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Ohio County
Madison County, Ohio
Madison County's cornbelt heartland and Plain City's Amish community - from London's position as one of the most agriculturally productive county seats in Ohio (Madison County's flat glacial till plain produces exceptional corn and soybean yields on some of the state's finest farmland) to Plain City's significant Old Order Amish and Mennonite community (one of the closest Amish communities to a major metropolitan area - just 25 miles from Columbus - making it accessible for day-trippers seeking farm stands, furniture shops, and traditional crafts) and the county's rapid Columbus exurban growth.
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Office: Madison County Emergency Management Agency – 271 Elm Street, London, OH 43140 | (740) 852-4200 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM; Director Holly Langham.
EMS: Madison County Emergency Medical District – 91 State Route 56 NW, London, OH 43140 | (740) 852-5390; formed 1981, an emergency-only third-service (no scheduled transports) serving Deercreek, Monroe, Oak Run, Paint, Somerford, and Union Townships, plus the Farm Science Review, Madison County Airport, Choctaw Lake, and Madison Lake State Park.
Sheriff/Non-emergency: Madison County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center – (740) 852-1212.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-40/42 and I-70 serve London, the county seat, roughly 27 miles southwest of Columbus
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Small aircraft can use the 4,000-foot runway at Madison County Airport, adjacent to the Molly Caren Agricultural Center.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Madison County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via co.madison.oh.us.
Notes: Madison County genuinely hosts Ohio State University’s Farm Science Review, the university’s premier agricultural event, held annually each September at the 2,100-acre Molly Caren Agricultural Center just north of London. The three-day show draws over 100,000 visitors from across the U.S. and Canada to see roughly 4,000 product lines from 600 commercial exhibitors, alongside research and educational programming from Ohio State specialists. The Madison County Courthouse (built 1892, Second Empire style, architect George H. Maetzel) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; during the historic 1974 Super Outbreak – the same tornado system that devastated Xenia – the Lady Justice statue atop the courthouse was knocked over. IMPORTANT for InmateAid: the London Correctional Institution (LoCI), a mixed-security state prison with roughly 2,500-inmate capacity, has operated in Union Township just west of London since 1925 (originally the London Prison Farm, a branch of the Ohio Penitentiary from 1913).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Madison County Veteran Service Center – provides financial assistance, VA claims filing, door-to-door transportation to VA medical appointments, indigent burial assistance, and grave flag holders; meetings held the first Monday of each month at 3:15 PM; confirm current address/phone via co.madison.oh.us.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: London Public Library – 20 E. First Street, London, OH 43140 | (740) 852-9543 | Hours: Mon-Wed 9 AM-8 PM, Thu 9 AM-8 PM, Fri 10 AM-6 PM, Sat 10 AM-5 PM, closed Sunday. Additional county libraries: Hurt/Battelle Memorial Library, 270 Lilly Chapel Rd., West Jefferson, OH 43162 | (614) 879-8448; Mount Sterling Public Library, 60 W. Columbus Street, Mount Sterling, OH 43143 | (740) 869-2430; Plain City Public Library, 305 W. Main Street, Plain City, OH 43064 | (614) 873-4912.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Molly Caren Agricultural Center (home of the Farm Science Review), Madison Lake State Park, and Deer Creek State Park are the county’s signature attractions.
Notes: The genuine Farm Science Review – one of the largest agricultural trade shows in North America – is a distinctive, checkable local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Madison County Auditor – confirm current phone via co.madison.oh.us.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Madison County Dog Warden – PO Box 558, London, OH 43140 | (740) 845-1749 | [email protected]; Deputy Sheriff Chris Floyd.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Madison County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via co.madison.oh.us.
NOTES: Madison County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Lake, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Lorain, Lucas, Madison) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine Farm Science Review agricultural show and the London Correctional Institution (InmateAid-relevant) are distinctive local facts. 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 Madison County
Madison County is west-central Ohio’s dual-identity county – a deeply agricultural community experiencing significant Columbus suburban growth pressure, with a significant Amish community providing a cultural counterpoint to the approaching metropolitan expansion.
London (the county seat, population ~10,000) is a modest agricultural service city on the US-40 National Road corridor – the county courthouse, farm supply businesses, and light manufacturing serve a community increasingly connected to Columbus by I-70 commuter patterns.
Plain City (population ~5,000) has one of the closest significant Amish communities to a major American metropolitan area – the Old Order Amish and Mennonite farms and businesses are accessible to Columbus residents in under 30 minutes, making it one of Ohio’s most-visited Amish communities.
Madison County’s flat, tile-drained farmland produces some of Ohio’s highest corn and soybean yields per acre on deep glacial till soils.
All Services
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Madison County Auditor at 1 N. Main Street, Suite 101, London, OH 43140, phone 740-852-9817. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Madison County Probate Court at 1 N. Main Street, London, OH 43140, phone 740-852-9768, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
1 North Main St, London, OH 43140
(740) 852-9777
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Madison County Probate Court, London (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Madison 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
Madison County Probate Court 1 North Main Street, Room 205, London, OH 43140 (740) 852-0756 Madison County is in central Ohio, seated in London.
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 Madison 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 North Main St, London, OH 43140
(740) 852-9777
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
831 East High St, London, OH 43140
(740) 852-1212
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
116 East High St, London, OH 43140
(740) 852-0756
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
831 East High St, London, OH 43140
(740) 852-3065
Job and Family Services
116 East High St, London, OH 43140
(740) 852-1852
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Madison County Health Department – confirm current contact via co.madison.oh.us.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: London
Population: 46,000
Established: 1810
Tier: 3
Public Records
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