Athens County obtained its territory from Washington county in 1805. The county seat is Athens.  Because the state university (Ohio University) was founded there in 1804, the town and the county were named for the ancient center of learning, Athens, Greece. 

*Athens County, Ohio, is in the south east part of the state, on the Ohio river. It contains an area of 740 square miles. The Hockhocking river runs in a south east direction through the county and several of its branches furnish good mill sites. There are also several other small rivers, among which is Raccoon creek, in the west part of the county. Two townships in this county, containing 46,030 acres, were granted by the United States Congress to the Ohio Company, for the use of a university. The surface is broken and hilly, but the soil is productive, and adapted alike to grain and to grazing. Lime and freestone, and clay for brick, are abundant, and furnish great facilities for building. Bituminous coal is plenty, iron ore is found in many places, and several wells have been sunk, from which salt of an excellent quality is manufactured. There were in 1840, neat cattle 15,871, sheep 29,590, swine 24,459; wheat 175,894 bushels produced, Indian corn 387,077, oats 152,346, potatoes 63,740, tobacco 108,878 pounds, sugar 69,202, salt 92,800 bushels, bituminous coal 84,200; 54 stores, capital $64,700; 6 tanneries, 1 distillery, 18 grist mills, 52 saw mills, 3 oil mills, 1 printing office, 1 weekly newspaper. Capital in manufactures $105,850. 1 university, and 1 academy, 88 schools 2,083 scholars. Population: 19,109.

*Source: A Complete Descriptive And Statistical Gazetteer Of The United States Of America, By Daniel Haskel, A. M and J. Calvin Smith, Published By Sherman & Smith, 1843

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