Local events in Ames Township, Athens County
Nothing is posted for Ames Township itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Ames Township, Athens County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Ames Township, Athens County began
Ames Township, in northern Athens County, was organized in 1802, among the earliest-settled parts of the county along with Athens itself. Its village, Amesville, was platted in 1837 and named for Fisher Ames, the Massachusetts congressman who helped win federal support for the Ohio Company of Associates' settlement of the region. Amesville is best known for the Coonskin Library: in 1803 its cash-poor pioneer families traded animal pelts to buy fifty-one books, founding one of Ohio's first lending libraries. The township is also home to two nineteenth-century covered bridges, the Kidwell and the Palos, both built to serve local mills and a coal mine. Agriculture remains the main land use, with a 2020 population of 1,237.
Platted 1837, incorporated 1802.
Where the name comes from
Amesville was named for Fisher Ames, the Massachusetts congressman who was instrumental in gaining federal support for the Ohio Company of Associates, whose land purchase included this area; the township took the same name.
Before the town
No source consulted records a Native village, mound or treaty line specific to Ames Township itself. The township lies in the Ohio Company Purchase (1787) in the upper Federal Creek watershed of northern Athens County; the GNIS-listed historical place name Hoboken within the township's ZIP recalls no documented Native history in the sources checked.
Timeline
- — Ames Township was organized in Athens County, one of the county's earliest-settled townships.
- — At a town meeting, Amesville-area residents, wanting books but short on cash in a barter economy, agreed to raise money for a library by trading pelts from animals trapped in the surrounding forest.
- — Samuel B. Brown and Ephraim Cutler carried the collected pelts east and returned with fifty-one books, mostly on religion, travel, biography and history, bought for $73.50; Cutler became the library's first librarian, and the books circulated among households as the 'Coonskin Library.'
- — A post office opened at Amesville.
- — Amesville was platted as a village in eastern Ames Township.
- — The Kidwell Covered Bridge was built over Sunday Creek on Monserat Ridge Road, named for the Kidwell family, who operated a saw mill and grist mill about a quarter mile up the creek.
- — A wandering hobo, Alonzo Weed, was elected mayor of Amesville in a tie-breaking vote.
- — The Palos Covered Bridge, built with a multiple-kingpost truss over the east fork of Sunday Creek, was in use serving the W. P. Rice Mine, a coal mine that operated until 1925.
- — The Coonskin Library Museum opened in Amesville in a former school cafeteria; the original books are held by the Ohio Historical Society and Ohio University's Alden Library.
- — In June, more than 10 inches of rain caused Federal Creek to rise 15 feet, devastating businesses and homes on Amesville's south side.
Stories
The Coonskin Library
In 1803, the families around what became Amesville wanted books but had almost no cash — the local economy ran on barter. At a town meeting they hit on a solution: trap the forest for pelts and trade them for books. In the spring of 1804, Samuel B. Brown and Ephraim Cutler loaded up the collected coonskins and other furs and carried them east, returning with fifty-one books — mostly religion, travel, biography and history — bought for $73.50. Ephraim Cutler became the first librarian, and the books circulated hand to hand among the township's cabins, making it one of the first lending libraries in the Northwest Territory. The books themselves survive today at the Ohio Historical Society and Ohio University's Alden Library, and in 1994 Amesville opened the Coonskin Library Museum, in a former school cafeteria, to tell the story on the ground where it happened.
A hobo elected mayor
In 1903, Amesville's mayoral election ended in a tie, and the town broke it by choosing a wandering hobo named Alonzo Weed, who happened to be passing through, giving the small township village one of its most retold pieces of local lore.
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Athens58% of residentsHocking River Valley aquifer (wells)
- Burr Oak Regional Water District14% of residentsHocking River Buried Valley Aquifer (wells)
- Amesville Public Water System12% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Glouster Public Water System8% of residentsHocking River Buried Valley Aquifer (wells)
- Sunday Creek Valley Water6% of residentsHocking River Buried Valley Aquifer (wells)
- Little Hocking Water Association, Inc.0% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (own wells, Porterfield wellfield)
- Le-ax Regional Water District0% of residentsHocking River Valley aquifer (horizontal collector wells)
- Athens Co., the Plains S.d. 10% of residentsHocking River Valley aquifer (wells)
- Trimble Village0% of residentsHocking River Buried Valley Aquifer (wells)
- Southern Perry Co-irish Ridge0% of residentsHocking River Buried Valley Aquifer (wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Ames Township, Athens County's boundary: 1 poor-rated bridge and 1 spill case. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Bridges rated poor (1)
-
Emma Wyatt Rd over Wyatt RunPoor · built 1972
- Condition
- Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
- What it is
- Bridge
- Built
- 1972
- Length
- 8 ft
- Owner
- County
- Vehicles a day
- 96
- Coordinates
- 39.38426, -81.96482
National Bridge Inventory (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025. "Poor" means one major part rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale; it calls for repair, not closing, unless the state posts or closes the bridge.
Spills reported since 2021 (1)
-
Sheen Rainbow / Hydrocarbon Reached water2023-01-29 · Ames Twp
- Reported
- 2023-01-29
- What spilled
- Sheen Rainbow / Hydrocarbon
- Reached a waterway
- Unnamed
- Where
- Ames Twp, Athens County
- Ohio EPA district office
- SEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2301EPA0000140
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Ames Township, Athens County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45711 Bern Township and Amesville | 31% | Mostly private wells | Too few radon tests | Median year built 1974 | Federal Hocking Local · 3 stars overall | 4.0% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45761 Dover Township and Millfield | 16% | Mostly private wells | Too few radon tests | Median year built 1957 | Athens City · 4 stars overall | 7.8% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45732 Glouster | 2% | Mostly private wells | Too few radon tests | Median year built 1950 | Trimble Local · 2 stars overall | 11% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45701 Athens | 1% | Wells in the Hocking River valley aquifer at the city's West State Street well field, about 2,000 feet north of the Hocking River | 2.5 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1966 | Athens City · 4 stars overall | 29% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Ames Township, Athens County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 5 of 5 passed.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-05 | 8: 8 Ames Township Tax Levy Roads | 425 | 155 | Passed (73.28% for) |
| 2021-11-02 | 13: #13 Ames Township Tax Levy Fire (levy type not on the results report) | 251 | 25 | Passed (90.94% for), unofficial |
| 2021-11-02 | 14: #14 Ames Township Tax Levy Roads (levy type not on the results report) | 233 | 42 | Passed (84.73% for), unofficial |
| 2021-08-03 | 1: #1 Ames Twp Local Option Dutch Creek Winery | 101 | 29 | Passed (77.69% for) |
| 2021-08-03 | 2: #2 Ames Twp Local Option Dutch Creek Winery Sunday Sales | 94 | 36 | Passed (72.31% for) |
| 2020-11-03 | 9: 9 Ames Twp Tax Levy Roads | 414 | 145 | Passed (74.06% for), unofficial |
| 2020-11-03 | 10: 10 Ames Twp Tax Levy Cemeteries | 467 | 174 | Passed (72.85% for), unofficial |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-02 | Township Trustee (unofficial count) | Brent R. Kasler 228, 54.42%; Andrew Sayers 191, 45.58% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.
Auditor of State record
- No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
- Financial Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-14
The county
Athens County: 16 ZIP codes, 29 cities, villages and townships, 67,237 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Ames Township, Ohio in?
Ames Township, Athens County is a township in Athens County, Ohio, with 1,066 residents.
When was Ames Township, Ohio founded?
Ames Township, Athens County was laid out 1837; incorporated 1802. Source
How did Ames Township, Ohio get its name?
Amesville was named for Fisher Ames, the Massachusetts congressman who was instrumental in gaining federal support for the Ohio Company of Associates, whose land purchase included this area; the township took the same name. Source
What ZIP code is Ames Township, Ohio?
Ames Township, Athens County is served by ZIP codes 45711 and 45761; 45711 holds the largest share of its residents.
Where does Ames Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Ames Township, Athens County (Athens): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Ames Township, Athens County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/ames-township-athens-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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