Editing Allen County, Ohio (section)

==History==
[[File:Reorganization-of-1848.png|thumb|250px|right]]

Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Greenville]] signed in 1795, northwestern Ohio was reserved for Native Americans. Thus the area now comprising Allen County was off-limits to European settlement until the Treaty of Maumee Rapids in 1817.<ref name="Harrison20">{{cite book
  | last = Harrison
  | first = R. H.
  | title = Atlas of Allen County, Ohio, from Records and Original Surveys
  | publisher = R.H. Harrison
  | year = 1880
  | location = Philadelphia
  | pages = 20}}</ref>  Under the terms of this treaty, the [[Shawnee|Shawnee tribe]] was assigned reservations at [[Wapakoneta, Ohio|Wapakonetta]] and at their "Hog Creek" settlement along the [[Ottawa River (Auglaize River)|Ottawa River]] which comprised most of what is the present-day [[Shawnee Township, Allen County, Ohio|Shawnee Township]]. The latter treaty opened the way for the [[Ohio General Assembly|Ohio Legislature]] on March 1, 1820, to create fourteen counties, including Allen,<ref name="Harrison20"/> which was defined as Ranges 5 through 8 east and Towns 3 through 6 south.

The first permanent settlement within Allen County's present day bounds took place in 1824, when Christopher S. Wood and his family settled in section 7 of [[Bath Township, Allen County, Ohio|Bath Township]].<ref name="1885-417">{{cite book
  | title = History of Allen County, Ohio
  | publisher = Warner, Beers & Company
  | year = 1885
  | location = Chicago
  | pages = 417–418}}</ref>  The organization of Bath Township predates that of Allen County, with its first township meeting held on March 2, 1829.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} On February 12, 1829, an act of the legislature set aside land for a "county town".<ref name="Knapp-19">{{cite book
  | last = Knapp
  | first = H. S.
  | title = History of Allen County in Historical Atlas of Allen County, Ohio
  | publisher = H.H. Hardesty & Co.
  | year = 1875
  | location = Chicago
  | pages = 19}}</ref>  Wood was appointed commissioner to determine the location of this "seat of justice" for Allen County. This was done on March 3, 1831, with Wood appointed as Town Director. He laid out plots of land to be sold in section 31 of Bath Township,<ref name="Harrison33-14">{{cite book
  | last = Harrison
  | first = R. H.
  | title = Atlas of Allen County, Ohio, from Records and Original Surveys
  | publisher = R.H. Harrison
  | year = 1880
  | location = Philadelphia
  | pages = 33 1/4}}</ref> and the [[plat]] was filed April 20, 1831, creating what was the beginning of the city of [[Lima, Ohio|Lima]].

Allen County organization's dates from the first meeting of the county commissioners, held on June 6, 1831. Present at this meeting were Commissioners James Daniels, John G. Wood, and Samuel Stewart. Also present was William G. Wood, county auditor; Adam White, county treasurer; and Henry Lippincott, sheriff.<ref name="Knapp-15">{{cite book
  | last = Knapp
  | first = H. S.
  | title = History of Allen County in Historical Atlas of Allen County, Ohio
  | publisher = H.H. Hardesty & Co.
  | year = 1875
  | location = Chicago
  | pages = 15}}</ref>

The first court of justice was held in August 1831,<ref name="Knapp-15"/> and it is believed the assembly of men, in informal session, selected the name for the seat of justice by drawing names from a hat.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} The meeting was held at the cabin of James Daniels, which was on the bank of the [[Ottawa River (Auglaize River)|Ottawa River]] near the current location of Market Street.<ref name="Knapp-15"/> Patrick G. Goode of [[Montgomery County, Ohio|Montgomery County]], special [[prosecuting attorney]] at that session, is given credit{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} for having offered up the name of "[[Lima]]" (capital of [[Peru]] and source of the [[quinine]] used to treat the [[malaria]] prevalent in the area of the [[Great Black Swamp]]). At the County Commission session on June 6, 1831, the formation of a second township, [[Jackson Township, Allen County, Ohio|Jackson]], was approved.<ref name="Knapp-15"/>

In 1832 the Shawnees, including those living in the Hog Creek reservation (present day Shawnee Township), were removed to eastern Kansas. They received payment of $30 000 in fifteen annual installments for their lands which had an estimated value of over $200 000 at that time.<ref name="Harrison19">{{cite book
  | last = Harrison
  | first = R. H.
  | title = Atlas of Allen County, Ohio, from Records and Original Surveys
  | publisher = R.H. Harrison
  | year = 1880
  | location = Philadelphia
  | pages = 19}}</ref>  They arrived at their new home with few provisions and immediately suffered an epidemic of cholera.<ref name="Harrison19"/>

Lima was established as a village in 1841, and the town of Lima was organized March 29, 1842. Henry DeVilliers Williams was elected the first mayor and Amos Clutter was elected the first town marshal.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}

In 1848, Allen County's boundaries changed with a reorganization that created [[Auglaize County, Ohio]], from the southern half of the original county. Town 2S, Range 7E (Monroe Twp.); Town 2S, Range 8E (Richland Twp.); the southern half of Town 2S, Range 5E, and the southern half of Town 2S, Range 6E (Sugar Creek Twp.) were transferred from [[Putnam County, Ohio|Putnam County]] to Allen County. Parts of [[Van Wert County, Ohio|Van Wert]] and [[Mercer County, Ohio|Mercer]] Counties were also transferred to Allen to form [[Spencer Township, Allen County, Ohio|Spencer Township]] and part of [[Marion Township, Allen County, Ohio|Marion Township]]. In May 1853, Allen and Putnam Counties agreed on a cash settlement for Putnam's loss.<ref name="1885-280">{{cite book
  | title = History of Allen County, Ohio
  | publisher = Warner, Beers & Company
  | year = 1885
  | location = Chicago
  | pages = 280–281}}</ref>

There were several practical implications of these changes to the boundaries of Allen County. [[Lima, Ohio|Lima]], the county seat, became near the county's center, rather than in the northern quarter. The county's western part gained a significant stretch of the [[Miami and Erie Canal]], which was completed in 1845. The reorganization also brought the towns of Spencerville, laid out in 1844 on the canal,<ref name="Harrison30">{{cite book
  | last = Harrison
  | first = R. H.
  | title = Atlas of Allen County, Ohio, from Records and Original Surveys
  | publisher = R.H. Harrison
  | year = 1880
  | location = Philadelphia
  | pages = 30}}</ref> and Bluffton within the bounds of the county.

In 1885, oil was discovered in Lima. This began a boom in Allen County which lasted until after 1910.

===Allen County Fair===
<!--  Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Allen_County_Fair.gif|right|thumb|200px|Official logo for Allen County Fair.]] -->
One of Allen County's notable annual events is its County Fair. Run every August in Lima since 1851, the Fair is among Western Ohio's foremost agricultural showcasing events. In 2005, there were over 220,000 visitors and almost 3,000 exhibitors, making it the largest in the state.

The fair attracted many nationally known performers during the 1980s and 1990s, and combined with significant renovations to the county show grounds, these factors led to a marked increase in attendance and notoriety over the past two decades.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.allencountyfair.org/ |title = Allen County Fair |access-date=April 5, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070402045704/http://www.allencountyfair.org/| archive-date= April 2, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>