Proudly Serving Ohio for Over 200 Years

Ohio's first Treasurer John Armstrong of Marietta actually served as Treasurer-General for the entire Northwest Territory during the years of 1796-1803. Thus, even before there was an Ohio, there was a person managing the public assets of our earliest settlers.

Armstrong was appointed to the post by Congress. After Ohio's statehood in 1803, the Treasurer of State was appointed by the Ohio Legislature until 1851, when the position was made an elective office. Throughout most of its history, the basic functions of the office have remained essentially the same. Our State Treasurer was and is responsible for collecting and safeguarding most state taxes and fees, and for managing Ohio's investment portfolio.

However, the scale of Treasury operations has changed dramatically over the years. In the late 19th century, for example, the Ohio Treasury handled only about $6 million in total public funds. In the year 2000, the office managed more than $160 billion in financial assets, including an investment portfolio that now exceeds $15 billion.

Most people imagine that the Treasury vault is stacked full of cash, though, the reality is very different. Today, the vault is virtually empty, with most transactions now handled electronically. 

The Treasurer's office was located in the Ohio State House from 1861 until 1974, when it was moved to its current location in the Rhodes Office Tower in downtown Columbus. Records from 1974 show that it took a day and a half and 180 trips to move about $9 billion in securities from State House vaults to the Treasury's new offices.

Tours are conducted by the Capital Square Review and Advisory Board. For more information, please contact the Board at 614-752-6350 or click here for tour information. To take a virtual video tour of the Statehouse, click here.

Past State Treasurers
Richard Cordray Present	Jennette B. Bradley 2005-2006
Joseph T. Deters 1999-2004	J. Kenneth Blackwell 1994-1999
Mary Ellen Withrow 1983-1994	Gertrude W. Donahey 1971-1983
John D. Herbert 1963-1971	Joseph T. Ferguson 1959-1963
Roger W. Tracy 1951-1959	Don H. Ebright 1939-1951
Clarence H. Knisley 1937-1939	Harry S. Day 1931-1937
Edwin A. Todd 1930-1931	H. Ross Ake 1929-1930
Bert B. Buckley 1927-1929	Harry S. Day 1923-1927
Rudolph W. Archer 1919-1923	Chester E. Bryan 1917-1919
Rudolph W. Archer 1915-1917	John P. Brennen 1913-1915
David S. Creamer 1909-1913	Charles C. Green 1908-1909
William S. McKinnon 1904-1908	Issac B. Cameron 1900-1904
Samuel B. Campbell 1896-1900	William T. Cope 1892-1896
John C. Brown 1886-1892	Peter Brady 1884-1886
Joseph Turney 1880-1884	Anthony Howells 1878-1880
John M. Millikin 1876-1878	Leroy Welsh 1875-1876
Issac Welsh 1872-1875	S.S. Warner 1866-1872
William Hooper 1865-1866	G.V. Dorsey 1862-1865
A.P. Stone 1857-1862	William H. Gibson 1856-1857
John G. Breslin 1852-1856	Albert A. Bliss 1847-1852
Joseph Whiteill 1835-1847	Henry Brown 1823-1835
Samuel Sullivan 1820-1823	Hiram M. Curry 1816-1820
William McFarland 1803-1816	John Armstrong 1796-1803

If you would like to learn more about Ohio's history, visit the Ohio Historical Society Website.