Welcome to Hardin County

Welcome to Hardin County, “a great place to live, work and prosper.” Hardin County is a fantastic location for you to build, invest, work, live, learn and love!

Hardin County is located in northwest Ohio, about a 60-minute drive time from Columbus and Toledo, Ohio. Our location is referred to as the heartland region, given we are 500 miles within 60% of the U.S. population and centralized to major U.S. cities with corporate headquarters, retail operations, manufacturing facilities.

The population in Hardin County is over 32,000, with a regional population (within 45 minutes) over 820,000, making it a strong centralized hub within northwest Ohio.
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The county is made up of 9 communities (Ada, Alger, Dunkirk, Forest, Kenton, McGuffey, Mt. Victory, Patterson and Ridgeway) and 15 townships with the City of Kenton serving as the county seat.

Education

There are six outstanding local school districts in Hardin County, all with excellent administrators, teachers and staff, as well as new state-of-the-art school facilities. These school districts include: Ada Exempted Village School District; Hardin Northern Local School District; Kenton City School District; Ridgemont Local School District; Upper Scioto Valley Local School District; and Riverdale School District (which is a multi-county district). All of these districts have had voter support for new schools built over the past few years, as recently as 2015.

Ada Exempted Village School District

Hardin Northern Local School District

Kenton City School District

Ridgemont Local School District

Riverdale Local School District

Upper Scioto Valley Local School District

Ohio Northern University

Ohio Northern University (ONU), located in the Village of Ada, has a 97 percent job and graduate school placement rate. Its long-standing success is partly because of excellent professors, partly because of ambitious students, and partly because the University always been rooted in the future. At ONU, students move toward a career long before they graduate – and ONU’s alumni successes prove it. With more than 60 top-ranked programs and numerous opportunities outside the classroom, any path a student chooses at ONU will be grounded in concrete applications for the future.

Established in 1871 and comprised of five colleges (Arts & Sciences, Business Administration, Engineering, Pharmacy, and Law), ONU’s beautiful residential campus is made up of more than 60 modern residences and academic buildings and provides a vibrant campus experience. Ohio Northern’s campus is situated on 342 acres and is easily accessible and conveniently located near major Ohio cities such as Columbus, Dayton and Toledo, and Fort Wayne, Ind.

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Healthcare

Ohio Health Hardin Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed not-for-profit acute care facility located in Kenton, Ohio, has been providing quality health care to residents of Hardin County and surrounding communities for more than 60 years. In December of 2002, Hardin Memorial was designated as a Critical Access Hospital (CAH). This designation is awarded to select small, rural hospitals and allows them to receive cost-based reimbursement for services provided to Medicare patients.

With a staff of over 200, the hospital is able to provide acute and short-term skilled care, a full range of outpatient diagnostic and therapeutic services utilizing state-of-the-art technology, rehabilitation and physical therapy services, as well as numerous community programs and services. The 24-hour emergency department is staffed by nurses and physicians specially trained in emergency care. The urgent care facility offers prompt care for everything from flu to fractures, seven days a week. Hardin Memorial also offers the convenience of a multi-specialty center in which a variety of specialists are able to treat and diagnose patients locally.

Hardin Memorial is a member hospital of OhioHealth and is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. As a part of a developing community-based health care system, the hospital provides the needed services or links residents to services not available in the county.

In addition, Lima Memorial has two walk-in care facilities in both Ada and Kenton, Ohio, and Mercy Health has a medical practice facility in Ada, Ohio.

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Government

The City of Kenton has a local government that includes a Mayor, City Council, Auditor, Treasurer, and Municipal Court. The city has its own legal counsel, as well as Safety Service Director and various boards and commissions. Kenton also has its own fire and police departments, public library and post office.

There are eight villages located in Hardin County. Each village has an elected Mayor, City Council members, and a Clerk. Each village also has its own legal counsel as well as advisory commissions. Some of the villages have an administrator, as well as departments for water, sewer, street and safety. Each village is also supported by a fire department, public library and post office.

There are also 15 townships in the county, each governed by an elected, three-member board of trustees and a fiscal officer.

For more information about local government resources in Hardin County, please visit the county website.

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Transportation

The Hub of the Global Supply Chain

Highways

The county is easily accessible by US Highway 68, a major north/south route for trade and transportation. Several other state routes run through the county.

Rail

Kenton is located on the CSX Toledo Division Mainline, affording Hardin County the best rail access to all four quadrants.

Airports

Kenton is home to the Hardin County Airport (FAA LID: I95), just over an hour from the John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH), and 90-minutes from Dayton International Airport (DAY).

Travel Time

Hardin County is 30 minutes from Lima, Findlay, Upper Sandusky, Marion, Marysville, Bellefontaine and Wapakoneta; 60 minutes from Columbus and Toledo; 90 minutes from Dayton; other major cities in our region include Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Fort Wayne.