Bartlow Township, Henry County

How Bartlow Township, Henry County began

Bartlow Township, in Henry County's southeast corner where Henry, Wood, Hancock and Putnam counties meet, was the youngest of the county's townships, not organized until 1854 and named for Cornelius Bartlow, its first settler. Almost the whole township lay within the actual Great Black Swamp, and most of its land was held by absentee speculators, chief among them Columbus's John G. Deshler, rather than settlers -- conditions that kept Bartlow's population at just thirty-two people as late as 1860. The Dayton and Michigan and Baltimore and Ohio railroads, built through the township in the 1850s and 1869, broke the deadlock and gave rise to the village of Deshler, covered in its own record.

Settled 1851 (Cornelius Bartlow, the township's first settler), incorporated organized 1854, by Henry County.

Where the name comes from

The township was named in honor of Cornelius Bartlow, who settled on section thirty-six in 1851 and was still living there when the 1888 county history was written -- the first settler in what was, until the township's 1854 organization, part of Richfield Township.

Before the town

No Native village, mound or treaty site specific to Bartlow Township is recorded. Bartlow was, by the 1888 county history's own account, the only part of Henry County that lay within the actual Great Black Swamp proper (as distinct from the generally wet lands across the rest of the county), remaining an unbroken, roadless wilderness through and well beyond the era of documented Native settlement and removal elsewhere along the Maumee; the township was not organized until 1854, more than a decade after the last Ottawa families left the county.

Timeline

1. 1851 — Cornelius Bartlow settles on section thirty-six, the first settler in what becomes Bartlow Township.
2. 1854 — Bartlow Township is organized, detached from Richfield; its first election, held on a pile of railroad ties, has too few electors to fill every office separately.
3. 1855 — The township's first tax duplicate as an independent organization lists just four resident taxpayers: Cornelius Bartlow, Jesse Bensley, James F. Russell and Jonathan W. Vanscoyoc.
4. 1860 — The township's population is recorded at just thirty-two people, reflecting the slow pace of settlement in the actual Black Swamp.
5. 1869 — As the Baltimore and Ohio is built, the Dayton and Michigan Railroad makes its reservoir and watering place, at the site of today's Deshler, a regular station named Alma.
6. 1869 — Construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad through the township begins the real drainage and settlement of Bartlow, leading directly to the founding of Deshler.
7. 1870 — Bartlow Township's population has grown from 32 to 126.
8. 1873-08-23 — Frederick H. Short, for a syndicate that included land owner John G. Deshler, records the plat of Deshler, the only town in the township.
9. 1876-04-30 — Deshler is incorporated as a village.
10. 1880 — Bartlow Township's population has jumped to 1,816.
11. 1887 — The tax duplicate shows 21,633 acres valued at $152,930 and $8,207.98 in tax, against 22,429 acres valued at $28,874 and $488.12 in 1855; the township has seven schoolhouses besides the graded school at Deshler.
12. 2020 — The census counts 2,187 people in Bartlow Township.

Stories

An election on a pile of railroad ties

Bartlow Township's first election, held in 1854 at its organization, took place on a pile of railroad ties. By the county historian's account there were not enough electors living on the territory to fill the township offices, so one person had to take on the duties of several at once. 'There was not much electioneering, politicians were not in demand, and no charges of bribery or corruption were made.'

A swamp owned from Columbus

Four things held back Bartlow, according to the 1888 county history. It was the only part of Henry County in the true Black Swamp, flat and wet with no outlet for its water. Nine-tenths of the land belonged to non-residents, and John G. Deshler of Columbus alone held about a quarter of the township, keeping it for speculation. There were no roads and no way to market, and better land could be had cheaply elsewhere. The Dayton and Michigan Railroad made the first break in the wilderness, with a reservoir at the site of today's Deshler to water its engines; the first Baltimore and Ohio contractors in 1869 opened a supply store there, and the Dayton and Michigan made it a station named Alma. Within a few years the speculators' syndicate platted a town on the spot and named it for Deshler.

Photographs

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

Groundwater wells (2 wells) The water here

• Deshler Village95% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Hamler Village5% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Public schools (3)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

Who holds office

Roster as of 2026-09-17: county board of elections.

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.
• Basic Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-06-24

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