Lorain County Ohio

The largest city in Lorain County Ohio is the City of Lorain, a port city that is located on Lake Erie. The county seat is Elyria, further south of Lorain, which was named after the early settler Heman Ely (a named Lorain County, as well, after a French area called Lorraine), Lorain County itself is really included in the greater metropolitan area of Cleveland, Ohio, and is located just west of the city (and of Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located).

The county itself consists of a variety of different communities ranging from larger cities a towns that have a much smaller population. The largest cities in Lorain County are Lorain, an aging steel city that has benefited greatly from its ports on Lake Erie (elected officials in the City of Lorain include councilman Mitchell Fallis, Mayor Tony Krasienko and Councilwoman Ann Molnar).

Further east, and closer to the border of Cuyahoga County, are cities like Sheffield, Sheffield Lake, Avon, Avon Lake and North Ridgeville (Mayor David Gillock is currently the top elected representative in North Ridgeville).

Following the City of Lorain in population is Elyria, the county seat, which is home to the Lorain County Administration Building, Justice Center and other county government buildings (notable Elyria officials are Councilman Marcus Madison, Councilman Garry Gibbs and Mayor Bill Grace).

The smaller city of Amherst Ohio sits between the City of Lorain to the north and Oberlin to the south. In Amherst, current elected officeholders include Councilman Joe Gambish, Councilman Phil Van Treuren, and Mayor David Taylor (Gambish has indicated that in the 2011 General Election he will be challenging Mayor Taylor. Councilman Gambish will run as an independent candidate).

The Lorain County Commissioners are the head of the governing body of the county. In 2011, the current elected commissioners of Lorain County were Democrat from Lorain Lori Kokoski, Democrat from Lorain Ted Kalo, and Republican from Amherst Commissioner Tom Williams.

There are a variety of smaller local news publications that serve Lorain County residents (such as the News-Times, an Amherst newspaper), but the two major publications are the Elyria Chronicle Telegram and the Lorain Morning Journal.

The Lorain County Fair brings tens of thousands of visitors to Wellington every year. The fair is the second largest of its kind in the State of Ohio, and has been operating for more than 100 years.

Lorain County is also noted for events like the Apple Festival in Elyria, the Cheese Festival in Wellington, the Corn Festival in North Ridgeville and the International Festival in Lorain.