Your Guide to Ashtabula County, Ohio
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Quick answer: Ashtabula County is one of Ohio’s 88 counties. Its county seat is Jefferson, it was established in 1807, and it has an estimated 96,713 residents as of 2025.
At a Glance
- County seat: Jefferson
- Established: Jun 7, 1807
- Formed from: Trumbull and Geauga Counties
- Named for: Ashtabula River, which means “fish river” in an Algonquian language
- Estimated population (2025): 96,713
- Total area: 702.44 sq mi
- FIPS code: 39007
About Ashtabula County
Ashtabula County ( ASH tÉ™ BYU lÉ™) is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,574. The county seat is Jefferson, while its largest city is Ashtabula. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811. The name Ashtabula derives from the Lenape language phrase ashte pihĂ«le, which translates to ‘always enough (fish) to go around, to be given away’ and is a contraction of apchi (‘always’) + tepi (‘enough’) + hĂ«le (verb of motion). Ashtabula County is part of the Cleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The county is best known for having nineteen covered bridges within the county limits, including both the longest and the shortest covered bridges in the United States. Grapes are a popular crop and there are several award winning wineries in the region due to the favorable microclimate from the nearby lake. During the winter, Ashtabula County (along with neighboring Geauga and Lake counties, as well as Crawford and Erie counties in neighboring Pennsylvania) receives frequent lake effect snow and is part of the Southeastern Lake Erie Snowbelt.
History of Ashtabula County
At the time of contact, Ashtabula County appears to have been divided between the Erie people in the east and the Whittlesey culture in the west. The Erie were an Iroquoian people, who were organized like the Iroquois, believed in a similar religion and lived in longhouses in palisaded villages and may have had a burial ground at what is now Erie, PA, whereas the uncontacted Whittlesey are mostly believed to have been Algonquians, who also lived in longhouses at the time of contact (after having gone through prior periods of living in wigwams and Fort Ancient style houses) in villages surrounded by earthen berm walls and had smaller, local burial grounds near each settlement. The French were the first to explore the Great Lakes by ship and, having never met the inhabitants, saw the continuation of longhouses and mistakenly assumed the entire region had belonged to the Erie. Both tribes were likely eradicated by the Iroquois Confederacy during the Beaver Wars (approx. 1630 to 1701), which later bled into the first of the myriad conflicts collectively called the French Indian Wars, probably specifically some time during the 1650s. The Jesuit Relations claim rumors of infighting between the Erie and an unknown nation to the west of them who were similar to other Algonquian peoples the French had already encountered in the years prior to both tribes’ eradication. Three known village sites have been documented by archaeologists from this period in Windsor (located inside what is now a private children’s Summer Camp) and two at Conneaut. Following the Beaver Wars, and the first conflict of the French Indian Wars coming to an end in 1701, an official border between England and France was established at what is now the Ohio PA border, leading to English forts being erected all along the Pennsylvania side that became crucial in the later conflicts of the French Indian Wars over the next 50 years.
Cities and Villages in Ashtabula County
Cities
Ashtabula, Conneaut, Geneva
Villages
Andover, Geneva on the Lake, Jefferson †, North Kingsville, Orwell, Roaming Shores, Rock Creek
Find Local Businesses in Ashtabula County
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Background Checks, Process Serving and Private Investigations
Residents and employers in Ashtabula County can get BCI and FBI LiveScan fingerprinting, FD-258 fingerprint cards, process serving and licensed private investigations from these Ohio providers:
- Ohio Security & Investigations, Youngstown: licensed private investigations and fingerprinting. Call (888) 341-6960 or visit ohioinvestigators.com.
- 10-8 Protective Services, Columbus: investigations, fingerprinting and process serving. Call (800) 949-8521 or visit 10-8protectiveservices.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the county seat of Ashtabula County, Ohio?
Jefferson is the county seat of Ashtabula County, Ohio.
When was Ashtabula County established?
Ashtabula County was established on Jun 7, 1807. It was formed from Trumbull and Geauga Counties.
Who or what is Ashtabula County named for?
Ashtabula County is named for Ashtabula River, which means “fish river” in an Algonquian language.
How many people live in Ashtabula County, Ohio?
Ashtabula County has an estimated population of 96,713 as of 2025.
What cities are in Ashtabula County, Ohio?
Cities in Ashtabula County include Ashtabula, Conneaut, Geneva.
Where can I find local businesses in Ashtabula County?
Search the FindItOhio.com business directory to find local businesses and services in Ashtabula County, Ohio.
How do I list my Ashtabula County business on FindItOhio.com?
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County background adapted from the Wikipedia article Ashtabula County, Ohio, available under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 license.