Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/243

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY.

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��Range 20, be set off and established a new township, to be known and distinguished b}' the name of Plymouth.'' Also, "that the two original surveyed townships, Nos. 21 and 20, in Range 20, be set off and established a new township in said count}", to be known and dis- tinguished b}- the name of Sandusky."' It will be observed that each of these two townships included a territory six miles wide by twelve in length, or two Congressional townships.

October 4, 1818. the minutes record that -on application of the inhabitants of Township 19, in Range 16, which formerly comprised part of Green Township, be set off and established a new township, to be known liy the name of Hanover." This new township was made six miles square, and left Green, one of the first made, the same dimensions.

The next day an order was passed -'that the original surveyed township. Xo. 25, in Range 17. formerly making part of Milton Town- ship, be set off and established a new township to be known by the name of Clear Creek." This division brought both to same size, six miles square. At the close of 1818, there were twenty-one townships.

February 9, 1819, -on application of the in- habitants of Township 22, in Range 19, accord- ing to the original survey, it was set off from Blooming Grove Township, and established a new township, to be known by the name of Sharon. " This division left Blooming Grove six miles square.

April 3, 1820, the limits of Auburn Town- ship were defined, as the -original surveyed township numbered 22 of Range 20, which has hitherto stood attached to Plymouth Township," and that township created, leaving Plymouth six miles square.

For two years no other changes were made. An increase of settlers in Sharon by that time necessitated its division, and, March 4. 1823, it was '-ordered that Township 19 in Range 20 be set off a separate township, to be known

��by the name of Bloomfield." This left Troy six miles square.

Another interval of two years occurred, when it was deemed best to complete the division of the county into Congressional townships. March 9, 1825, Township •• Xo. 21, in Range 20, was set off and declared a separate township by the name of Vernon. " This reduced Sharon to the required limits, leaving only one division to be made. This was done June 0, when •■ Town- ship Xo. 18, in Range 20," was organized into an independent township, '• to be known by the name of Congi-ess."

This last division completed the work of the County Commissioners in this direction until new counties were formed, which took some of the territory from Richland, and made neces- sary new divisions. As it was, there were twenty-five townships, each six miles square, save Hanover, whose southeast corner lacked a little of being complete ; in all nearh* nine hundred square miles of territory. Richland County should have remained in this shape. Practically square, with the county seat as near the center as it could be located, it made one of the best counties in Ohio, and, had no changes been made, would, to-day, be still in the advance lines.

The county remained intact until early in 1845. At the session of the Assembly that year, February 3, Wyandot County was created largely from the western part of Crawford Count}'. In order to compensate the inhabit- ants of Crawford for the territory taken from them, a portion of Richland, four miles wide and nineteen miles long, two-thirds of the town- ships of Auburn, Vernon, and Sandusky, and one mile in extent of the north part of Bloom- field, were attached to Crawford. Soon after this was done, the Commissioners of Richland County ordered the remainder of Auburn and Vernon Townships, left in their county, to be attached to Plymouth and Sharon. Sandusky was left the same width as the others, but the

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