Established by act of the Ohio legislature January 30, 1808, effective March 1, 1808, from Fairfield County · county seat Newark. Repository addresses, online record links, and a free printable record checklist below.
Short episodes that walk through Licking County's records, one record type at a time.
Formation · Settlers & Migration · Probate · Land · Tax · Churches · Newspapers · Where to Look
Watch on YouTube1 North Park Place, Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 670-5624
lickingcounty.gov/depts/probate
Wills, estate/guardianship records, and older birth records (1875–1908) and marriage records (1875–present).
20 S. Second Street, Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 670-5300
lickingcounty.gov/depts/recorder
Deeds, land records, and mortgages — essential for tracing property and land ownership.
1 Courthouse Square, 2nd Floor, Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 670-5791
lcounty.com/depts/clerk/default.htm
Divorces, civil suits (including partition suits that divide land among heirs), and Common Pleas journals. Before 1852, this court also handled wills and estates.
20 S. Second Street, Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 670-5040
Current tax lists and property transfer records. Early tax duplicates are on FamilySearch and at the Ohio History Connection.
101 W. Main St, Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 349-5500
lickingcountylibrary.org/services-research/local-history
500+ vertical files, yearbooks, veteran histories, family histories, maps, newspaper clippings, and microfilm.
101 W. Main St. (2nd floor), Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 349-5510
lickingcountyohiogenealogysociety.org
OGS chapter housed within the library. Cemetery indexes (~13,000 names), township/city research files, births/deaths/burial database.
5 North 6th Street, Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 345-4898 · info@lchsohio.org
lchsohio.org · Research Library open Mon–Fri 8am–4pm
A separate organization from the Genealogical Society — museum/preservation focused, with photos and local history archives.
675 Price Rd., Newark, OH 43055 · (740) 349-6535, option 3
vitals@lickingcohealth.org · lickingcohealth.org/vitals
Births/deaths from 1909–present. Pre-1909 vitals are at the Probate Court above.
Find A Grave — Licking County and the Genealogical Society's own cemetery index (above).
Not sure which office has what? See Which County Office Holds What.
Many Licking County record books are filmed and free to view at FamilySearch (free account required).
In Full-Text Search, add Licking County, Ohio as the place to find names inside handwritten deeds, wills, and court books. How to use it.
Licking County was formed in 1808 from Fairfield County. For records made before then, search the parent county:
Part of Licking County lies in the U.S. Military District, federal land set aside to pay Continental Army veterans of the Revolutionary War with bounty land warrants.
Part of Licking County lies in the Refugee Tract, a strip set aside by Congress for Americans from Canada and Nova Scotia who supported the Revolution.
Other parts of the county were federal Congress Lands or smaller special tracts. Where land was sold by the federal government, the first purchase appears as a federal patent.
Titles that covered Licking County, historic and current, with where to search each one. Not every historic title has been digitized — several survive only on microfilm.
| Title | Years | Where to Search |
|---|---|---|
| Newark Advocate | 1820-present | Chronicling America (1820-1900); ProQuest & NewspaperArchive via Licking Co. Library |
| Newark Leader | 1917-1942 | Chronicling America (Library of Congress) |
| Johnstown Independent | 1884-2007 | Digital archive via Mary E. Babcock Library, advantage-preservation.com |
| Utica Herald | 1880-2023 | Digital archive via Licking County Library, historyarchives.online |
| Newark Weekly American / American Tribune | 19th-early 20th c. | Microfilm only — Licking County Library / Ohio History Connection |
Fill in what you're looking for, print it, and take it with you to the courthouse or library.
Brick Walls & Buckeyes
brickwallsbuckeyes.com · Licking County, Ohio
Addresses and links last checked October 2026.
County guides, record walkthroughs, and brick wall breakthroughs. Subscribe on YouTube and tap the bell so new episodes find you.
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