Nathaniel Beastley laid out and surveyed Marion Township in a six-mile square grid layout in 1821. A map dated 1834 already shows the Belmore-Defiance Ridge as an available road through southern Henry County. The road was originally an indian trail. Many of the first settlers located along the Ridge (now Co. Rd. Y) because it…
Category: TOWNSHIPS
HARRISON TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Some time after the close of the War of 1812 and the conquest of the Indians in the area, the United States government had a strip of land across northern Ohio surveyed. Within that area was Harrison Township. The government then offered that land for sale at $1.25 an…
NAPOLEON TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR 2 COMMENTS In 1835, when Napoleon became the county seat, only a few residents had been attracted by the beauty of the location and the fertility of the soil. Napoleon was a crossroads settlement then, with only a few log cabins huddled together. The first dwelling was a log cabin, 12 x…
FLATROCK TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Flatrock Township was organized on May 23, 1835. At this time, Flatrock Township included what is now Richland Township in Defiance County. In 1833, there was no post office nearer than Defiance, but one was established about 1834, called McLean after John McLean, the Postmaster General. This is probably…
RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT The township was organized as early as 1837, but few records are available today. On the 1837 Henry County tax list were eleven names: John Rowland, James Rowland, Robert Rowland, Jacob Sours, and John Sturgeon. The first schoolhouse in the township was built in 1845. There were no churches…
PLEASANT TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Of the early organization of this township it appears that no written records are preserved, but in common with other of the county’s civil divisions, the early records, were neglected, destroyed or lost. The township is located in the extreme southwestern part of Henry County and was formerly a…
DAMASCUS TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Damascus was first settled by whites in two general areas. The first area near the mouth of the south Turkey Foot, now owned by Dr. Thomas Brown, is known as Odessa. This area was probably an old Indian haunt and was taken up by the Reid family as early…
MONROE TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Monroe Township was organized as a geographical township in 1850, being detached from Harrison, to which it had previously belonged. The duplicate of 1851 shows only seven chattel taxpayers resident in the township. Healthy growth of the township commenced with the construction of the Toledo, Delphos & Burlington Railroad,…
FREEDOM TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Freedom Township was one of the first of the five townships organized in territory now composing Henry County. When Fulton County was organized in 1850, part of Freedom Township was lost to Fulton County and the township is now composed of only 24 sections of land. In 1850 the…
RIDGEVILLE TOWNSHIP
NOVEMBER 25, 2017 JAMES REBAR LEAVE A COMMENT Ridgeville Township is located in Range Five Town Six, and was organized in 1841. In the 1890 census it had a land acreage of 6,673 acres with an average valuation of $14.57. The township is devoid of natural waterways except for a couple of small creeks. Some settlement of…