Jefferson County /

Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2000, the population was 73,894. Its county seat is Steubenville and is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was at the time Vice President. Jefferson County is part of the Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. Jefferson County was named for Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, Secretary of State, and Vice President of the United States at the time of the County’s creation. It was organized on July 29, 1797 by proclamation of Governor Arthur St. Clair, six years before Ohio was granted statehood. In 1786, the United States built Fort Steuben to protect the government surveyors mapping the land west of the Ohio River. When the surveyors completed their task a few years later, the fort was abandoned. In the meantime, settlers had built homes around the fort; they named their settlement La Belle. When the County was created in 1797, La Belle was selected as the County seat. The town was subsequently renamed Steubenville, in honor of the abandoned fort. During the first half of the nineteenth century, Jefferson County attracted a number of pioneers who were looking for a better life