Perry County is a county in Ohio, United States, on the northern edge of the Appalachian foothills between Zanesville and Lancaster. It had a population of 35,408 at the 2020 census and covers 412 square miles (1,070 km2), of which 408 square miles (1,060 km2) is land and 4.5 square miles (12 km2) is water, centred near 39°41′N 82°14′W.
New Lexington is the county seat and its postal code is 43764. The county has 11 incorporated villages plus the city of New Lexington, along with several unincorporated communities and coal-camp hamlets, grouped into 14 townships. Perry County is in the Eastern time zone; its FIPS code is 39-129.
Towns & Villages in Perry County
Perry County has one city, 11 villages, and a long list of unincorporated crossroads and former coal camps — a legacy of the county’s late-1800s mining boom. CDP = census-designated place (unincorporated but tracked separately by the Census Bureau); Unincorp. = no formal municipal government.
| Place | Type | Township | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Lexington | City · seat | Reading | 4,700 | 43764 |
| Somerset | Village | Reading | 1,412 | 43783 |
| Crooksville | Village | Pike | 2,449 | 43731 |
| Thornville | Village | Thorn | 1,013 | 43076 |
| Junction City | Village | Monroe | 707 | 43748 |
| New Straitsville | Village | Salt Lick | 717 | 43766 |
| Shawnee | Village | Salt Lick | 620 | 43782 |
| Glenford | Village | Thorn | 195 | 43739 |
| Corning | Village | Monday Creek | 525 | 43730 |
| Rendville | Village | Monroe | 29 | 43730 |
| Roseville | Village | Jackson | 1,753 | 43777 |
| Mount Perry | Village | Monroe | 158 | 43760 |
| Moxahala | Unincorp. | Salt Lick | — | 43766 |
| Hemlock | Unincorp. | Reading | — | 43764 |
| Millertown | Unincorp. | Monroe | — | 43764 |
| Maxville | Unincorp. | Pike | — | 43731 |
| McLuney | Unincorp. | Monday Creek | — | 43758 |
| Saltillo | Unincorp. | Monday Creek | — | 43730 |
| San Toy | Unincorp. | Monday Creek | — | 43730 |
| Stringtown | Unincorp. | Salt Lick | — | 43766 |
| Sego | Unincorp. | Coal | — | 43782 |
| Rehoboth | Unincorp. | Bearfield | — | 43764 |
| Clarksville | Unincorp. | Bearfield | — | 43764 |
| Chapel Hill | Unincorp. | Coal | — | 43764 |
| Congo | Unincorp. | Coal | — | 43764 |
| Bristol | Unincorp. | Bearfield | — | 43764 |
| Thornport | Unincorp. | Thorn | — | 43076 |
| Sulphur Springs | Unincorp. | Thorn | — | 43076 |
Rendville, once a nationally known integrated coal town, is now one of Ohio’s smallest incorporated villages by population but keeps its own council government. Several of the old scrape’s entries — Avlon, Brigglesville, Bruno, Buckingham, Carrington, Carthon, Chalfants, Clover Hill, Conway Addition, Crossenville, Dixie, Drakes, Firemans Park, Flatiron, Glass Rock, Greeleyville, Hatfield, Ludington, Mainsville, McCuneville, Milligan, Misco, Moores Junction, New Reading, Oakfield, Portersville, Redfield, Rose Farm, Salem, Sayre, Straitsville, Walser, Wesley, Whipstown, Wilbren, Yellowtown, Yost, and Ziontown — could not be verified against current Census, USGS, or postal records and were dropped rather than published unverified; see notes.md.
Townships
| Township | Pop. (2020) | Main settlements |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | — | New Lexington, Hemlock |
| Pike | — | Crooksville, Maxville |
| Monroe | — | Junction City, Rendville, Mount Perry, Millertown |
| Salt Lick | — | New Straitsville, Shawnee, Moxahala, Stringtown |
| Jackson | — | Roseville |
| Thorn | — | Thornville, Glenford, Thornport, Sulphur Springs |
| Monday Creek | — | Corning, McLuney, Saltillo, San Toy |
| Coal | — | Sego, Chapel Hill, Congo |
| Bearfield | — | Rehoboth, Clarksville, Bristol |
| Clayton | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Harrison | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Hopewell | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Madison | — | rural, no incorporated place |
| Pleasant | — | rural, no incorporated place |
ZIP Codes
- 43764 — New Lexington (also serves Hemlock, Rehoboth, Clarksville, Bristol, Chapel Hill, Congo, Millertown)
- 43783 — Somerset
- 43731 — Crooksville (also serves Maxville)
- 43076 — Thornville (also serves Glenford area, Thornport, Sulphur Springs)
- 43739 — Glenford
- 43748 — Junction City
- 43766 — New Straitsville (also serves Moxahala, Stringtown)
- 43782 — Shawnee (also serves Sego)
- 43730 — Corning (also serves Rendville, Saltillo, San Toy)
- 43777 — Roseville
- 43760 — Mount Perry
- 43758 — McLuney
Smaller unincorporated crossroads without their own post office use the ZIP of the nearest listed town.
Geography
Perry County sits on the boundary between the flatter till plains to the west and the hillier, forested southeastern Ohio coal country to the east. Monday Creek and Jonathan Creek drain the county toward the Muskingum River, and reclaimed strip-mine land now makes up part of Perry State Forest in the county’s southern townships. Perry County borders Licking County to the north, Muskingum County to the east, Morgan County to the southeast, Athens County to the south, Hocking County to the southwest, and Fairfield County to the west.
Demographics
Perry County had 35,408 residents at the 2020 census. New Lexington and Crooksville are its two largest communities. Median household income in the county runs below the Ohio median of $67,769, consistent with the county’s rural, formerly coal-dependent economy. Population density is about 87 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture, small manufacturing, and public-sector employment (schools, the county government, and the state prison system, which operates the Southeastern Correctional Complex near Lancaster’s border) anchor the local economy today, a shift from the deep coal mining that built towns like Shawnee, Corning, and New Straitsville in the late 1800s. Crooksville and Roseville were once nationally known pottery-making centers along the “Pottery Ridge” of eastern Ohio. New Lexington hosts the Perry County Fair each August.
History
Perry County was organized on March 1, 1818, from parts of Fairfield, Washington, and Muskingum counties, and named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the naval hero of the Battle of Lake Erie. Coal mining drove rapid growth in the Corning-Shawnee-New Straitsville corridor after the Civil War; New Straitsville is famous for an underground mine fire, deliberately set by striking miners in 1884, that is still smoldering more than a century later. Rendville, founded as a coal-company town in the 1870s, became known for its early integrated workforce and elected one of Ohio’s first Black village officials in the 1880s.
Getting There
U.S. Route 22 and State Routes 13, 93, and 668 are the county’s main roads; there is no interstate highway within the county.
- Zanesville — 15 miles northeast
- Lancaster — 20 miles west
- Athens — 35 miles south
- Columbus — 55 miles northwest
The nearest commercial airport is John Glenn Columbus International Airport, about 55 miles northwest of New Lexington.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Perry County, Ohio?
It is in Ohio’s southeastern Appalachian foothills, between Zanesville and Lancaster.
What is the population of Perry County?
35,408 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Perry County?
412 square miles (1,070 km2), of which 408 square miles is land.
What is the county seat of Perry County?
New Lexington.
How many towns and villages are in Perry County?
One city (New Lexington) and 11 incorporated villages, plus numerous unincorporated communities, spread across 14 townships.
What ZIP codes are in Perry County?
Twelve main ZIP codes, including 43764 (New Lexington), 43783 (Somerset), 43731 (Crooksville), and 43766 (New Straitsville).
Why is New Straitsville known for an underground fire?
Striking coal miners set the Snake Hollow Mine on fire in 1884; portions of the seam have burned continuously ever since, making it one of the longest-running mine fires in the United States.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Ohio.