Auglaize Township, Allen County

How Auglaize Township, Allen County began

Auglaize Township, in the southwest corner of Allen County along the Auglaize and Hardin county lines, organized in 1832 on the heels of the earliest pioneer families: Francis Stevenson in 1829, John and Arabella Goode the same year (Goode built the township's first cabin), and a run of others through 1831. Three small villages grew up inside its bounds -- Westminster, platted in 1834 by Alexander Creps; West Newton, platted in 1850; and Harrod, which got its own post office in 1884 -- none of them ever more than a crossroads village. The township takes its name from the Auglaize River system that also names the neighboring county.

Settled 1829 (Francis Stevenson; John and Arabella Goode), incorporated organized March 5, 1832.

Where the name comes from

The township takes its name from the Auglaize River, which forms part of its southern boundary with Auglaize County. The river's name comes from the French 'aux glaises' ('at the clay banks'), a translation of the Miami-Illinois language name for the stream. Allen County's Auglaize Township is one of two in Ohio, the other in Paulding County.

Before the town

No Native American site, village or trail specific to Auglaize Township itself was found in the sources checked. The township sits along the Auglaize River, a name of Miami-Illinois origin, and borders Logan Township, Auglaize County, where the War of 1812 supply depot Fort Amanda stood on the river's west bank -- but that site itself lies across the county line, not within Allen County or this township. Allen County's wider Native American record includes the Hog Creek Shawnee reservation and the 1817 and 1831 treaties that opened this part of the county to settlement.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1829 — Francis Stevenson settles in the township (his family follows in March 1830); John and Arabella Goode also arrive, and John Goode builds the township's first cabin.
2. 1830 — Tolson Ford, James Hamilton, Henry Weaver and Robert Underwood settle in the township.
3. 1831 — The Shockey brothers -- Isaac, John, Daniel and Samuel -- and David Serkes settle in the township.
4. 1831 — The first Methodist meetings are held at the Stevenson house.
5. 1832 — March 5: Auglaize Township is formally organized.
6. 1833 — Winter 1833-34: John Shockey opens the township's first subscription school.
7. 1834 — Alexander Creps plats the village of Westminster.
8. 1850 — David Shields plats the village of West Newton.
9. 1880 — Rebecca Creps has Westminster's German Reformed Church built.
10. 1884 — A post office named Harrod opens, formalizing the village that had grown up around the Harrod family's land.

Stories

The first cabin and the first winter

John and Arabella Goode came to what would become Auglaize Township in 1829, the same year as Francis Stevenson, whose own family did not join him from farther east until March of the following year. It was Goode who put up the township's first cabin, and the 1885 county history credits Arabella Goode as the first white woman to keep house in the settlement -- a distinction the old county histories liked to record, marking the moment a pioneer clearing became a household. Within two years the Shockey brothers -- Isaac, John, Daniel and Samuel -- and a handful of others had followed the Goodes and Stevensons in, enough people that the township organized formally on March 5, 1832, barely three years after the first cabin went up.

Three villages, three fates

Auglaize Township's settlers platted three villages across the 1830s to 1850s, and each fared differently. Westminster, laid out by Alexander Creps in 1834, held on long enough to get its own German Reformed Church, built in 1880 at Rebecca Creps's initiative, and its own post office. West Newton, platted by David Shields in 1850, and South Maysville never grew much beyond their plats. Harrod, in the township's north, was the youngest and the one that lasted: formalized with its own post office in 1884, it grew past 500 residents by 1960 and kept a bank -- now converted into a small museum -- long after its two sister villages had faded into farm crossroads.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · genealogytrails.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Sun Valley Family Campground38% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Lima City37% of residentsAuglaize River and Ottawa River, stored in city upground reservoirs
• Waynesfield Village15% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Cridersville Village8% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
• Alger Village1% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Brightstar Lima MHP1% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Mcguffey Village0% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Facilities reporting toxic releases (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Elections for office

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 2026-04-14

Cite this page