Editing Geauga County, Ohio (section)

==History==
Geauga County is named after the [[Onondaga language|Onondaga]] word ''jyo’ä·gak'' or [[Seneca language|Seneca]] ''jo’ä·ka'', both meaning '[[raccoon]]' (originally the name of the [[Grand River (Ohio)|Grand River]]).

After the discovery of the [[New World]], the land that became Geauga County was originally part of the French colony of [[New France|Canada (New France)]], which was ceded in 1763 to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and renamed [[Province of Quebec (1763–1791)|Province of Quebec]]. In the late 18th century the land became part of the [[Connecticut Western Reserve]] in the [[Northwest Territory]], and then was purchased by the [[Connecticut Land Company]] in 1795.

Geauga County was founded on March 1, 1806, as the second county in the Connecticut Western Reserve, originating from [[Trumbull County, Ohio]]. In 1808, the size of Geauga County was reduced by the creation of [[Ashtabula County, Ohio|Ashtabula County]], [[Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Cuyahoga County]], and [[Lake County, Ohio|Lake County]].

The present-day boundaries were established in 1840 following the creation of [[Lake County, Ohio|Lake County]]. A disagreement about the location of the county seat began in 1808 when commissioners from [[Trumbull County, Ohio|Trumbull County]] began the process of identifying the seat of justice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stith |first=B.A. |title=Lake County, Ohio: 150 Years of Tradition |publisher=Windsor Publications |year=1989 |location=Northridge, CA}}</ref> Residents in the northern townships wanted the seat in Champion, renamed [[Painesville, Ohio]] in 1832.<ref name="stith">{{Cite web |last=Stith |first=B.A. |title=A Vision Divided |url=http://www.case.edu/artsci/wrss/documents/Stith_000.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006164942/http://www.case.edu/artsci/wrss/documents/Stith_000.pdf |archive-date=October 6, 2012 |access-date=August 21, 2011 |publisher=Case Western Reserve University}}</ref> Residents in southern townships desired a centrally located county seat and took advantage of a tract of land donated by Peter Chardon Brooks called [[Chardon, Ohio]]. Despite Chardon being selected in 1809, the argument was never really settled. Over the next two decades, population growth in the seven northern townships exceeded the remaining sixteen southern townships, further fueling the disagreement. On January 21, 1840, a petition to create Lake County from seven townships in northern Geauga County and [[Willoughby, Ohio|Willoughby Township]] from [[Cuyahoga County]] were presented to the Ohio House of Representatives.<ref name=stith/> [[Seabury Ford]] presented petitions against its creation. Lake County was established in March 1840 by the Ohio Legislature. As the newly formed Lake County did not have sufficient territory to meet the requirements for a county, the northern border included submerged land beneath the waters of [[Lake Erie]].

The first settlement in Geauga was at [[Burton, Ohio]] in the year 1798, when three families settled there from [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howe |first=Henry |title=Historical Collections of Ohio |publisher=Bradley & Anthony |year=1852 |location=Cincinnati, Ohio |pages=187–190}}</ref>