Windham Township | |
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Coordinates: 41°15′14″N81°2′47″W / 41.25389°N 81.04639°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Ohio |
County | Portage |
Area | |
• Total | 23.0 sq mi (59.4 km2) |
• Land | 23.0 sq mi (59.4 km2) |
• Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
Elevation | 968 ft (295 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,784 |
• Density | 78/sq mi (30/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP code | 44288 |
Area code(s) | 330, 234 |
FIPS code | 39-85960 [3] |
GNIS feature ID | 1086843 [1] |
Website | http://www.windhamtownship.org |
Windham Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,784 people in the township.
Named for the town of Windham, Connecticut, it is the only Windham Township statewide. [4]
Prior to 1811, the land now comprising the Village and Township of Windham was owned by Caleb Strong, [5] as part of his holdings through the Connecticut Western Reserve, [6] On September 11, 1810, a group of sixteen men met in Becket, Massachusetts at the home of Thatcher Conant to discuss the purchase of land in Ohio for settlement. These men, who would be known as the Beckett[ sic ] Land Company, consisted of Conant, Elijah Alford, Nathan Birchard, Gideon Bush, Dillingham Clark, Elisha Clark, Isaac Clark, Benjamin Higley, Aaron P. Jagger, Enos Kingsley, Jeremiah Lyman, Bill Messenger, Ebenezer Messenger, Benjamin C. Perkins, John Seely, and Alpheus Streator. [5]
On November 11, 1810, the Beckett Land Company purchased about 14,825 acres (60 km2) from Caleb Strong. The land was divided into 100 lots, and allotted according to each family's investment in the company. Conant, his wife Elizabeth, Dillingham and Abigail Clark, and Alpheus and Anna Streator donated portions of their allotments near the center of the township for a village green, [5] which was common practice for townships in the Connecticut Western Reserve. The group of sixteen families then departed from Massachusetts on May 2, 1811. [7] Six weeks later, [7] they arrived in the purchased survey township, which was located immediately south of Nelson Township in the Connecticut Western Reserve. This new township, known today as Windham Township, was survey town 4 in range 6 of the Western Reserve.
The first religious service in the new township was held on July 28, 1811 in the home of one of the settlers. This service was very likely Congregationalist, as several of the families belonged to the Congregational Church in Becket, Massachusetts. [7] The Congregational Church eventually constructed a building on the Green, and today that church still remains on the Green as a member church of the United Church of Christ.
The Windham Historical Society notes that the township was originally named Strongsburg, [8] however, some sources cite the original name as Strongsburgh. [5] The namesake was original landowner Caleb Strong, who was by then the Governor of Massachusetts. There is some discrepancy in how this township came to be known as Windham. According to the Windham Historical Society, the name of the township "was changed to Sharon, by an act of legislature in about 1820…. A few years later the name was again changed to Windham, which it has remained to present." The Historical Society also cites political concerns as the reason the name was changed from Strongsburg to Sharon. [8] However, on Windham Township's website, March 2, 1813 is cited as the date on which "the Township was made a district by itself and the name was changed to 'Sharon'." The website goes on to state that in 1820, by an act of legislature, the name was changed again to Windham. [5] Yet another source, The Ohio Gazetteer, and Travelers's[ sic ] Guide, states that the name was changed from Sharon to Windham in January, 1829. [9] Still another source places these dates as 1817 and 1820, respectively. [10] Common to most sources are a few claims which reasonably can be ascertained to be fact:
The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, [11] who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.
Located in the northeastern part of the county, it borders the following townships and municipalities:
The village of Windham, which became independent of the township in 1993, [12] is almost completely surrounded by Windham Township. The village of Windham borders Braceville Township in Trumbull County at the village's easternmost boundary.
Formed from Town 4, Range 6 of the Connecticut Western Reserve, Windham Township covers an area of 23 sq mi. The township is nearly bisected from east to west by Interstate 80, also known as the Ohio Turnpike. The Ravenna Training and Logistics Site covers most of the southern half of the township. Hiram Township once adjoined Windham Township at the latter's northwesternmost point. When the village of Garrettsville annexed this portion of Hiram Township, that ceased to be true. [13]
Portage County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 161,791. Located in Northeast Ohio, Portage County is part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area. Its county seat is Ravenna and its largest city is Kent.
Brimfield Township is one of the eighteen townships in Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 11,352 people in the township.
Garrettsville is a village in northeastern Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,449 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. The village was formed from portions of Hiram, Nelson, and Freedom townships in the Connecticut Western Reserve.
Windham is a village in eastern Portage County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,666 at the 2020 census. In 1942, the U.S. government chose Windham as the site of an army camp for workers at the newly built Ravenna Arsenal. As a result, Windham experienced the largest increase in population of any municipality in the nation over the 1940s, at 1,148.7%.
Nelson Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 3,101 people in the township.
Hiram Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census listed 2,396 people in the township.
Freedom Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,649 people in the township.
Shalersville Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,245 people in the township.
Mantua Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 4,576 people in the township.
Paris Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,648 people in the township.
Charlestown Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,735 people in the township.
Rootstown Township is one of the eighteen civil townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 8,602 people in the township.
Edinburg Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,351 people in the township.
Deerfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,838 people in the township.
Atwater Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census there were 2,564 people living in the township.
Atwater is a census-designated place (CDP) in Portage County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 776. It is located in the central part of Atwater Township, of which it is a part.
Suffield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,973 people in the township.
Braceville Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,887 people in the township.
Newton Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,524 people in the township, 4,522 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.
Vienna Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 United States Census enumerated 3,823 people in the township.