ABOUT
DARKE
COUNTY
GEOGRAPHY
According to the 2010 census, the county has a total area of 599.76 square miles (1,553.4 km2), of which 598.10 square miles (1,549.1 km2) (or 99.72%) is land and 1.66 square miles (4.3 km2) (or 0.28%) is water.
ADJACENT COUNTIES
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Mercer County (north)
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Shelby County (northeast)
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Miami County (east)
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Montgomery County (southeast)
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Preble County (south)
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Wayne County, Indiana (southwest)
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Randolph County, Indiana (west)
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Jay County, Indiana (northwest)
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
DARKE COUNTY
Darke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 51,881, which is a decrease of 0.7% from 52,959 in 2010. Its county seat is Greenville, and it is named for William Darke, an officer in the Revolution.
Darke County comprises the Greenville, OH Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Dayton-Springfield-Sidney, OH Combined Statistical Area.
Notable natives included Annie Oakley, famed 19th-century markswoman who performed with Buffalo Bill’s Wild Westshow, who was born in Darke County; and Lucullus Virgil McWhorter, a farmer and frontiersman who studied and wrote about the historical American Indian tribes of West Virginia and Ohio.
2020 CENSUS STATISTICS
Darke County, Ohio, is one of the few counties in the United States to border eight other counties.
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 51,881 people with 20,826 households residing in the county. The population density was 86.7 inhabitants per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 95.2% white, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 1.9% Hispanic or Latino, and 1.5% from two or more races.
There were 2,808 Veterans residing in Darke County from 2017 to 2021. Of the 20,826 households, there were 2.46 persons per household. The owner-occupied housing unit rate (2017-2021) was 71.9%. The mean travel time to work (minutes) for workers age 16 years + is 23.0 minutes.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,440. The per capita income for the county was $29,914.
HISTORIC PLACES
Darke County has 25 places listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Darke County Courthouse, Sheriff’s House and Jail and the Versailles Town Hall and Wayne Township House.
Darke County is located in western Ohio, along the Indiana border. It’s strategic location, within 1½ hours of Indianapolis, Toledo, Cincinnati and Columbus puts Darke County in a unique position to have something for everyone.
The county has a population just short of 53,000 people, and over 600 square miles of land, makes it the 7th largest county in Ohio. Resources, plentiful clean water and land and good clean “country air”, makes it a desirable place to live.
With more road miles of any county in Ohio, maintained by one of the best county engineering departments in the state.
County seat, Greenville, is known for having the largest wooden fort ever constructed here, encompassing 55 acres, by General “Mad” Anthony Wayne.
Greenville is well known as being the home of the “Treaty of Greenville,” which was signed on August 3, 1795, bringing peace with the Native American tribes and opening up the northwest territory for expansion.
Darke County is home to “Little Sure Shot” Annie Oakley, radio personality, traveler and adventurer Lowell Thomas and Colonel Zachary Landsdowne, the pilot of america’s first airship, the “Shenandoah”.
Darke County also is home to the “fastest ½ mile dirt track in the world”, Eldora Speedway, owned by NASCAR great Tony Stewart and created by the legendary Earl Baltes.
Eldora hosts many races and racing series at the track, including the NASCAR world truck series, the only race NASCAR runs on dirt.
Darke County is home to fortune 500 companies, and smaller businesses continuing to grow.
It is the #1 agricultural county in the state in corn and soybean production and leads the nation in egg production. The historic agricultural background provides Darke County residents with old fashioned work ethic.
Darke County Ohio is the perfect place to raise a family, start a business and become part of the small town feel which makes America special.
WHY
DARKE
COUNTY?
