Morrow County in north-central Ohio is organized around Mount Gilead, with Cardington, Fulton, Marengo, Chesterville, and smaller communities spread across a largely rural landscape. Candlewood Lake gives the northern interior a strong landmark, while the Kokosing River system becomes more prominent toward the east. The elevation map adds another major distinction: the western side is broadly lower, while the northeast rises into the county’s highest terrain. This page separates those features into general, city-distribution, water, and elevation views, and high-resolution JPG originals can be downloaded as a ZIP for printing or closer study. High-resolution map files are available for download in the section below.
Mount Gilead is the easiest starting point for learning the county. Cardington lies to the southwest, Fulton and Marengo continue southward through the middle, and Chesterville sits farther southeast. Sparta provides another useful reference near the southern edge. North of Mount Gilead, Candlewood Lake is large enough to stand out even on the general county map. Roads radiate through these areas rather than forming one dominant urban corridor, which fits the county’s dispersed settlement pattern.
Table of Contents
Roads and communities arranged around Mount Gilead
The general county map places Mount Gilead slightly north of the county’s center and shows several roads converging around it. Cardington is southwest along the western half of the county, while Fulton and Marengo create a southward sequence through the interior. Chesterville is farther southeast, and Sparta appears near the southern edge. The map also includes smaller places such as Edison and Iberia, making it useful when a city-only view leaves out too much local context.
Road numbers help divide the county into recognizable areas. Routes 19, 97, and 288 appear in the northern half, while 95, 229, and 314 are useful references toward the east and southeast. Routes 42 and 746 are visible on the western side, and 61, 71, 529, and 656 appear farther south or through the interior. The exact road class is less important here than the spatial relationship: the network links a series of small settlements rather than feeding one large metropolitan center.
The western side has a different visual balance from the east. Cardington and Edison are among the more useful settlement references, with Route 42 and other roads crossing a landscape filled with small streams. The northern edge points toward Iberia and Galion, while the county line steps in and out rather than following a simple rectangle. Those irregular boundary sections matter when comparing Morrow County with neighboring Crawford, Knox, Marion, Delaware, and Richland counties.
Morrow County’s GIS site provides an official county map and other geographic services, so readers who need parcel, road, or administrative detail can compare the simplified reference map here with the county’s own mapping tools. The map on this page is most useful for orientation: identifying where communities sit, which roads connect them, and where large features such as Candlewood Lake fall inside the county. It is not intended to replace live road-condition information or turn-by-turn navigation.
Six highlighted communities show a dispersed settlement pattern
The city-distribution view highlights Mount Gilead, Cardington, Fulton, Edison, Marengo, and Chesterville. Mount Gilead is the north-central anchor. Cardington lies southwest of it, Edison is nearby to the west, and Fulton and Marengo form a loose line toward the south. Chesterville is separated to the southeast. With secondary labels removed, the map makes it easier to see that the county’s better-known settlements are spread across several parts of the county instead of forming one continuous built-up area.
The CITY INDEX printed on the map contains values beside the six community names. Those figures belong to the supplied map index and are not treated here as current official population estimates because Census reference years and municipal boundaries can change. The geographic arrangement is more durable. Mount Gilead provides the central reference, Cardington and Edison define the west, Fulton and Marengo help orient the south, and Chesterville marks the southeast.
Neighboring county labels add a second level of orientation. Crawford County is shown to the north, Knox County to the east, Marion County to the west, and Delaware County toward the southwest. Richland County also appears beyond the western-southwestern side of the map frame. These labels do not calculate travel routes, but they help place Morrow County within the larger north-central Ohio county pattern.
Candlewood Lake and waterways draining in several directions
Candlewood Lake is the most visually prominent inland waterbody on the water map, positioned in the north-central part of the county. Galion Reservoir is labeled near the northern edge, while Delaware Reservoir appears beyond the southwest side of the county display. Lake Brollier and Rogers Lake provide smaller interior reference points. These named waterbodies help break up a map otherwise dominated by a dense network of streams and tributaries.
The eastern side is shaped by the Kokosing River system. The Kokosing River and North Branch Kokosing River are among the strongest labels in the east, with South Branch Kokosing River visible farther south. In the western half, Whetstone Creek and Shaw Creek stand out, while Alum Creek and Big Walnut Creek appear toward the south. Thorn Run is labeled in the northwest. Together, these streams show that Morrow County drains through several different corridors rather than one single river valley.
Small tributaries fill the gaps between the named streams, especially across the center and east. This makes the water map useful for recognizing broad drainage direction and the relationship between lakes, streams, and terrain. It should not be used as a flood-zone map, legal water-boundary record, depth chart, or boating-navigation product. Stream size, flow, and access conditions also vary over time and require current information from the responsible agencies.
Candlewood Lake Association describes Candlewood Lake as a private lake community in Morrow County and provides local information about the lake, shoreline, trails, and amenities. That context helps explain why the lake is a recognizable feature on the county map, but the association’s current access and use rules should be checked directly before a visit. The map itself only establishes location and geographic context.
Elevation from about 276 to 452 meters rises sharply toward the northeast
The elevation legend shows an actual county range of roughly 276 to 452 meters, with a mean near 356 meters. Green terrain covers much of the west and southwest, indicating the county’s lower elevations. Moving eastward, the colors shift through lighter green and yellow before reaching broad orange and brown areas in the northeast. That corner contains the most extensive high terrain on the map and creates a strong contrast with the lower western side.
Comparing the elevation and water maps makes the landscape easier to understand. Whetstone Creek and Shaw Creek occupy the broadly lower western side, while the Kokosing River branches cut through higher terrain toward the east. The southeast also contains an elevated area, though it is less extensive than the high northeast. Narrow green valleys appear within warmer-colored terrain where streams have cut lower corridors between ridges and hills.
The brown areas are simply the upper end of a locally scaled county legend; they should not be read as mountain terrain in the sense of a major mountain range. The elevation image is appropriate for county-scale comparison, not parcel engineering. Exact lot elevations, road grades, drainage design, and construction work require the original USGS elevation data or professional survey measurements.
Use Mount Gilead as the common reference across all four views
A practical comparison starts with Mount Gilead on the general map. Note Cardington to the southwest and the numbered roads around the county seat area, then switch to the city map to see how Mount Gilead sits among the six highlighted communities. On the water map, Candlewood Lake lies to the north and several stream systems diverge around the county. The elevation map then places the central area between the lower west and much higher northeast, tying settlement, water, and relief together.
Cardington is a useful reference for the western half. It sits southwest of Mount Gilead, near Edison, and is closer to the greener low-elevation side of the county. Whetstone Creek and Shaw Creek provide water references in the same broader area. Looking across the four maps from Cardington emphasizes how different the west is from the high northeastern terrain and the Kokosing River system on the opposite side.
Chesterville and Sparta work well for exploring the southeast. The area is separated from the western settlement cluster, lies closer to Kokosing River tributaries, and contains more varied relief than the broad low west. Routes 95, 229, and 314 help locate this part of the county on the general map. Keeping one place fixed while changing map layers is an efficient way to combine transportation, settlement, water, and elevation information without specialized GIS software.
Choosing the right Morrow County map for the task
Use the general county map when you need the widest combination of place names, roads, boundaries, facilities, and surrounding references. Choose the city-distribution map when the main question is where Mount Gilead, Cardington, Fulton, Edison, Marengo, and Chesterville sit relative to one another. The simplified layout is easier to use in presentations or learning materials where secondary road labels would create unnecessary clutter.
Use the water map for Candlewood Lake, the Kokosing River branches, Whetstone Creek, Alum Creek, and other waterways. Use the elevation map to compare the lower western side with the much higher northeast. The WebP previews are convenient on screen, while the high-resolution JPG originals in the ZIP below are better for printing and zooming into labels. These are regional reference maps and should not replace legal parcel records, live navigation, flood determinations, or survey-grade elevation products.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map best shows Mount Gilead and Cardington together?
The city-distribution map gives the clearest simple comparison, with Mount Gilead in the north-central area and Cardington to the southwest. The general map is better when you also need surrounding road numbers and nearby smaller places.
Are Candlewood Lake and the Kokosing River in the same part of the county?
No. Candlewood Lake is in the north-central part of Morrow County, while the Kokosing River and North Branch Kokosing River are more prominent in the east. The water map is the easiest way to compare their positions.
Can the 276–452 meter elevation range be used for surveying?
No. The elevation map is designed for county-scale comparison and is useful for recognizing the low western side and high northeastern terrain. Exact parcel elevations, road grades, and construction measurements should come from the original USGS data or a professional survey.
Map File Information
The download ZIP contains high-resolution JPG originals of the Morrow County general map, city distribution map, water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Morrow County GIS · County Map – official county mapping and geographic reference
- Candlewood Lake Association – local information about Candlewood Lake in Morrow County
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – county boundaries and geographic reference data
- USGS National Hydrography – rivers, streams, lakes, and hydrography reference data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program – elevation and terrain reference data
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
