Erie County History

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     Erie County’s first inhabitants included the Erie, Iroquois, Wyandot and Ottawa Indians.  White settlers began populating north central Ohio in the early 1800s onto land that had been reserved for the Connecticut residents whose homes had been burned down during British raids of the late 1700s (Revolutionary War).  This land was known as The Firelands.  In 1809 Huron County was established and included present day Erie County

     In the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver “Hazard” Perry’s victory over a British fleet just a few miles from South Bass Island secured the right of Americans to independently dwell in the New World and along the shores of Lake Erie.  Then, a little over 25 years later in 1838 the Ohio government decided to divide large counties such as Huron into smaller areas of land.  This led to the formation of Erie County, named after the Erie Indians and Lake Erie.

For more details about Erie County history, go to

 http:/www.sandusky.net/heritage/index.htm

and

http://www.kelleysislandhistorical.org/about_kelleys_island.htm

and

http://www.eriecountyohiocofc.com/StudentInfo.htm

For more details about Ohio's history, go to

http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=2185

and

http://www.ohiomemory.org/

Ohio celebrated it's Bicentennial in 2003. 

For more details go to

http://www.ohio200.org/scrapbook/

and

http://www.ohiobarns.com/ohbarns/

Erie County's Bicentennial Bell Casting Ceremony pictures:

http://www.erie-county-ohio.net/commissioners/bell.htm