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Ohio County
Champaign County, Ohio
Urbana's Victorian architecture and Mad River country - from Urbana's remarkably intact Victorian commercial district (one of west-central Ohio's most photographed small-city downtowns, with 19th-century storefronts, the ornate Champaign County Courthouse, and a well-preserved residential historic district) to Freshwater Farms of Ohio (the largest indoor aquaculture operation in Ohio, producing rainbow trout, sturgeon, and caviar in a west-central Ohio farm setting) and the Mad River's exceptional spring-fed cold water fishery supporting one of Ohio's most important wild trout populations.
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Office: Champaign County Emergency Management Agency – 1512 S. U.S. Route 68, Suite C103, Urbana, OH 43078 | (937) 484-1642; coordinates all-hazards emergency management across the county. CodeRED Emergency Notification System provides high-speed phone alerts for evacuations, boil-water notices, missing-child reports, and severe weather.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. NAMING TRAP: this is Champaign County, Ohio (seat: Urbana, OH) – do not confuse with the unrelated Champaign County, Illinois (seat: Urbana, IL, home to the University of Illinois), which frequently surfaces in general web searches for “Champaign County” or “Urbana.”
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-68 and US-36 serve Urbana, the county seat, in west-central Ohio
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Office: Champaign County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via co.champaign.oh.us.
Notes: Champaign County is genuinely home to Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve, a U.S. National Natural Landmark (designated 1967) near Urbana – a roughly 450-acre fen (technically a spring-fed wetland, not a true bog) left behind by the retreating Wisconsin glaciation 12,000-18,000 years ago, a remnant of an original 7,000-acre wetland. Groundwater from the Mad River Valley percolating through glacial gravel sustains rare, boreal-forest-type plant species (like northern white cedar and bog birch) far south of their typical range, alongside sedges that once fed mastodons and giant ground sloths. Urbana is also home to the Champaign Aviation Museum (restored WWII aircraft including a B-17 Flying Fortress) and a Freedom Grove 9/11 memorial featuring a beam salvaged from the World Trade Center.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Champaign County Veterans Service Office – confirm current officer name/phone via co.champaign.oh.us.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Key Assets: Cedar Bog State Nature Preserve (see above), Kiser Lake State Park, and downtown Urbana’s Scioto Street Historic District (25+ homes from the 1800s, 30+ historical markers countywide) are the county’s signature attractions. The county is also historically associated with frontier pioneer Simon Kenton, honored via memorials and the “Simon Kenton Pathfinders” community organization.
Notes: The genuine glacial-relict ecosystem at Cedar Bog is one of the most distinctive, scientifically significant natural facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Champaign County Auditor – dog tag fees $14; confirm current phone via co.champaign.oh.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Champaign County Animal Shelter (Dog Warden) – 384 Park Ave, Urbana, OH 43078 | (937) 484-1613; Deputy Erich Hopkins; adoption fee $25 (plus separate Auditor’s Office dog tag fee of $14).
Nonprofit: Champaign County Animal Welfare League – 3858 State Route 56, Mechanicsburg, OH 43044 | ccawl.com; adoption fees $250 for dogs/puppies (spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchipping included), $80 for cats/kittens.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Champaign County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via co.champaign.oh.us.
NOTES: Champaign County is the fourth county in this batch (Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine Cedar Bog glacial-relict ecosystem is one of the most distinctive natural facts covered anywhere in this project; the Ohio/Illinois Champaign County naming trap is flagged for research accuracy. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Champaign County
Champaign County is west-central Ohio’s most architecturally preserved county – a flat agricultural landscape punctuated by Urbana’s Victorian urban core and the Mad River’s surprisingly diverse cold-water ecology.
Urbana (the county seat, population ~11,000) has a genuinely exceptional Victorian downtown – the Champaign County Courthouse (1881, Second Empire style) anchors a commercial district with intact 19th-century storefronts that attract architectural history enthusiasts and antique shoppers.
The Mad River – spring-fed and cold throughout the year – supports a wild brown trout population in an otherwise agricultural landscape, attracting fly fishermen to one of Ohio’s most accessible quality trout streams.
Freshwater Farms of Ohio near Urbana is Ohio’s largest indoor aquaculture operation – rainbow trout, steelhead, and prized American paddlefish sturgeon (for caviar production) are raised in recirculating aquaculture systems, with a retail store selling fish directly to consumers.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Champaign County Auditor at 1512 S. US Highway 68, Suite B100, Urbana, OH 43078, phone 937-484-1651. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Champaign County Probate Court at 200 N. Main Street, Urbana, OH 43078, phone 937-484-1025, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
200 North Main St, Urbana, OH 43078
(937) 484-1620
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Champaign County Probate Court, Urbana (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Champaign County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Champaign County Probate Court 200 North Main Street, 3rd Floor, Urbana, OH 43078 (937) 484-1028 Champaign County is in west-central Ohio, seated in Urbana.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Champaign County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
200 North Main St, Urbana, OH 43078
(937) 484-1620
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1512 South US Highway 68, Urbana, OH 43078
(937) 653-2131
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
1512 South US Highway 68, Urbana, OH 43078
(937) 653-4152
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Champaign Health District
1512 South US Highway 68, Urbana, OH 43078
(937) 484-1605
Job and Family Services
1512 South US Highway 68, Urbana, OH 43078
(937) 653-5297
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Champaign County Health District – Health Commissioner Gabe Jones | 1512 S. U.S. Route 68, Suite Q100, Urbana, OH 43078 | (937) 484-1605 | champaignhd.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Urbana
Population: 40,000
Established: 1805
Tier: 3
Public Records
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