Emergency Biohazard Cleanup Near Metzger Chillicothe, OH

Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio — the only city in the county — located along the Scioto River about 45 miles south of Columbus.

Chillicothe's name comes from the Shawnee word Chalagawtha, meaning 'principal town,' the name of one of the five major divisions of the Shawnee people.

The Chillicothe area was the center of the ancient Hopewell tradition, which flourished from about 200 BC to AD 500 and left the great ceremonial earthworks now preserved at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park and recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Modern Chillicothe was laid out in 1796 by General Nathaniel Massie, who offered free lots to the first 100 settlers.

Chillicothe hosted the Ohio Constitutional Convention in 1802 and became Ohio's first state capital at statehood in 1803, serving until 1810 and again from 1812 to 1816 — making it both the first and third capital of Ohio.

The sunrise scene on the Great Seal of Ohio was inspired by the view of the hills east of Chillicothe from Adena, the hilltop estate of governor Thomas Worthington, now the Adena Mansion and Gardens historic site.

Four of Ohio's governors are buried in Chillicothe's Grandview Cemetery.

The Ohio and Erie Canal reached Chillicothe in 1831, making it a major canal port for Ross County farm goods.

During World War I the Army built Camp Sherman just outside Chillicothe in 1917, and within months the city's population jumped from roughly 17,000 to about 60,000.

Chillicothe had 22,059 residents at the 2020 census, and the 2010 census counted 21,901 people in 9,420 households.