Chillicothe ( CHIL ih KOTH ee) is a city in Ross County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 22,059 at the 2020 census. The town’s population peaked around 25,000 in 1960 and has held steady in the intervening decades.
Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross County and the center of the Chillicothe micropolitan area, which is a part of the Columbus, Ohio Combined Statistical Area. Chillicothe is a designated Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
At a Glance
- County: Ross County
- County seat of Ross County
- State: Ohio
History of Chillicothe
The region around Chillicothe was the center of the ancient Hopewell tradition, which flourished from 200 BC until 500 AD. This Amerindian culture had trade routes extending to the Rocky Mountains. They built earthen mounds for ceremonial and burial purposes throughout the Scioto and Ohio River valleys.
Later Native Americans who inhabited the area through the time of European contact included Shawnees. Present day Chillicothe is the most recent of seven locations in Ohio that bore the name, because it was applied to the main town wherever the Chalakatha settled. Other population centers named Chillicothe in Ohio at one time include: one located at present day Piqua, in Miami County; one located south of present day Circleville, Pickaway County, on the Scioto River; a third about three miles (4.8 km) north of Xenia in Greene County, Ohio; a fourth at present day Frankfort, Ross County, on Paint Creek; and a fifth also located in Ross County, at Hopetown, three miles north of modern Chillicothe.
In 1758 a settlement was established at this site by Shawnee Indians who had abandoned their village of Lower Shawneetown in November of that year. A group of Shawnees from Logstown also joined them.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Chillicothe, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.