Biohazard Cleanup Near South Killbuck Killbuck, OH

Killbuck is a village in Holmes County, Ohio, set along Killbuck Creek in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country.

The village is named for the 18th-century Lenape (Delaware) chief Bemino, also known as John Killbuck Sr., whose name the creek also carries.

Killbuck was established in 1874, after earlier going by the names Palladium and Oxford, and it was incorporated in 1882.

In the 1820s, Killbuck Creek was a navigable stream, and flatboats carried local produce and pelts down the creek from Killbuck to be sold at Coshocton.

Holmes County's first oil well, a gusher, was drilled at Killbuck in 1879, and a stone quarry opened west of town in 1890.

Killbuck had 810 residents at the 2020 census, and the 2010 census counted 817 people in 334 households, making it one of the largest communities in Holmes County.

The village covers just 0.36 square miles, while the Killbuck Valley stretching around it remains one of Ohio's largest wetlands and an important wildlife habitat.

The Killbuck Valley Museum preserves the history of the village and its creek valley.

Killbuck celebrates its heritage at the Early American Days festival over Labor Day weekend, and the village marked its 150th birthday at the festival in 2024.

In March 2002, the village council voted 5-1 to abolish Killbuck's own police department because of financial struggles, and law enforcement has since been provided by the Holmes County Sheriff's Office under contract.