Blanchester

Village · Clinton County · 4,224 residents · 1% municipal income tax

Clinton County

Local events in Blanchester

Nothing is posted for Blanchester itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Blanchester

  1. Silicone Bead Keychain Making

    6:03 to 7:30 p.m. · Morrow · 9.6 mi · From Salem Township Public Library

  2. Bricks and Books Club

    4:30 to 5:15 p.m. · Morrow · 9.6 mi · From Salem Township Public Library

Know a calendar we should watch? Send the link

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

Lakes near Blanchester

The history under the water: the valley before, the dam, the stories. All Ohio lakes

How Blanchester began

Blanchester was laid out in 1832 by brothers Joseph and John Blancett on a small plat of twenty-four lots straddling Broadway and Main Street, and took a shortened form of the founders' surname. The village sits in the southwestern corner of Marion Township in Clinton County, with part of it across the line in Warren County, and grew slowly until the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad reached it in 1854, after which it incorporated in 1865 and expanded rapidly through the 1880s. It became a modest commercial hub for the surrounding farm country, with its own creamery, mills, and downtown business blocks, one of which, the 1896 Bindley Block, stood as the town's best-known landmark until it burned in March 2020. The village has run its own water treatment since 1924, a fact it still advertises in its consumer confidence reports as a century of continuous local service.

Platted 1832, incorporated March 6, 1865, by Joseph and John Blancett.

Where the name comes from

Blanchester was named for its founders, brothers Joseph and John Blancett, who laid out the town in 1832 (plat recorded March 23, 1832); the name shortens 'Blancett' and adds '-chester.'

Before the town

No Native American village, trail, mound, or treaty line specific to the Blanchester town site is recorded in the sources consulted. The Blanchester Area Historical Society's page on the town's founding notes only that Daniel Boone passed through the area in 1799, decades before settlement, with no further Native context given. Southwestern Ohio as a whole, including this corner of Clinton County, lay within the Shawnee, Miami (Myaamia), and allied nations' hunting and travel grounds before the Treaty of Greenville (August 3, 1795) ceded most of Ohio, including the future Clinton County, to the United States. Nothing site-specific to Blanchester itself has been found.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Miami (Myaamia).

Timeline

  1. — Joseph and John Blancett laid out the town of Blanchester on a plat of twenty-four lots along Broadway and Main Street; the plat was recorded March 23, 1832.
  2. — The Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad reached Blanchester; a completion dinner celebrated the new line, which opened the town to freight and passenger travel and drove its later growth.
  3. — Blanchester formally incorporated as a village, March 6, 1865.
  4. — The village's corporate limits were substantially extended, August 9, 1873.
  5. — Blanchester supported seven dry-goods stores, three drug stores, three hotels, two grist mills and five physicians, evidence of a thriving late-19th-century commercial center.
  6. — John Bindley built the Bindley Block downtown, which housed the Merchants and Farmers Bank and, upstairs, the 28-room Bindley Hotel.
  7. — Blanchester began treating its own municipal water supply, a run of continuous local treatment the village still cites in its water-quality reporting.
  8. — The Bindley Block, by then the village's most recognizable downtown landmark, burned in a major fire on March 19-20, 2020; firefighters rescued one person and the village had to restrict local water use because of low system pressure during the fight.
  9. — In the weeks after the fire, village leaders and residents began planning how to rebuild the lost downtown block.

Stories

The Bindley Block burns

For more than a century the Bindley Block was the building most people pictured when they thought of downtown Blanchester: a three-story brick landmark John Bindley raised in 1896, its ground floor home to the Merchants and Farmers Bank and its upper floor to a 28-room hotel. The bank failed in 1928, and over the following decades the block cycled through an A&P grocery, Spence's Pharmacy, and Haines' Town & Country Store, always keeping its cupola as the town's visual signature. On the night of March 19-20, 2020, fire broke out inside the building; Assistant Fire Chief Terry Pell and his crews arrived to find flames already through the roof. One person had to be rescued from the building, and mutual-aid units, including Wilmington's department, were called in to fight a blaze severe enough that the village had to restrict water use elsewhere in town to keep pressure up at the hydrants. The Bindley Block could not be saved, and Blanchester lost the building most associated with its downtown in a single night.

Named for the men who platted it

Unlike many Ohio villages named for a distant city or a hopeful classical ideal, Blanchester's name is a direct, almost literal record of who built it. Brothers Joseph and John Blancett laid out a small town of twenty-four lots along two crossing streets, Broadway and Main, and recorded the plat on March 23, 1832. The town took the brothers' surname and tacked on the common place-name ending '-chester,' yielding 'Blanchester.' The Blanchester Area Historical Society notes that the name is unique: there is no other community called Blanchester anywhere in the world.

Photographs

Postcard view of Broadway, Blanchester's main commercial street, early 20th century.
Postcard view of Broadway, Blanchester's main commercial street, early 20th century. (c. 1910)
Photo: Miami University Libraries Digital Collections (Flickr Commons), no known copyright restrictions · Wikimedia Commons
Postcard view of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Blanchester, early 20th century.
Postcard view of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Blanchester, early 20th century. (c. 1910)
Photo: Miami University Libraries Digital Collections (Flickr Commons), no known copyright restrictions · Wikimedia Commons

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · blanchesterhistoricalsociety.org · wnewsj.com · wnewsj.com · history.com · blanvillage.com · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org

Water

Surface water from intakes on three streams: Whitacre Run, Stonelick Creek, and the West Fork of the East Fork Little Miami River (Westboro). Three emergency-only connections to Western Water Company exist; none were used in 2025. The water here

  • Blanchester Village62% of residentsWhitacre Run, Stonelick Creek & West Fork East Fork Little Miami River reservoirs
  • Western Water Company38% of residentsLittle Miami River valley wells (51%) plus Cincinnati Ohio River water (49%)

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Blanchester's boundary: 2 nursing homes, 1 fire or EMS station, 1 power plant, 3 high-hazard dams, 3 public schools, 1 library, 1 museum, 1 police station, 6 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 6 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Nursing homes (2)

  1. Continental Manor Nurs and Rehabilitation Center5 of 5 stars · Blanchester
    Address
    820 East Center Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    Certified beds
    59
    Residents on an average day
    57
    Medicare overall rating
    5 of 5 stars
    Health inspections
    4 of 5 stars
    Staffing
    2 of 5 stars
    Quality measures
    5 of 5 stars
    Penalties since 2023
    1 payment denial (latest 2024-08-20)
    Ownership
    For profit - Corporation
    Takes
    Medicare and Medicaid
    Phone
    (937) 783-4949
    Medicare ID
    365592
  2. Laurels of Blanchester, The5 of 5 stars · Blanchester
    Address
    839 East Cherry Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    Certified beds
    50
    Residents on an average day
    47
    Medicare overall rating
    5 of 5 stars
    Health inspections
    5 of 5 stars
    Staffing
    2 of 5 stars
    Quality measures
    5 of 5 stars
    Penalties since 2023
    none
    Ownership
    For profit - Limited Liability company
    Chain
    CIENA HEALTHCARE/LAUREL HEALTH CARE
    Takes
    Medicare and Medicaid
    Phone
    (937) 783-4911
    Medicare ID
    365552

Source: CMS Care Compare nursing home provider and penalties files; Medicare star ratings run 1 to 5.

Fire and EMS stations (1)

  1. Blanchester Marion Township Fire DepartmentBlanchester
    Address
    447 East Fancy Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    Coordinates
    39.29140, -83.97547

Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.

Power plants (1)

  1. Clinton BatteryBatteries · 5 MW
    Capacity
    5 MW
    Main source
    Batteries
    Technology
    Batteries
    Operator
    Clinton Battery Utility, LLC
    Sector
    IPP Non-CHP
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Generating units
    1
    Built
    2016
    Planned retirement
    2026
    EIA plant code
    60297

Source: EIA-860 power plant inventory via HIFLD (February 2025), with plant codes, units and years from EIA-860 2025.

High-hazard dams (3)

  1. Blanchester Res No. 6 DamStonelick Creek - Offstream · condition: fair
    Hazard class
    High: a failure would probably cost a life
    Condition
    Fair (assessed 03/11/2025)
    River or stream
    Stonelick Creek - Offstream
    Purpose
    Water Supply
    Type
    Earth
    Height
    24 ft
    Storage
    258 acre-feet
    Completed
    2003
    Owner type
    Local Government
    County
    Clinton County
    Nearest town (NID)
    Blanchester
    Last inspection
    06/25/2024
    Emergency action plan
    Yes
    NID ID
    OH03109
  2. Blanchester Reservoir No. 3 Dam PoorTributary To Second Creek · condition: poor
    Hazard class
    High: a failure would probably cost a life
    Condition
    Poor (assessed 03/07/2025)
    River or stream
    Tributary To Second Creek
    Purpose
    Water Supply
    Type
    Earth
    Height
    15 ft
    Storage
    94 acre-feet
    Completed
    1934
    Owner type
    Local Government
    County
    Clinton County
    Nearest town (NID)
    Blanchester
    Last inspection
    06/25/2024
    Emergency action plan
    Yes
    NID ID
    OH00967
  3. Blanchester Reservoir No. 4 Dam UnsatisfactoryOffstream · condition: unsatisfactory
    Hazard class
    High: a failure would probably cost a life
    Condition
    Unsatisfactory (assessed 03/07/2025)
    River or stream
    Offstream
    Purpose
    Water Supply
    Type
    Earth
    Height
    16 ft
    Storage
    164 acre-feet
    Completed
    1950
    Owner type
    Local Government
    County
    Clinton County
    Nearest town (NID)
    Blanchester
    Last inspection
    06/25/2024
    Emergency action plan
    No
    NID ID
    OH00781

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams, August 2026. "High hazard" rates what a failure would cost downstream, not how likely one is; the condition is the state's assessment.

Public schools (3)

  1. Blanchester High School4.5 of 5 stars · Blanchester
    Address
    953 Cherry St, Blanchester, OH 45107
    School district
    Blanchester Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    313
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    18
    Report card, 2025-26
    4.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    80.2%
    Four-year graduation rate
    97.9%
    Ohio building IRN
    002840
    NCES school ID
    390463802535
  2. Blanchester Middle School4 of 5 stars · Blanchester
    Address
    955 Cherry St, Blanchester, OH 45107
    School district
    Blanchester Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    346
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    20
    Report card, 2025-26
    4 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    79.7%
    Ohio building IRN
    002832
    NCES school ID
    390463802534
  3. Putman Elementary School4.5 of 5 stars · Blanchester
    Address
    327 E Baldwin St, Blanchester, OH 45107
    School district
    Blanchester Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    472
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    26
    Report card, 2025-26
    4.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    86.8%
    Ohio building IRN
    030916
    NCES school ID
    390463802538

Source: NCES EDGE public school locations 2024-25 and Common Core of Data 2023-24 (type, students, teachers); Ohio School Report Cards 2025-26 (Department of Education and Workforce), matched by name within the district.

Public libraries (1)

  1. Blanchester Public LibraryCentral library · Blanchester
    Address
    110 N. Broadway, Blanchester, OH 45107
    What it is
    Central library
    Library system
    Blanchester Public Library
    Open
    2,496 hours a year, 52 weeks
    Building
    7,885 sq ft
    System's visits, FY2024
    23,920
    System's loans, FY2024
    71,629
    People the system serves
    7,143
    Phone
    (937) 783-3585

Source: IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2024 (outlets and their systems). Any Ohio resident can get a free card at any Ohio public library.

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

  1. Blanchester Area Historical SocietyHistorical society · Blanchester
    What it is
    Historical society
    City
    Blanchester
    Coordinates
    39.29231, -83.99082

    The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.

Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.

Police stations (1)

  1. Blanchester Police DepartmentBlanchester
    Address
    318 East Main Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    Coordinates
    39.29501, -83.98450

Source: USGS National Map structures, police stations, corrected and completed by hand (September 2026). The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction, not by distance.

Facilities reporting toxic releases (6)

  1. Allen CoToxics Release Inventory · Blanchester
    Address
    712 E Main St, Blanchester, OH 45107
    County
    Clinton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45107LLNCX712EM
    EPA registry ID
    110004634165
  2. American Showa Inc Blanchester PlantToxics Release Inventory · Blanchester
    Address
    960 Cherry St, Blanchester, OH 45107
    County
    Clinton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45107MRCNS3343S
    EPA registry ID
    110042023743
  3. Ccpi Inc.Toxics Release Inventory · Blanchester
    Address
    838 Cherry Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    County
    Clinton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (open)
    EPA program ID
    45107CCP00838CH
    EPA registry ID
    110010296447
  4. Lykins Oil Co. - Blanchester Bulk PltToxics Release Inventory · Blanchester
    Address
    210 South Wright Ave, Blanchester, OH 45107
    County
    Clinton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory
    EPA program ID
    4510WLYKNS21SUT
    EPA registry ID
    110061070040
  5. The Blanchester Foundry CoToxics Release Inventory · Blanchester
    Address
    214 Cherry Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    County
    Clinton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45107THBLN214EC
    EPA registry ID
    110000392806
  6. Universal Forest Products Blanchester LlcToxics Release Inventory · Blanchester
    Address
    940 East Cherry Street, Blanchester, OH 45107
    County
    Clinton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45107WLKRW940EA
    EPA registry ID
    110000392815

Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.

Spills reported since 2021 (6)

  1. Sewage Human Reached water2023-10-05 · Blanchester
    Reported
    2023-10-05
    What spilled
    Sewage Human
    Reached a waterway
    14 - Second Creek
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2310EPA0001722
  2. Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S) Reached water2023-05-04 · Blanchester
    Reported
    2023-05-04
    What spilled
    Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S); Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Reached a waterway
    14 - Second Creek
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2305EPA0000721
  3. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road) Reached water2023-04-28 · Blanchester
    Reported
    2023-04-28
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road); Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)
    Reached a waterway
    99 - Unnamed
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2304EPA0000685
  4. Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle2023-04-17 · Blanchester
    Reported
    2023-04-17
    What spilled
    Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle
    Largest amount reported
    65 gallons
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2304EPA0000608
  5. Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle2023-01-04 · Blanchester
    Reported
    2023-01-04
    What spilled
    Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle; Battery Acid (Dilute Sulfuric); Antifreeze Vehicle Cooling; Fuel Jet / Kerosene (All)
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2301EPA0000019
  6. Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle2021-03-29 · Blanchester
    Reported
    2021-03-29
    What spilled
    Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle
    Where
    Blanchester, Clinton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2103EPA0000419

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 Blanchester, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.

Local government

Who holds office in Blanchester, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.

Money issues on the ballot since 2024: 1 of 2 passed.

Ballot issues

DateIssueForAgainstResult
2026-05-05 Issue: Blanchester Parks & Rec Levy: 3 mills - Renewal - 5 years (3.0 mills, renewal) 244231Passed (51.37% for)
2024-03-19 Issue: Village of Blanchester Income Tax Failed
2022-11-08 Issue: Blanchester Village Referendum on Ordinance No. 2022.017 622626Failed (49.84% for)

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2021-11-02 Member, Board of Trustees of Public Affairs James M. Bowling 479, 100.0%
2021-11-02 Member of Council Reilly R. Hopkins 427, 26.52%; Tyler McCollister 413, 25.65%; William R. Garner 248, 15.4%; Joshua Parks 219, 13.6%; James E. Constable 164, 10.19%; Write-in 139, 8.63%

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

Rain and snow

How much has actually fallen on Blanchester, day by day, from 1893 to now. Daily totals, not averages.

rain, last 30 days
0.84 in
2026-09-30 to 2026-10-29
rain so far in 2026
44.7 in
6.4 in above normal for the date
snow so far in 2026
17.5 in
a normal year brings 21.7 in
a normal year
45.2 in
average of 30 years, 1991-2020
The last twelve months
MonthRain (in)Snow (in)Days counted
October 2026 0.84 — 29
September 2026 7.19 — 30
August 2026 6.87 — 31
July 2026 3.96 — 31
June 2026 5.65 — 30
May 2026 5.77 — 31
April 2026 4.22 — 30
March 2026 7.65 0.6 31
February 2026 1.11 5.8 28
January 2026 1.48 11.1 31
December 2025 2.86 11.1 31
November 2025 3.87 3.0 30
On the record, 1893–2026
Wettest year2011 — 60.8 in
Driest year1901 — 24.6 in
Snowiest year1926 — 49.4 in
Wettest day on record6 October 1910 — 5.14 in
Heaviest snowfall in a day8 December 1917 — 9.69 in
Deepest snow on the ground25 January 1894 — 20.00 in

Estimated, not measured. No rain gauge has ever stood inside Blanchester, so every figure here is worked out from the gauges around it - the nearest ones weighted most. Treat them as close estimates rather than readings.

48,875 days of records, 1893-01-01 to 2026-10-29. Source: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily, 3,240 gauges in and around Ohio. A day is "gauged" when a gauge standing inside the boundary reported it, and the value is the mean of those gauges. Otherwise it is interpolated by inverse distance from every gauge reporting within 50 miles. Nothing is carried forward, back-filled or smoothed. Against NOAA nClimDiv county monthly precipitation over 136,848 complete county-months (checked 2026-10-31): correlation 0.9515, median absolute difference 0.217 in a month. Built 2026-10-31 from the Cracked Buckeye precipitation archive. Snow is the softer number — snowfall is measured by hand with a ruler, no agency publishes a gridded county snowfall series, and blowing snow defeats every observer.

Environmental permits and filings

What Ohio EPA has on file for Blanchester: permits, inspections, violations, cleanups and the state loans behind sewer and water work. Every line links to the agency's own document.

facilities and sites on file
17
those placed on the map inside Blanchester
What kind of permits
ProgramFacilities and sites
Hazardous waste5
State sewer loans4
State water loans3
Public drinking water2
Landfills1
Source-water protection1
Wastewater and stormwater discharge1
The latest filings
DateFacility or siteWhat
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water notice of violation
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water notice of violation
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water report
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water violation resolved
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water notice of violation
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water director's approval
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water plan
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
O'REILLY AUTO PARTS STORE - BLR Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
BLANCHESTER WTP LABORATORY Public drinking water
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water report
O'REILLY AUTO PARTS STORE - BLR Wastewater and stormwater discharge inspection
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water inspection
O'REILLY AUTO PARTS STORE - BLR Wastewater and stormwater discharge permit
BLANCHESTER VILLAGE PWS Public drinking water compliance letter

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

Quick answers

What county is Blanchester, Ohio in?

Blanchester is a village in Clinton County, Ohio, with 4,224 residents.

When was Blanchester, Ohio founded?

Blanchester was laid out 1832; incorporated March 6, 1865. Founders on record: Joseph and John Blancett. Source

How did Blanchester, Ohio get its name?

Blanchester was named for its founders, brothers Joseph and John Blancett, who laid out the town in 1832 (plat recorded March 23, 1832); the name shortens 'Blancett' and adds '-chester.' Source

What ZIP code is Blanchester, Ohio?

Most of Blanchester is in ZIP code 45107.

Where does Blanchester, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Blanchester (Blanchester Village): Surface water from intakes on three streams: Whitacre Run, Stonelick Creek, and the West Fork of the East Fork Little Miami River (Westboro). Three emergency-only connections to Western Water Company exist; none were used in 2025.

Cite this page

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye, "Blanchester, Clinton County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/blanchester/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31