Portal:Local history/Historical atlas

Local History Portal

Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center Portals Organization • Genealogy • Local History

Main

Digital Collection

Townships

Welcome to the Wayne County Public Library Local History Portal.

Township History

Buildings

Business History

Cemeteries

Churches

Education

Military

Organizations

Recreation

Baughman Township

Baughman Township was organized on 5 March 1816. It was named after John Baughman, the first white settler of Baughman Township. Towns in the township include Marshallville and part of Orrville. Another smaller town included Fairview, also known as Burton City. The image shown is from the 1856 Baker's Map.

Killbuck Township

Killbuck Township was organized in 1969. The incorporated city of Wooster is Killbuck Township. The original town of Wooster was laid out in Fall 1808, made the seat of justice for the county on 30 May 1811, incorporated as a town on 13 October 1817, and advanced to a city 9 September 1868. It was divided into four wards 24 February 1869. It presently has five wards.

Canaan Township

Canaan Township was organized on 5 May 1819. It was named by Dr. Isaac Barnes. The first settlement was made by William Ewing, Sr. in 1812. Other early settlers included James Rose, and Thomas Armstrong. There were five villages in the township as early as the publishing of the History of Wayne County, Ohio in 1910 by B. F. Bowen & Company. These were Burbank, Golden Corners, Windsor (later known as Canaan Center), Jackson and Pike.

Milton Township

Milton Township was organized 5 October 1818. Jacob Kiefer originally wanted to name it "Center Swamp Township" because there was a large swamp in the center of the township. The Commissioners objected. Commissioner George Bair suggested Milton Township. This was accepted. The first family to settle in the township was Isaac DeCourcey, his wife and two children. They were there as early as 1813. Until 2011, there were two main populated places in Milton Township: Sterling and Rittman. Rittman became its own township in 2011.

Chester Township

Chester Township was organized 5 March 1816. It was so named because of the great number of Chestnut trees in the area. Some of the early settlers included Judge James Robinson, Samuel Funk, Phineas Summerton, John Moyers and many more. In 1910, the platted towns and villages included Cedar Valley, Overton, New Pittsburg, West Union, and Lattasburg.

Paint Township

Paint Township is located in the southeastern part Wayne County, Ohio. Stark County, Ohio lies to its east and Holmes County, Ohio to the south. It was organized 5 March 1816. It was named for a spring that existed in the area. The water which flowed from the spring resembled red paint. The first settler was Michael Waxler. Other early settlers included: James Sullivan, John Sprague, David Endsley, Nathan Peticord, James Galbraith, and others. Two towns exist in Paint Township: Mt. Eaton and West Lebanon. Mt. Eaton was platted in 1813 as Paintville by William Vaughn and James Galbriath. In 1829, Paintville was renamed Mt. Eaton. In 1827-1828, Joseph H. White published the first weekly newspaper, Anti-Masonic Mirror. It did not have much support so it soon died out. West Lebanon is located three miles northeast from Mt. Eaton and was platted in 1833 by Philip Groff and Rev. William S. Butt.

Chippewa Township

Chippewa Township was organized 4 September 1815. It is located in the northeastern part of Wayne County and borders Medina County on the north and Summit County on the east. Much of the township had thriving coal businesses in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Two towns and villages include Easton, formerly known as Slangerville, and Doylestown.

Plain Township

John Collier first settled in Plain Township on the James Childs farm. William Meeks from Virginia was the second settler in Plain Township. Plain Township was organized in 1817 and was named for it geographic plains. Towns within the township include Blachleyville, Jefferson, Reedsburg and Springville.

Clinton Township

Clinton Township is located in the southwestern part of Wayne County, Ohio. It borders on Ashland County to the west and Holmes County to the south. It was organized on 7 June 1825 and named in honor of Governor DeWitt Clinton. Some early pioneers included Nathan G. Odell, John Newkir, Joshua and Thomas Oram, Thomas Odell, Abner Lake, Jacob Funk, and many others. Shreve is the largest populated place in the township. Other early towns include Craghton, Big Prarie and Centerville.

Rittman Township

On 9 August 2011, Rittman adopted a resolution to create its own township. The County Commissioners approved the petition on 23 October 2011. On 31 December 2011, Rittman Township was formed. The decision was based on finances. In 2011, it was proposed that the newly created Rittman Township could generate additional funding for Rittman city.

Congress Township

Congress Township is located in the northwestern part of Wayne County. Its west border is Ashland County and northern border is Medina County. It was organized 5 October 1818. Some of the earliest settlers included Michael and Henry Totten and George and Isaac Poe. The first schoolhouse was erected in 1819 and was located in the southwest quarter of section 27. Some towns and villages include West Salem, Aukerman, Congress and Pleasant Home.

Salt Creek Township

Salt Creek Township is another southern township in Wayne County, Ohio. In 1825, when Holmes County, Ohio was formed, part of Salt Creek Township as well as a portion of Paint Township became part of the newly formed county. Salt Creek Township was formed 5 March 1816. It was so named after the Salt Creek. The first settler, William Searight, and his family, migrated from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania to Wayne County, Ohio and entered 460 acres of land. William Searight arrived in the county in 1810. Fredericksburg is the only village in Salt Creek Township.

East Union Township

East Union Township was organized on 5 September 1814. It was named by Simon Chaffin, Sr., one of the early settlers. He was originally from Union, Lincoln County, Maine and migrated to Ohio in Fall 1811. Apple Creek is the primary town in East Union Township. Apple Creek was the result of the merging of two smaller towns: Edinburg and Applecreek Station.

Sugar Creek Township

Sugar Creek Township was organized 11 April 1812. Early settlers included John Kinney, John Goudy, John and James Goudy, Peter and Samuel Cook, William Homan and Rev. James Adams. Dalton is the largest town in the township. Other towns included Moscow and the "Sonnenberg Settlement". Sonnenberg was primarily settled by immigrants from the Canton Bern in Switzerland. Consequently, the settlement was named for the settlement in Switzerland.

Franklin Township

Franklin Township is one of two non-square or non-rectangular townships in Wayne County, Ohio. The other is Wooster Township. It was organized 7 June 1820 and named in honor of Benjamin Franklin of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first two settlers to arrive in the township were James Morgan and Thomas Butler. They arrived about 1808. Soon, other individuals arrived, including John Boyd, Robert Buckley, John and James Cisna, Tommy Lock, Moses Lockhart and others. Thomas Butler's first cabin was burned by the Natives. The conflict arose over a one of Thomas Butler's hogs that was shot by the Natives for grease. The chief of the tribe required the tribesman to pay for the lost pig. Shortly thereafter, the Natives burned the cabin. Moreland is the only town in Franklin Township.

Wayne Township

Wayne Township was organized 12 October 1816 and was named for General Anthony Wayne, the same individual in which Wayne County was named. In 1814, Fred Garver erected the first sawmill in the township. One year later, he built the township's first grist mill. The water power came from the Little Apple Creek. Other early settlers included James Glass; the families of the Roses, the Feazles, the Clarks, Meeks, and Turners; Thomas Armstrong, Moses Thompson, Thomas Pomeroy, and others.

Green Township

Green Township was organized 5 February 1817. It was named in honor of the American Revolutionary War soldier, Major General Nathaniel Greene. Michael Thomas, his wife and seven children migrated from Washington County, Pennsylvania to Green Township in 1811. The family settled in the southwest quarter of section 33. Orrville and Smithville are the two largest towns in the township. A third town was Weilerville.

Wooster Township

Wooster Township was organized 11 April 1812. In this same year, the townships of Sugarcreek, Mohican and Prarie were organized. Mohican is now part of Ashland County and Prairie is part of Holmes County, Ohio. Benjamin Jones was one of the first settlers. Some of his claims include: building the first bridge laid across Muddy Fork, constructed a road extending from Reedsburg into the "French Miller" property, constructed the first bridge on the Killbuck, he helped secure the charter for the turnpike running from Wooster to Cleveland (current SR 3), and built the first jail in Wayne County, Ohio.