The Delaware County Soil Survey, originally published in 1969, is the primary source of information about the soils in Delaware County. Soil can be defined as a living, dynamic resource that supports plant life. Soil is made up of different size mineral particles (sand, silt, & clay), organic matter, and numerous species of living organisms. Soil maps provide critical resource information to Delaware County because soil is not just important to agriculture. Soils are also important to woodland management, development of recreational areas, building and construction materials, sanitation facilities, wildlife habitat, and water management.

In the 1980's, the Delaware County Commissioners, together with the Delaware SWCD, made a request to the Ohio Soil Inventory Board, which coordinates the Soil Survey program for the State of Ohio, to do an update of the Delaware County Soil Survey. It was determined that changing land use patterns in Delaware County as well as the age of the original survey necessitated a modernization project. The Soil Inventory Board agreed and an update was begun.

Fieldwork for the updated soil survey was done by USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Soil Scientists Paul Jenny and Jeff Glanville. The soil scientists gathered information about the soils and miscellaneous areas of Delaware County and their location within the county. They observed the steepness, length, and shape of the slopes, the general pattern of drainage, the kinds of crops and native plants, and the kinds of bedrock. They dug many holes to study the soil profile, which is the sequence of natural layers, or horizons, in a soil.

The soils and miscellaneous areas in the county are in an orderly pattern that is related to the geology, landforms, relief, climate, and natural vegetation of the area. Each kind of soil and miscellaneous area is associated with a particular kind of landform or with a segment of the landform. By observing the soils and miscellaneous areas in the county and relating their position to specific segments of the landform, the soil scientists developed a concept or model of how the soils were formed. Thus, during fieldwork, this model enabled the soil scientists to predict with a considerable degree of accuracy the dominant type of soil or miscellaneous area at a specific location on the landscape within the county.
Source: Delaware County Soil Survey, 2001.