Hamilton County Government history

In 1820, the Cherokee formed their own government and made innumerable attempts to keep their land.

Prior to this date Recorders were appointed by the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas until 1831.

The third courthouse was built in Harrison and became the new county seat in 1840.

On September 9, 1863, during the term of Sheriff Robert G. Campbell, civil government ceased to exist as the first Union troops entered Chattanooga.

Residents built a substantial brick building for their court, and the county seat officially remained there until December 1870.

The act was passed on January 27, 1871, and James County, “affectionately known as Jim,” was established with its county seat located in the small railroad town of Ooltewah.

The lot opposite it, on Walnut Street, was purchased for the county jail for $2,300, and in 1881 the jail structure was erected.

It was not until 1882, when Sheriff Cate and his deputy were murdered, that county law enforcement was routinely featured in news articles.

A quote from the The Evening Post, Sunday March 30, 1884 stated, “The only combustible thing in the whole courthouse certainly safe is the set of records of the recorder’s office.

Cincinnati's industries employed 103,325 people in 1887, and produced more than 200 million dollars in goods.

About June 1908, the pen and ink recording system (transcribing) was dropped and typewriters were installed in the office.

The sixth courthouse was rebuilt on the same site as the fifth and dedicated in 1913.

The Hamilton County Recorder introduced the Photostat on December 2, 1929.

On January 1, 1949 the Radio Communication Department began operation.

In 1952 when the Radio Center moved to Ridgeway Avenue, a 260 foot radio tower was erected along with a transmitter equipment building to house the broadcasting equipment.

By 1955, the Radio Center was handling a total of 123,004 telephone complaints, as indicated by registers which were installed by the Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company to assist in recording workload statistics.

All of James County, however, was not returned to Hamilton County until 1957 when the legislative decision was formally amended.

In January, 1961, the Communication Center was moved from 201 Ridgeway Avenue, in Hartwell, and into a new facility on Hamilton Ave.

In 1963 the Hamilton County Police Association decided the control of the teletype network should be established at the Radio Communications Center and all equipment was modified accordingly.

In 1964 a direct teletype line was established between Hamilton County Radio Center and the Ohio State Patrol Switching Center in Columbus.

In 1965 the Teletype Network was expanded to thirty-two Police Departments processing a total of 90,408 teletype messages.

In 1966 the Teletype Network was again expanded and reached into Butler County and Northern Kentucky.

During 1967 the Communication Center serviced a population of 400,000, processing 345,000 telephone complaints, and handling 122,000 teletype messages directed throughout the County and the Nation.

On August 22, 1975 a brand new Communication Center was dedicated.

Mike is a veteran Hamilton County Telecommunicator who has served as a dispatcher, radio room supervisor and as our Technical Services Manager since his career began back in 1984.

On May 31, 1988 the Recorder stopped producing typed Grantor/Grantee Index sheets and entered the information into a new computer system.

In November of 1992, Eve Bolton was the first woman elected as the Hamilton County Recorder.

She was sworn in and took office in January of 1993.

The MDT system processes nearly 70,000,000 transactions annually. It was not until December 1994, when a countywide MDT system was placed on line.

In 1995 Maurice J. Wesselmann Jr. retired as only the 3rd Superintendent/Director of Communications in our 46-year history.

The Recorder’s Office continued microfilm for many years and introduced the current digitized imaging system (scanning) on September 10, 1996 while still maintaining microfilm records.

In February 1998, the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County were approached about their interest in acquiring the site.

Illustrating the area's strong economy, the county's per capita income in 1999 was almost thirty-four thousand dollars, one of the highest averages in Ohio.

Beginning in the middle of 2000, the HCSO introduced its Sheriff's Underwater Search and Recovery Team (SURT) as part of the Criminal Investigations Division.

In January 2002, the Recorder’s Office web site began the Public Document Inquiry feature.

Beginning around midnight on May 5, 2003, a severe band of thunderstorms brought long periods of heavy rain to Hamilton County.

In 2005 federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grand funds enhanced the radio system with the addition of integrated voice and data (IV&D). The IV&D enhancement allowed for mobile data computers to be installed in fire and EMS apparatus, stations and in hospitals.

Construction of the Enterprise South Nature Park began in 2006.

In July 2008, local, state, and federal leaders, along with dignitaries and German business leaders, gathered to announce that Volkswagen had selected the site to build its new, multi-billion dollar automobile manufacturing plant.

In January 2009, the Recorder’s Office made images of the 8th Series Geographical Index books available online.

In February 2010, Michael E. Bailey was appointed as our 6th Communications Director.

The Volkswagen plant was completed in April 2011, and the first Passat rolled off the line on April 18, 2011.

On the evening of Friday, March 2, 2012, Hamilton and Bradley counties experienced severe tornadoes for the second time in less than a year.

Under the direction of Recorder Wayne Coates, on September 26, 2013, the Recorder’s Office started to accept documents by electronic recording (E-file).

The morning of Thursday, July 16, 2015, began just like any other warm summer day.

On February 24, 2016, a long-awaited vote took place by the Hamilton County Commission to address a long-standing issue pertaining to the safety and retirement of certified law enforcement personnel.

On February 7, 2018, the Hamilton County Engineer and Hamilton County Auditor started to accept Deed transfers by electronic recording (E-file).

In January 2019, the SURT Team responded to its greatest recovery and investigative challenge to date: the search and recovery of an airplane and passengers that had gone down in Lake Chickamauga in northern Hamilton County.