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Allen County

Welcome to Allen County: Big town advantages in a small-town atmosphere.

Located in northwest Ohio halfway between Toledo and Dayton, Allen County has just over 100,000 residents. Twenty five Ohio counties, nearly a third of the state, have populations larger than Allen County. Yet, Allen County has many of the employment and entertainment features of larger, metropolitan counties while retaining many benefits of smaller counties. Lima (pronounced LIE-muh) is the county seat, with just more than 40,000 residents, and is the center of cultural and entertainment events.

Geography

Allen County covers 404 square miles, nearly 75 percent of which is farm land. Interstate 75, a four-lane limited access highway, passes through the northeast and central part of the county and brushes the outskirts of Lima . I-75 connects Lima and Allen County to Detroit, Toledo, Cincinnati, Dayton, and continues south all the way to Miami , Florida .

U.S. Route 30 passes east to west through the county, replacing the old Lincoln Highway, and intersecting with I-75 10 miles north of Lima. The highway is a continuous four lanes across eastern Indiana and Northwest Ohio. Soon the highway will be four lanes all the way across Ohio .

Twelve of the largest cities in the Midwest are within 250 miles of Lima. Dayton and Toledo are each a little more than an hour away. Others in that radius include Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Chicago, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Akron.

Industry

Manufacturing is the largest industry in Allen County, employing a quarter of the county's workforce at more than 11,000 people. It is responsible for about $8 billion of the county's $10-12 billion economy. Automotive-related manufacturing employs nearly 4,000 people.

The retail industry employs more than 6,000 people, representing 12 to 13 percent of the workforce. Retailers did $2.22 billion in sales in 2002, selling to a population of more than 400,000 people in a 40 minute travel radius.

Though healthcare employs more people than the retail industry, more than 7,500 people, it ranks as the county's third largest industry economically, doing an estimated $400 million a year in business.

Heritage

Allen County was first platted in 1785 as part of the Great Black Swamp. From the beginning, Allen County was an industrial community, with lumber and milling leading the way in the early 1800s.

In 1831, the county was named Allen after War of 1812 hero Colonel John Allen. The City of Lima was chartered in 1932 and was made the county seat.

The Miami-Erie Canal opened in 1844, giving the county its first highway for freight and passenger transportation. In the late 1850s three railroad companies laid track through Allen County and established terminals in Lima and Delphos.

In 1869, The Lima Machine Works, a manufacturer of sawmill equipment, began production of the world famous Shay Locomotive and changed its name to Lima Locomotive Works. Locomotive production would continue for 80 years.

Oil was discovered beneath Allen County soil in 1885, and sparked a boom that would last for more than 30 years. The Lima refinery, built by Standard Oil and now owned by Premcor, still refines oil for use all over the U.S.

In 1900, The Western Ohio Railway Co. made Lima an Interurban center on the electric interurban line. The Interurban allowed travel by electric rail car from New York City to Chicago by way of Lima. The Interurban also ran from Toledo, through Bluffton and Lima, down to Cincinnati.