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Ohio County
Harrison County, Ohio
Clark Gable's birthplace and Appalachian Ohio's coal and shale county - from Cadiz's Clark Gable Birthplace Museum (the King of Hollywood was born in Cadiz on February 1, 1901, in a modest frame house that now serves as a museum honoring the Oscar-winning star of Gone with the Wind) to Harrison County's extraordinary natural gas production from the Utica shale formation (making it one of Ohio's most productive shale counties per square mile) and General George Armstrong Custer's Cadiz connection, and a small Appalachian hill county with outsized contributions to American cultural history.
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Office: Harrison County Emergency Management Agency – 538 North Main Street, Suite A, Cadiz, OH 43907 | (740) 942-3922; coordinates a comprehensive, all-hazards emergency management program; residents can sign up for Reverse 911 alerts via getrave.com/login/harrisoncountyohio.
Sheriff: Harrison County Sheriff’s Office – 978 East Market St, Cadiz, OH 43907.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-22/250 and SR-9 serve Cadiz, the county seat, in eastern Ohio near the West Virginia border
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Harrison County is one of Ohio’s smallest and most rural counties by population. Pittsburgh is about 60 miles away via SR-22, and Wheeling, WV is under 30 miles via SR-250.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Harrison County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via harrisoncountyohio.gov.
Notes: Harrison County, named for President William Henry Harrison, is genuinely and doubly notable as the birthplace of two major American historical figures. Cadiz (founded 1803, named after Cádiz, Spain) is the birthplace of Hollywood icon Clark Gable, “The King of Hollywood,” born February 1, 1901; the Clark Gable Foundation runs a museum in a replica of his childhood home, displaying donated artifacts including his 1954 Cadillac and a boyhood sled purchased from Christie’s Auction House. Separately, George Armstrong Custer was born December 5, 1839, in New Rumley in northern Harrison County – his birthplace and monument are also preserved locally. The county has genuine Underground Railroad heritage (the Delaney House in Hopedale served as a documented stop, with a hidden cistern connected by tunnel to the main house) and a coal-mining legacy, chronicled at the History of Coal Museum inside the Puskarich Public Library.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Harrison County Veterans Services – 100 W Market St, Cadiz, OH 43907; provides transportation to VA Hospitals in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, replacement dog tags, grave markers, and flags.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Puskarich Public Library System – Main library in Cadiz (established 1880, renamed Puskarich in 1986 after a fundraising campaign), plus Clark Memorial Branch (Freeport, OH) and Scio Branch (Scio, OH); circulates roughly 190,000 items annually; also houses the Harrison County History of Coal Museum; offers Homebound Library Service for residents unable to visit in person.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Clark Gable Foundation Museum, the George Armstrong Custer birthplace and monument, Tappan Lake (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recreation area), and the History of Coal Museum are the county’s signature attractions.
Notes: The genuine dual heritage of Clark Gable AND George Armstrong Custer both being born in Harrison County is one of the most distinctive facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Harrison County Auditor – confirm current phone via harrisoncountyohio.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Harrison County Dog Pound – 82900 Toot Rd, Cadiz, OH 43907 | Hours: Mon-Fri 10 AM-4 PM, Sat 9 AM-2 PM, closed Sunday/holidays; a small county-run facility housing up to 15 dogs; not officially “no-kill” but has not euthanized for space in over 2 years (as of source date); adoption fee $40 (includes current-year dog license); does not accept puppies under 6 months.
Nonprofit: Humane Society of Harrison County – PO Box 404, Cadiz, OH 43907; offers low-cost monthly spay/neuter clinics.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Harrison County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via harrisoncountyohio.gov.
NOTES: Harrison County is the sixth county in this batch (Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Henry) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine dual heritage of Clark Gable and George Armstrong Custer both being born in this small rural county is one of the most distinctive 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 Harrison County
Harrison County is eastern Ohio’s most celebrity-rich small county – birthplace of Clark Gable and General George Armstrong Custer, and one of Ohio’s most productive Utica shale natural gas counties.
Cadiz (the county seat, population ~3,300) holds two remarkable birthplace claims. Clark Gable – born William Clark Gable on February 1, 1901 – grew up in Cadiz before moving to California where he became the preeminent Hollywood leading man of the 1930s and 1940s, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for It Happened One Night (1934) and starring in Gone with the Wind (1939). The Clark Gable Birthplace Museum preserves the modest house where he was born.
General George Armstrong Custer – of Little Bighorn fame – was also born in Harrison County (New Rumley, 1839) before his family moved to Monroe, Michigan.
The Utica shale formation underlying Harrison County has made it one of Ohio’s most productive natural gas counties, with drilling activity bringing significant royalty income to landowners.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Harrison County Auditor at 100 W. Market Street, Cadiz, OH 43907, phone 740-942-8861. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Harrison County Probate Court at 100 W. Market Street, Cadiz, OH 43907, phone 740-942-8863, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
100 West Market St, Cadiz, OH 43907
(740) 942-8863
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Harrison County Probate Court, Cadiz – holds marriage licenses and wills from 1813, birth and death records from 1867-1908 (see Probate section above).
The 1893-95 Harrison County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Harrison 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
Harrison County Probate Court 100 West Market Street, Cadiz, OH 43907 (740) 942-8868
Harrison County was founded February 1, 1813, named for William Henry Harrison, in eastern Ohio, seated in Cadiz – Ohio’s fifth-least populous county. The 1893-95 Harrison County Courthouse, Second Empire in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 Harrison 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
100 West Market St, Cadiz, OH 43907
(740) 942-8863
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
45180 Marion St, Cadiz, OH 43907
(740) 942-2151
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
330 North St Clair St, Cadiz, OH 43907
(740) 942-2131
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
25975 Ohio 646, Cadiz, OH 43907
(740) 942-2616
Job and Family Services
100 North Main St, Cadiz, OH 43907
(740) 942-2149
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Harrison County General Health District – Call 24/7: (740) 942-2616 | Fax: (740) 942-9331; after-hours calls route to an emergency answering service.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Cadiz
Population: 14,500
Established: 1813
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Harrison County residents.
