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Wayne County History

FOUNDED IN 1796

A rich agricultural community, Wayne County was founded in 1796 and was the third county in the Northwest Territory. The county, which had a strong connection to the Revolutionary War, was named for "Mad" Anthony Wayne, a war colleague of George Washington. Wooster, the county seat since 1808, was also named for war hero General David Wooster. Today, Wayne County is the 13th largest county in Ohio covering over 550 square miles.

Wayne County's rich soil and plentiful water supply supports a strong agricultural community. Dairy farms and roadside produce stands are still present and thriving in the county today. In the late 1800's, Wayne County began to expand industrially with a presence in the coal mining industry and access to the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne, and Chicago Railroad (which later became the Pennsylvania). Even today Wayne County is home to many world-renowned businesses such as Wooster Brush Company, Gerstenslager's, LuK USA LLC and The J.M. Smucker Company.

The Lincoln Highway Historic Byway runs through Wayne County. Designated by red, white and blue signs, this route follows the original 260 mile Ohio alignment of the 1928 U.S. Route 30 that stretched from New York City westward to San Francisco. U.S. Route 30 opened the Western portion of the county to development in the early 20th century. Today, as you travel this scenic route through Wayne County, you will experience some of "Main Street Across America", the Highway's original slogan. Downtown Wooster and Dalton, both on the Highway route since 1913, let visitors experience tree-lined streets, historical buildings and replicas of the original posts that designated the Lincoln Highway route.

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