West Liberty (formerly Black's Cabin) was designated as the county seat in 1777, serving to 1797.

The highest point of elevation in Ohio County is approximately 1,420 ft (430 m) and located about 1-mile (1.6 km) southwest of West Alexander, Pennsylvania.

The formation of the Mason–Dixon line and resolution of border disputes between Pennsylvania and Virginia began the first in a long series of reductions in the county's size.

[7] In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government.

This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts.

[8] Ohio County was divided into five districts: Center,[i] Clay, Liberty, Madison, Richland, Ritchie, Triadelphia, Union, Washington, and Webster.

[16] In terms of ancestry, 34.0% were German, 19.1% were Irish, 14.4% were English, 8.5% were Italian, 7.2% were Polish, and 5.7% were American.

The Ohio County Commissioners are Commission President Randy Wharton, Zachary Abraham, and Don Nickerson.

The current judges of the First Judicial Circuit are Jason A. Cuomo, Michael J. Olejasz, David Sims, and Ronald E. Wilson.

The current clerk of the First Judicial Circuit in Ohio County is Brenda Miller.

In West Virginia, Family Court judges have been elected to eight-year terms since 2008.

The current judges of the First Family Circuit are Joyce D. Chernenko and Heather Wood.

Vacancies occurring in unexpired terms can be filled by a respective Circuit Court judge.

[20] Interest has been expressed by some Ohio County residents and officials and has become the main political endeavour of a local council of churches called "Hopeful City".

The district is represented by Laura Wakim Chapman (R-Wheeling) and Ryan Weld (R-Wellsburg).

The current Representative is Alex Mooney, a Republican from Charles Town in Jefferson County.

West Virginia's two senators, who represent the entire state, are Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, a Republican from Charleston and a Democrat from Fairmont, respectively.

Since 2000, like all of West Virginia, its conservative white voters have trended Republican due to a combination of declining unionization[24] and differences with the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues.

Ohio County Schools has a five-member elected Board of Education Board of Education Archived October 15, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (Molly J. Aderholt, Christine N. Carder, David Croft, Sarah C. Koegler, President Zachary T. Abraham, Superintendent Dr. Kimmberly Miller, and an Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones.

The Ohio County Fair is held annually in October at Site 1 in Oglebay Park.

In 2007, the West Virginia Legislature adopted HB2718 which created Chapter 29-22 C of the West Virginia Code and permits county residents where racetracks are located to vote on expansion to table games.

While the West Virginia Family Foundation vowed to challenge the constitutionality of HB 2718,[27] it announced on August 7 that it would not file any appeal on the matter.

[28] According to newspaper accounts, the West Virginia Lottery Commission has set November 1, 2007, as the latest date at which table games will begin preliminary operation at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center.