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Ohio County
Hardin County, Ohio
Ohio Northern University and Ada's remarkable small-college story - from Ada's Ohio Northern University (founded 1871, enrollment ~3,000, notable as the alma mater of James M. Cox - the 1920 Democratic presidential nominee and founder of Cox Enterprises, one of America's largest private media companies) to Kenton's courthouse and the Lima-Marion corridor's agricultural productivity, and a flat north-central Ohio county where a small liberal arts university anchors a village economy in an otherwise purely agricultural landscape.
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EMS: BKP Ambulance District – 439 S. Main St, Kenton, OH 43326 | (419) 674-4574; a tax-based political subdivision serving Buck, Kenton, Pleasant, Cessna, Lynn, Goshen, and Dudley Townships; became the county’s first full-time EMS department July 1, 2003.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-68 and SR-67/199 serve Kenton, 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
Notes: Hardin County is home to Ohio Northern University in Ada, alongside several other educational institutions within a 30-mile radius.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Hardin County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via hardincountyohio.gov.
Notes: Kenton offers a genuinely affordable cost of living (roughly 14.4% below the national average) alongside a slightly above-state-median household income. The city is home to Hardin Memorial Hospital (OhioHealth), a public library, museum, and parks including Saulisberry Park and France Lake (boating, kayaking, fishing, walking trails). The Hardin County Courthouse anchors downtown Kenton, and the county is also home to Ohio Northern University in the village of Ada.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Hardin County Veteran Service Office – 1 Court House Square, Suite 120, Kenton, OH 43326; provides emergency financial assistance, employment/compensation assistance, transportation, memorial affairs, and help applying for and maintaining VA benefits including education and health care.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Mary Lou Johnson-Hardin County District Library – 325 E. Columbus Street, Kenton, OH 43326 | (419) 673-2278 | Hours: Mon, Tue-Thu 9 AM-8 PM, Fri-Sat 9 AM-5 PM, closed Sunday; roughly 68,000-volume collection, circulating 155,000+ items annually; offers home delivery outreach for residents unable to visit in person. Additional county libraries include the Ada Public Library, 320 N. Main Street, Ada, OH 45810 | (419) 634-5246; Alger Public Library, (419) 757-7755; Forest-Jackson Public Library, (419) 273-2400; Hardin Northern Public Library (Dunkirk), (419) 759-3558; Ridgemont Public Library (Mt. Victory), (937) 354-4445.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Saulisberry Park, France Lake, and the Hardin County Historical Museum are the county’s local attractions, alongside Ohio Northern University’s campus in Ada.
Notes: Ohio Northern University’s presence in Ada is a distinctive, checkable local fact for a county of this size.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Hardin County Auditor – confirm current phone via hardincountyohio.gov; GIS Department: One Courthouse Square, Suite 180, Kenton, OH 43326 | (419) 673-2984.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Hardin County Dog Shelter/Pound – 49 Jones Rd, Kenton, OH 43326; confirm current phone via hardincountyohio.gov.
Nonprofit: Hardin County Humane Society – Kenton, OH; all-volunteer, foster-based (no physical shelter facility); adoption fees $25-$65 for cats, $75-$175 for dogs.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Hardin County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via hardincountyohio.gov.
NOTES: Hardin County is the fifth county in this batch (Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry) of the Ohio v2 redo. Ohio Northern University’s presence in Ada is a distinctive local fact. 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 Hardin County
Hardin County is north-central Ohio’s agricultural county – a flat glacially deposited landscape where corn and soybean farming sustains the rural economy and Ohio Northern University provides an unexpected cultural and educational resource in the village of Ada.
Kenton (the county seat, population ~8,000) is the county’s commercial hub – named for frontiersman Simon Kenton, it serves the surrounding farm community with retail, county government, and light manufacturing.
Ada (population ~5,500) is defined by Ohio Northern University – a United Methodist-affiliated institution founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871. The university’s Pettit College of Law and Raabe College of Pharmacy give it professional programs that sustain a student population far exceeding the village’s permanent residents. James M. Cox – 1920 Democratic presidential nominee against Warren G. Harding and founder of Cox Enterprises (which grew to include newspapers, television stations, and eventually Cox Communications cable) – is ONU’s most prominent alumnus.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Hardin County Auditor at 1 Courthouse Square, Suite 240, Kenton, OH 43326, phone 419-674-2230. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Hardin County Probate Court at 1 Courthouse Square, Kenton, OH 43326, phone 419-674-2278, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
1 Courthouse Sq, Kenton, OH 43326
(419) 674-2278
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Hardin County Probate Court, Kenton (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Hardin 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
Hardin County Probate Court One Courthouse Square, Suite 210, Kenton, OH 43326 (419) 674-2230 Hardin County is in west-central Ohio, seated in Kenton.
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 Hardin 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
1 Courthouse Sq, Kenton, OH 43326
(419) 674-2278
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
1401 County Road 175, Kenton, OH 43326
(419) 674-2222
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
14741 County Highway 90, Kenton, OH 43326
(419) 673-2035
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1002 West Franklin St, Kenton, OH 43326
(419) 673-3921
Job and Family Services
1200 North Main St, Kenton, OH 43326
(419) 674-2311
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Kenton Hardin Health Department – confirm current contact via kentonhardinhealth.com; maintains emergency preparedness programs (bio-surveillance, medical countermeasures, community resilience).
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Kenton
Population: 31,000
Established: 1820
Tier: 3
Public Records
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Search public records for Hardin County residents.
