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Ohio County
Vinton County, Ohio
Ohio's most forested county and the Lake Hope iron furnace legacy - from Vinton County's distinction as the most heavily forested county in Ohio (over 75% forested, the Zaleski State Forest's 26,000 acres preserving the landscape of the former iron industry that clear-cut and then abandoned the hillsides) to Lake Hope State Park's ironmaster's house and the Hope Furnace (one of dozens of charcoal iron furnaces that operated in southern Ohio's "Hanging Rock Iron Region" - the furnaces consumed enormous quantities of wood charcoal, denuding the hillsides that subsequently reforested as the iron industry collapsed) and a small Appalachian Ohio county of exceptional natural beauty and economic modesty.
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Office: Vinton County Emergency Management Agency – 106 South Market Street, McArthur, OH 45651 | (740) 596-3524 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4 PM; Director Bill Faught; organized under ORC 5502.26/5502.27; uses Hyper Reach for mass emergency notifications; outdoor siren tests occur last Monday of each month at noon.
EMS: Vinton County EMS – 31931 State Route 93, McArthur, OH 45651 | Non-emergency: (740) 596-4122; open 24/7.
Sheriff/Non-emergency: Vinton County Sheriff – 106 South Market Street, McArthur, OH 45651 | (740) 596-5242.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: SR-93, SR-32, and SR-160 serve McArthur, the county seat, in southeastern Ohio
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Vinton County is genuinely, officially the least populous county in Ohio (population 12,800 as of the 2020 census), formed March 23, 1850 and named for U.S. Representative Samuel Finley Vinton. Roughly 94% of residents live in rural areas.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Vinton County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via vintoncounty.com.
Notes: Vinton County is home to one of Ohio’s most famous ghost towns: Moonville, a former coal-mining and railroad settlement in Brown Township that grew up along the Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad in the 1850s. The isolated tracks through the surrounding hills had no signals, leading to a deadly history of train collisions, and the community gradually emptied out as coal and iron resources depleted, becoming a true ghost town by the 1940s (though trains continued through the tunnel into the 1980s). Today the Moonville Tunnel – subject of numerous local ghost legends, including tales of a phantom railroad engineer and a “Lavender Lady” – is a popular hiking destination along the 16-mile Moonville Rail-Trail, which runs through Zaleski State Forest (28,000 acres, Ohio’s second-largest state forest) and hosts an annual Halloween-season “Midnight at Moonville” event. Zaleski State Forest also contains the prehistoric Zaleski Mound Group, built by the Adena culture, and the restored Hope Furnace, a historic charcoal iron furnace.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Vinton County Veterans Service Office – 100 East Main Street, McArthur, OH 45651 | (740) 790-7043 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon-Fri 7 AM-3 PM; Director Tim M. Reid; assists veterans with applying for benefits.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Herbert Wescoat Memorial Library – 120 N. Market Street, McArthur, OH 45651 | (740) 596-5691.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Moonville Tunnel/Moonville Rail-Trail, Zaleski State Forest, Lake Hope State Park, and the historic Hope Furnace are the county’s signature natural and historic attractions.
Notes: The genuine Moonville ghost town heritage and Ohio’s-least-populous-county distinction are among the most distinctive, checkable facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Vinton County Auditor – confirm current phone via vintoncounty.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Vinton County Dog Shelter – 31479 State Route 93, McArthur, OH 45651 | (740) 596-9285; Chief Dog Warden Andrea Green; dogs only, adoption viewings by appointment.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Vinton County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via vintoncounty.com.
NOTES: Vinton County is the fifth county in the final batch (Trumbull, Tuscarawas, Union, Van Wert, Vinton, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Williams, Wood, Wyandot) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine Moonville ghost town heritage and Ohio’s-least-populous-county distinction are among 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 Vinton County
Vinton County is Ohio’s most forested county – a southeastern Ohio Appalachian community where the collapse of the 19th-century charcoal iron industry accidentally created one of the state’s finest forest landscapes.
McArthur (the county seat, population ~1,800) is one of Ohio’s smallest county seats – a modest Appalachian hill community serving a sparse population on hilly, poorly soiled land that resisted agricultural development.
The Hanging Rock Iron Region – spanning parts of Lawrence, Scioto, and Vinton counties – produced pig iron from over 80 charcoal furnaces between the 1820s and 1880s. The Hope Furnace (1854) at Lake Hope State Park is one of the best-preserved examples, its stone stack standing in the reforested landscape that grew back after the iron industry stripped the hillsides for charcoal.
Zaleski State Forest and Lake Hope State Park provide hiking, primitive camping, and mountain biking in one of Ohio’s most remote and rewarding outdoor landscapes.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Vinton County Auditor at 100 E. Main Street, McArthur, OH 45651, phone 740-596-5945. Appeal to County Board of Revision by April 1.
Courts & Legal
Vinton County Probate Court at 100 E. Main Street, McArthur, OH 45651, phone 740-596-4571, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
100 East Main St, McArthur, OH 45651
(740) 596-4571
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Vinton County Probate Court, McArthur (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Vinton 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
Vinton County Probate Court 100 East Main Street, McArthur, OH 45651 (740) 596-5480 Vinton County is in southeastern Ohio, seated in McArthur – Ohio’s least populous county.
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 Vinton 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 East Main St, McArthur, OH 45651
(740) 596-4571
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
100 East Main St, McArthur, OH 45651
(740) 596-5731
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
100 East Main St, McArthur, OH 45651
(740) 596-4571
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
29397 State Route 93, McArthur, OH 45651
(740) 596-5488
Job and Family Services
30975 Industrial Park Rd, McArthur, OH 45651
(740) 596-2704
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Vinton County Health Department – confirm current contact via vintoncounty.com.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: McArthur
Population: 13,000
Established: 1850
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Vinton County residents.
