Ashtabula is the largest city in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. It lies at the mouth of the Ashtabula River, on Lake Erie, 53 miles (85 km) northeast of Cleveland. At the 2020 census, the city had 17,975 people. Like many other cities in the Rust Belt, it has lost population because of a decline in industrial jobs since the 1960s. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area.
Bridge Street in Ashtabula Harbor
Center Street, 1915
Depiction of the 1876 Ashtabula River railroad disaster
Aerial view of the Ashabula Coal Docks, 1941
Ashtabula County is the northeasternmost county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,574. The county seat is Jefferson, while its largest city is Ashtabula. The county was created in 1808 and later organized in 1811. The name Ashtabula derives from the Lenape language phrase ashte-pihële, which translates to 'always enough (fish) to go around, to be given away' and is a contraction of apchi ('always') + tepi ('enough') + hële. Ashtabula County is part of the Cleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Ashtabula County Courthouse