chillicothe in 1812, before moving permanently to Columbus in 1816. Muskingum County is located in eastern Ohio. It is predominantly rural, with less than one percent of the county’s 665 square miles consisting of urban areas. With a population of 25,586 people, Zanesville was the county’s largest community in 2000. The next largest urban area, Falls Township, had only 8,585 residents that same year. Muskingum County experienced a slight increase in population between 1990 and 2010, raising the total number of residents to 84,884 people. Muskingum County seems to be remaining stable in population. The county averages 129 people per square mile. The largest employers in Muskingum County are retail establishments, with manufacturing businesses a close second. The most important industry in the county during the second half of the nineteenth century was art pottery manufacturing. Samuel A. Weller became the most important manufacturer in 1890, when he began production in Zanesville. Most of his early products included simple items like flowerpots, cuspidors, and tableware. By 1905, more than five hundred workers found employment in Weller’s plant. These workers produced three boxcars full of pottery every day, making Weller the largest manufacturer of pottery in the world by the 1910s. Pottery manufacturing remains a vital component of Muskingum County’s economy today. In 2003, many of Zanesville’s residents found employment in various pottery establishments, including Fioriware Art Pottery, Zanesville Pottery and China, Incorporated, and Robinson Ransbottom Pottery in nearby Roseville. Other businesses also flourish in the county, such as Volvo Trucks and Custom Vans of Zanesville. The county also enjoys a booming tourism industry, due to the pottery manufacturers, as well as the Longaberger Company, which produces baskets in nearby Frazeysburg. People across the world collect Longaberger baskets. Among Muskingum County’s more prominent residents was astronaut and United States Senator John Glenn. Glenn grew up in New Concord, Ohio, and attended Muskingum College. Author Zane Grey also lived in the county. History Courthouse History Civil War Veteran’s Record Y-Bridge History First Y Bridge: 1814 - 1818 Second Y Bridge: 1819 - 1832 Fifth Y Bridge: 1984 - Present Zanesville, Ohio came into existence when Colonel Ebenezer Zane contracted with congress to build a road from Wheeling, West Virginia to Maysville, Kentucky. In return for this road known as Zane’s Trace, Zane was to receive three 640 acre tracts of land. In addition, he was to establish ferries where his Trace crossed important rivers. The first settlers in Zanesville were Ferrymen Henry Crooks and William McCulloch who, in 1797 , operated ferries across the Muskingum River. Early ferries were planks secured to canoes. The first bridge in Zanesville was built by the Putnam Yankees in 1813 and named the Third Street bridge. Moses Dillon and others planned to build a bridge "from the point opposite Main Street of Zanesville, to an island at the mouth of the Licking, thence north and south each way across the mouth of Licking Creek." That first Y bridge was constructed of wooden trestles and stone with logs and planks bolted to the trestles. The center pier was made of limestone and above it stood the toll house. On November 16, 1814, the Muskingum Messenger reported: Muskingum and Licking bridge. This grand and important work is now passable. Great credit is due to Mr. Rufus Scott, the architect. Now the south and north sides of Licking Creek were joined with Zanesville on the east side of the Muskingum River. Some toll fees: Each foot passenger - 3 ¢ horse, mule, or ass one year old or upwards - 4 ¢ Each horse and rider - 12½ ¢ Each sleigh or sled drawn by two horses or oxen - 25 ¢ Each coach with four wheels and driver, drawn by four hourses - 75 ¢ After the first Y Bridge fell into the river, the stockholders of the Muskingum and Licking bridge built a second three-branched structure on the same sight in 1819: The designer was a strong believer in "camber" in a truss, and his plan gave the structure a rolling prairie appearance. A sketch of this bridge appeared on a five-dollar bill issued by the old Muskingum Bank of Zanesville. The artist represented the bridge as being completely covered but old records show there was not enough money to finish covering the bridge. Stephen H. Long, in 1825, described the structure as an "Uncouth mess, contrasting well with the magnificence of the scenery .The bridge appears destitute of solidity, and will probably soon be replaced by a more elegant and permanent one." About 1830, The National Road, a narrow ribbon of crushed limestone, reached Zanesville from Cumberland, MD. Surveyors laid out a new road due westward. After 13 years of service, the second Y bridge was condemned as unsafe. During the winter a flood carried twelve-inch thick ice against the second Y bridge and weakened it. The piers were reinforced, but it was necessary to plan a...