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Monroe County Organization
On January 29, 1813 the legislature passed an act to erect the County of Monroe.
Section One provided that so much of the counties of Belmont, Guernsey, and Washington be and is hereby erected into a County by the name of Monroe.
Section Two provided for the appointment of commissioners to locate the County seat.
Section Six provided that the courts for the County should "be holden" at the house of Levin Okey until the permanent seat of justice should be established on the first day of March, 1815.
The greatest extent of the County East and West is twenty-six and one-half miles by twenty-two miles North and South and contains 470 square miles.
The County is watered by numerous streams. The Northwestern part of the County is drained by the branches of Wills Creek, viz: Seneca and Brister Fort's fork. The Southern part is drained by the Little Muskingum River and its branches, viz: Clear, Indian, Witten, Crane's Nest, Rich, Cronin, Straight, and Whitten forks.
The Northern part and the Central part are drained by Sunfish Creek and its branches, viz: Baker, Grassy, Death, and Piney forks together with Standing Stone, Hurd, Fish Pot, Atkinson, Payne, and Negro Runs.
The principal runs draining into the Ohio River are: Big, Johnson, Cummings, Narrows, Bares, Davis or Patton's, Barnes, Millers, and James Runs. Cat's Run is a branch of Captina Creek.