Napoleon, Ohio

Napoleon is the county seat of Henry County, Ohio. Established in 1832, the town grew slowly, having only three hundred residents in 1840. Over the following four decades, Napoleon, which was named for French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, grew quickly. By the 1880s, it had a population of 3,032 residents, with over one-third of the inhabitants consisting of school-aged children. One of the principal reasons for this growth was the community's location, having the Miami and Erie Canal and two separate railroads passing through the town. In 1886, Napoleon contained four newspaper offices, six churches, and one bank. Several manufacturing businesses existed in the town, the majority of which made products for farmers in the surrounding countryside. Napoleon continued to grow during the twentieth century. With a population of 9,318 people, almost one-third of all Henry County residents lived in the county seat in 2000. Inhabitants of the county seat continue to find employment by producing items for Henry County farmers.