History
Holmes County is named for Major Holmes, a young officer killed in the War of 1812. He was killed during the unsuccessful attack on Fort Mackinack. The Ohio General Assembly formed Holmes County in 1824 with land from Wayne, Tuscarawas and Coshocton counties. Millersburg became the county seat.
Holmes County's settlers came mostly from central and northern Europe, especially Germany, Switzerland and France. Among those coming from Switzerland were cheese makers, who established their profession in the county's early days. Today their descendants produce large quantities of cheese products that are well known throughout Ohio and neighboring states.
The county's first European settlers arrived in 1809 and 1810. Around the same time, a group of Amish Mennonites from eastern Pennsylvania crossed the Allegheny Mountains and settled in Ohio near the village of Sugarcreek. An Amish man named Jonas Stutzman established a settlement on land near what is now Walnut Creek. President Thomas Jefferson signed the deed for the land that would later become the largest Amish community in the world.
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Business Opportunities Employers involved with wood products, food production and food processing are attracted to Holmes County, emphasizing the importance of agriculture and woodworking to its communities. It is home to many made-to-order furniture producers, the finest cheese makers, and automobile component producers.
Business Growth and Potential
Due to Holmes County's recent growth, the job market is tighter than it was a few years ago. The county's industrial and commercial base is spreading beyond traditional industries. Although a rural area, Holmes County is close to two major airports and is about 30 miles from interstate highways that connect it to more than a dozen major markets throughout the country.
Major Employers
ALCO Ind./Rice-Chadwick Rubber Co.
Case Farms/Poultry Processing Inc.
Collins & Aikman Corp/Akro Corp.
Owens-Illinois/Owens-Brockway Prescription
Wayne-Dalton Corp.
East Holmes Local Board of Education
Pomerene Hospital
West Holmes Local Board of Education
Natural Resources
Holmes County is primarily a farming area (64 percent of the land is used for farms) and ranks second in the state in oats and hay production as well as cattle and dairy farming. Holmes County's mineral resources are coal, limestone, dolomite, sand, gravel, sandstone, clay, shale and petroleum.
Business Support Organizations
Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau
35 N. Monroe Street
Millersburg OH 44654
(330) 674-3975
Holmes County Planning Commission - Office of Economic Development
2 Court Street Suite 21
Millersburg OH 44654
(330) 674-8625
East Ohio Development Alliance
326 Highland Avenue
Cambridge OH 43725
(740) 432-7902
Educational Opportunities
Tourism and Lifestyle
Recreation
Holmes County offers outdoor recreational activities at Holmes Park, Long Lake Park and Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area. Visitors also may enjoy touring an Amish Country Farm in Berlin that includes a 1900's Amish home, animal barn, museum and blacksmith shop, or taking a scenic Amish Country drive from Millersburg to Sugarcreek.
Attractions and Points of Interest
- Rolling Ridge Ranch in Millersburg has activities for the whole family and features 400 animals and birds from around the world.
- Behalt at the Amish & Mennonite Heritage, located in Berlin, offers a large selection of books, crafts and an art gallery housing a mural painted by German-born, internationally known artist Heinz Gaugel.
- A Victorian House Museum is a beautiful example of Queen Anne architecture and is the home of the Holmes County Historical Society.
- Killbuck Valley Museum, Holmes County's natural history museum, features a large display of rocks, minerals, prehistoric Indian artifacts and archeological displays. Also on display are bones from Holmes County's very own mastodon.
- Heini's Place in Millersburg is a Cheese Chalet and Amish Country Mall.
- Fairs and festivals that add to the cultural life of the community include: Dandelion Mayfest, Annual Spring Festival Quilt, Great Mohican Indian Powwow, Killbuck Early American Days and the Apple Dumpling Festival.
Famous People
There are many famous people from Homes County including Jonathan Chapman, who was known as Johnny Appleseed; the first nationally known female baseball player, Alta Weiss; and Atlee Pomerene, a lawyer and U.S. Senator from 1911-1923 and an Ohio Lt. Governor from 1910-1911. Other famous people from Holmes County include Chell L. Metcalf, an entomologist; George Crile, Sr., who founded the Cleveland Clinic; Ralph Hershberger, a cartoonist; and the artist Silas Uhl.
Visitor Information
Convention & Visitors Bureaus
Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Convention & Visitors Bureau
35 N. Monroe Street
Millersburg OH 44654
(330) 674-3975
Airports
Located about 2 miles from Millersburg, the Holmes County Airport is owned by the Holmes County Airport Authority. The paved runway extends for 3,498 feet.
Health Services - Hospitals
Joel Pomerene Memorial Hospital, 981 Wooster Road, Millersburg, OH 44654
(330) 674-1015
Health Services - Clinics
Company Care Center, 1261 Wooster Road, Millersburg, OH 44654
(330) 674-9066 |