Welcome to Vinton County Ohio Genealogy and History part of the Genealogy Trails Family     Our goal is to help you track your ancestors through time by transcribing genealogical and historical data and placing it online for the free use of all researchers. This website is available for adoption! If you have a love for history, a desire to help others, and basic web-authoring skills, consider joining us! Get the details on our Volunteer Page. [A desire to transcribe data and knowledge of how to make a basic webpage is required.] If hosting isn't for you, we can use your help in other ways. More information can be found on the Volunteer Page. Check your attics! Dust off your family scrapbooks! We're looking for DATA for this site!!! If you are interested in adding your families' information this website, Email Us. We'll be happy to help your families' obituaries, news items and other historical data find a home here at Ohio Genealogy Trails, where it will remain free for all to view. We regret that we are unable to perform personal research for you. All data we come across is added to this site, so please keep checking back! County Information County Seat: McArthur Year Organized: March 23, 1850 Named after U. S. Representative Samuel Finley Vinton, of Jackson County, Ohio, Vinton County was officially made a county on March 23, 1850 and formed from Gallia, Athens, Hocking, Ross and Jackson Counties. It's main source of water comes from branches of the Scioto and Hocking Rivers. Most of its wealth in the early years came from iron, coal and fire-clay. Vinton county was home to four of the many furnaces located in Ohio, Eagle, Hope, Vinton and Hamden. Some of the earliest settlers came to Vinton County about 1805, with one of the earliest known being a Mr. Musselman. He settled in Elk which at that time was the pioneer township of the county. He was a miller by trade and a bit of a geologist as well. He discovered the first burr stone. He began quarrying the stone in 1806. The county seat, McArthur was laid out in 1815 and was originally called "McArthurstown" after then Governor McArthur. By an act of legislature it was given its current name of McArthur in 1851 and was at that time incorporated. In 1850, there were 450 residents living in McArthur. The 2000 Census states that Vinton County has the smallest population in the state. Villages Hamden * McArthur * Wilkesville * Zaleski Other Communities Creola * New Plymouth * Ray Ghost Towns Ingham * Moonville * Oreton Townships Brown * Clinton * Eagle * Elk * Harrison * Jackson * Knox * Madison * Richland * Swan * Vinton * Wilkesville Online Data Biographies Birth Records Cemeteries Census Church Histories / Records County Records Death Records Family Bibles County History Marriages Military Miscellaneous Data Newspaper Gleanings Obituaries and Death Notices School Records Wills/Probate Records Website Updates: Dec 2012: Obits for WELLS, HAWK, DYE Adjacent Counties Hocking County (north) Athens County (northeast) Meigs County (east) Gallia County (southeast) Jackson County (south) Ross County (west) Ohio State Page Visit our National Site JOIN US! DEDICATED TO FREE GENEALOGY Copyright © Genealogy Trails All data on this website is Copyright by Genealogy Trails with full rights reserved for original submitters.