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Ohio County
Clinton County, Ohio
Wilmington's Quaker heritage and the DHL aviation collapse - from Wilmington College's historic Quaker liberal arts campus (founded 1870 by the Religious Society of Friends, one of Ohio's oldest Quaker institutions) to the 2008 DHL/Airborne Express crisis that devastated Wilmington's economy overnight (DHL's decision to close its Wilmington hub eliminated 7,000 jobs in a community of 12,000 - one of the most severe single-employer economic shocks in recent Ohio history) and the subsequent decade of difficult economic recovery in a county defined by faith, resilience, and agricultural heritage.
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Office: Clinton County Emergency Management Agency – 1850 Davids Drive, Suite 107, Wilmington, OH 45177 | (937) 382-6673 | Fax: (937) 382-7530 | [email protected]; located within the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office (unexpected visitors must pre-announce); created December 8-9, 1989 by joint agreement of the County Commissioners, 8 municipal councils, and 13 township boards; Director Thomas Breckel; funded on a per-capita basis by all 22 political subdivisions in the county, with up to 50% federal reimbursement via the Emergency Management Program Grant. The county is served by 9 local fire districts, 8 life squad units, and 7 law enforcement agencies.
Sheriff: Clinton County Sheriff’s Office – confirm current phone via co.clinton.oh.us.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-73 and US-22/68 serve Wilmington, the county seat, in southwest Ohio between Cincinnati and Columbus
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Clinton County was established March 1, 1810, named for former U.S. Vice President George Clinton. The town, originally named Clinton, was renamed Wilmington in 1811.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Clinton County Building and Zoning – 111 S. Nelson Avenue, Wilmington, OH 45177 | (937) 382-3335 | Fax: (937) 383-3056.
Notes: Clinton County is genuinely home to Wilmington Air Park (ILN) – a public-use airport with a remarkable history: opened in 1929, it became Clinton County Army Air Field under U.S. Army Air Forces control in 1942, later Clinton County Air Force Base. From 1980, it became the hub for what grew into ABX Air/Airborne Express (an integrated package-delivery competitor to FedEx), and after DHL acquired Airborne in 2003, the airfield became DHL’s major U.S. air cargo hub – among the busiest cargo-only airports in the country as of 2020, and named a top Ohio airport in both 2021 and 2024. DHL later donated the airfield to the Clinton County Port Authority, which now operates it as a 1,900-acre aviation and logistics business park with nearly 3 million square feet of industrial, office, and hangar space. The Clinton County Courthouse, 53 E. Main Street, Wilmington (built 1919, Greek Revival, architects Weber Werner & Adkins), anchors the Wilmington Commercial Historic District (NRHP-listed 1982); an earlier courthouse on the same site dated to 1813.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Clinton County Veterans’ Service Commission – 43 S. Walnut Street, Wilmington, OH 45177-2399 | (937) 382-3233 | Fax: (937) 655-8834; located in the “Old Jail” building (enter facing the courthouse); Executive Director Jeff Rollins, VSO Jim Alcorn; Hours: Mon-Fri 8-11:30 AM, 12:30-4 PM (closed legal holidays); walk-ins accepted, appointments recommended; after-hours/home-visit appointments possible with 1-2 days’ notice.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County – Main branch, 268 N. South Street, Wilmington, OH 45177-1696 | (937) 382-2417 | Hours: Mon-Thu 10 AM-8 PM, Fri 10 AM-5 PM, Sat 10 AM-4 PM, Sun 12-4 PM; Director Joe Knueven. Branches also in New Vienna (97 Main Street | (937) 987-4200) and the Clinton-Massie Branch (2556 Lebanon Road, Clarksville, OH 45113), which reopened in 2011 and also serves as Clinton-Massie High School’s library.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Wilmington Air Park’s aviation heritage and the historic Clinton County Courthouse/Wilmington Commercial Historic District are the county’s signature attractions. Wilmington was featured in Time magazine (December 8, 1997) and the 1995 book “The 100 Best Small Towns in America.”
Notes: The genuine WWII Army Air Field-to-DHL cargo hub history at Wilmington Air Park is one of the most distinctive economic-history facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Clinton County Auditor – 1850 Davids Drive, Suite 303, Wilmington, OH 45177 | (937) 382-2250 | Fax: (937) 382-4090.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Clinton County Dog Warden – 1330 Fife Avenue, Wilmington, OH 45177 | (937) 382-8388; responds to lost dogs, dog bites/attacks, strays, and neglect; handles dog-related issues only.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Clinton County Solid Waste and Recycling – 1850 Davids Drive, Wilmington, OH 45177 | (937) 382-2224 | Fax: (937) 382-3742.
NOTES: Clinton County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Brown, Butler, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine Wilmington Air Park story – from WWII Army Air Field to major DHL cargo hub – is one of the most distinctive economic-history facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Clinton County
Clinton County has a distinctive identity shaped by Quaker heritage and economic trauma – a south-central Ohio agricultural community that experienced one of the most severe single-employer job losses in modern Ohio history.
Wilmington (the county seat, population ~12,000) was built around Quaker values – Wilmington College, founded 1870 by the Religious Society of Friends, anchors the community with approximately 1,200 students. The Quaker tradition of pacifism, social justice, and plain living has shaped the community’s character across generations.
The 2008 DHL/Airborne Express decision to close its Wilmington cargo hub eliminated approximately 7,000 jobs – in a community of 12,000, this represented a catastrophic economic shock. The Wilmington Air Park has since attracted other aviation and logistics tenants, but the recovery has been slow and incomplete.
Clinton County’s agricultural heritage – corn, soybeans, and cattle – provides the economic foundation outside Wilmington.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Clinton County Auditor at 46 S. South Street, Suite 401, Wilmington, OH 45177, phone 937-382-0787. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Clinton County Probate Court at 46 S. South Street, Wilmington, OH 45177, phone 937-382-2316, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
46 South South St, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-1965
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Clinton County Probate Court, Wilmington (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Clinton 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
Clinton County Probate Court 46 South South Street, Suite 224, Wilmington, OH 45177 (937) 382-2280 Clinton County is in southwestern Ohio, seated in Wilmington.
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 Clinton 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
46 South South St, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-1965
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
137 East Sugartree St, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-1611
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
1855 Rombach Ave, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-3625
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health District
111 South Nelson Ave, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-7221
Job and Family Services
1225 South Nelson Ave, Wilmington, OH 45177
(937) 382-1046
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Clinton County Health District – (937) 382-3829; Public Health Emergency Preparedness contact Tonja Ruther, [email protected], ext. 4122.
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Wilmington
Population: 43,000
Established: 1810
Tier: 3
Public Records
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