Highland County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,317.2020 census
/ref> Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Hillsboro. The county is named for the topography which is hilly and divides the watersheds of the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.8%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Fayette County (north) * Ross County (northeast) * Pike County (east) * Adams County (southeast) * Brown County (southwest) *

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York **Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...

(northwest)

Major highways

* *

Demographics

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2010, there were 43,589 people living in Highland County. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

is 78.8 people per square mile. The county is made up of 96.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.5%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.5% from two or more races, and 0.8%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino. This county is also made up of 6.2% of people under the age of 5, 24.7% of people under the age of 18, and 16.5% of people over the age of 65. The median age is 39.2. The county is also 51% female. There are 16,963 households in Highland County as of the 2010 census. The average household size is 2.58 persons, while the average family size is 3.04 persons. According to the 2010 census, 41.9% of the houses in Highland County had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.07% of the houses were married couples living together, 11.09% of the houses had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.91% of the houses were non-families. Individuals made up 24.33% of all households, and 11.02% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. According to the census, 81.5% of people over the age of 25 is at least a high school graduate and 11.1% of people over the age of 25 have earned at least a bachelor's degree. The median household income is $39,641 and 17.6% of people live below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

of Highland County is $19,557.

2010 census

As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, there were 43,589 people, 16,693 households, and 11,819 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 19,380 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.5% white, 1.4% black or African American, 0.3% American Indian, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 0.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 23.8% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 14.9% were Irish, 14.3% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, and 10.7% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. Of the 16,693 households, 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.2% were non-families, and 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age was 39.2 years. The median income for a household in the county was $39,844 and the median income for a family was $48,604. Males had a median income of $38,892 versus $29,167 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,966. About 12.4% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the

, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 12.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Highland County is a Republican stronghold county in presidential elections. The last time it voted for the Democratic Presidential candidate was for Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Education

School districts

Highland County is home to five school districts: Greenfield Exempted Village Schools in

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

, Hillsboro City Schools in Hillsboro, Fairfield Local School District in Leesburg, Bright Local School District in Mowrystown, and Lynchburg-Clay Local School District in Lynchburg.

Libraries

The Highland County District Librar

is the public library system serving Highland County, Ohio. The main library is in Hillsboro, with four branches located in Greenfield, Leesburg, Lynchburg, and Rocky Fork. The library is a member of the SEO Consortium which allows patrons access to over 6.9 million items owned by member libraries. File:HillsboroLibrary.JPG, Hillsboro Library File:Greenfield, Ohio Library.JPG, Greenfield Library File:LeesburgOhioLibrary.JPG, Leesburg Library File:LynchburgOhioLibrary.JPG, Lynchburg Library

Recreation

There are currently several recreational areas in Highland County. There is Rocky Fork State Park (Ohio), Rocky Fork State Park which is located 5 miles east of Hillsboro. It provides opportunities to go

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

, swimming,

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

, putt-putt, and

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

amongst other activities. There is also Paint Creek State Park located 13 miles east of Hillsboro. Paint Creek offers many of the same activities as Rocky Fork but also offers horse riding,

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

, and winter recreational activities.

Fort Hill State Memorial Fort Hill State Memorial is a Native American earthwork located in Highland County, Ohio, United States. Built by the Hopewell culture, it is maintained by the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System and the Ohio History Connection. The earthwork ...

is a memorial built by the Hopewell people that is located 10 miles southeast of Hillsboro and is believed to be around 2000 years old. Fallsville Wildlife Area is located 4 miles north of Hillsboro. It offers

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, and wildlife watching.

Non-profits

Habitat for Humanity of Highland Count

was established in 2000, and has since built three homes: one on Johnson St. in Hillsboro and two on 2nd St. in Greenfield. Highland County Habitat is a locally run affiliate of

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...

International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity works in partnership with people in need to build and renovate decent, affordable housing. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged.

Highlands Sanctuary Highlands Sanctuary, Inc. is a nonprofit organization which operates under the dba (doing business as) of The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System. The Arc of Appalachia has been in operation since 1995, working to create and steward nature preserves i ...

is a chain of nature preserves centered in Highland County and owned by an organization of the same name.

Communities

City

* Hillsboro (county seat)

Villages

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

* Leesburg * Lynchburg * Mowrystown *

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

* Sinking Spring

Townships

* Brushcreek *

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

* Dodson * Fairfield * Hamer * Jackson *

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

* Marshall * New Market *

Paint Paint is any pigmented liquid, liquefiable, or solid mastic composition that, after application to a substrate in a thin layer, converts to a solid film. It is most commonly used to protect, color, or provide texture. Paint can be made in many ...

* Penn * Salem * Union *

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

* Whiteoak

Census-designated places

* Buford * Highland Holiday * Rocky Fork Point

Unincorporated communities

* Allensburg *

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

* Berrysville *

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

* Carmel * Dodsonville * East Danville * Elmville * Fairfax *

Folsom Folsom may refer to: People * Folsom (surname) Places in the United States * Folsom, Perry County, Alabama * Folsom, Randolph County, Alabama * Folsom, California * Folsom, Georgia * Folsom, Louisiana * Folsom, Missouri * Folsom, New Jerse ...

* Hoagland * Hollowtown * Marshall * New Market * New Petersburg * Pricetown * Rainsboro *

Samantha Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain. Spe ...

* Sugar Tree Ridge * Taylorsville

References

External links

* {{authority control Appalachian Ohio Counties of Appalachia 1805 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1805