Van Wert, Ohio

Van Wert, Ohio
Downtown Van Wert
Location of Van Wert in Van Wert County
Van Wert
Van Wert
Coordinates: 40°52′04″N 84°35′50″W / 40.86778°N 84.59722°W / 40.86778; -84.59722
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyVan Wert
TownshipPleasant, Ridge
Incorporated (town)1848
Incorporated (city)1903
Government
  MayorKen Markward
Area
  Total
7.81 sq mi (20.23 km2)
  Land7.53 sq mi (19.50 km2)
  Water0.28 sq mi (0.73 km2)
Elevation
778 ft (237 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total
11,092
  Density1,473.04/sq mi (568.74/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
45891
Area code419
FIPS code39-79562
GNIS feature ID2397117
Websitewww.vanwert.org

Van Wert is a city in Van Wert County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in northwestern Ohio approximately 77 miles (124 km) southwest of Toledo and 34 miles (55 km) southeast of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The population was 11,092 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Van Wert micropolitan area, which is included in the Lima–Van Wert–Wapakoneta combined statistical area.

Van Wert is named for Isaac Van Wart, one of the captors of Major John André in the American Revolutionary War. A center of peony cultivation, Van Wert has hosted the annual Van Wert Peony Festival on and off since 1902. Van Wert is home to the first county library in the United States, the Brumback Library.