Lorain County administrative offices are located at 226 Middle Avenue, Elyria, OH 44035; phone: 440-329-5760.
TOWNS
Beginnings [1]
Ohio had already become a state four years before the Lorain County pioneers arrived. After the War of 1812 and Perry's Victory on Lake Erie, settlers began coming to the Western Reserve in great numbers, mostly from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York State. Within the next ten years, most of the townships of the county had residents. In 1822, having enough residents, Lorain County was formed out of townships that had been parts of Cuyahoga, Medina, and Huron counties. Black River (now Lorain), Ridgeville, Avon, Sheffield, Amherst, Wellington, Vermilion, and Elyria were developing into substantial settlements. The name Lorain was an anglicized version of Lorraine in France, which Heman Ely had visited. When a committee of the Ohio legislature came to locate the county seat, Ely was able to persuade them to choose Elyria by donating the land for the county building. The first government of the county was organized in 1824.