Blue Creek Township, Paulding County

How Blue Creek Township, Paulding County began

Blue Creek Township, the only township of its name in Ohio, sits in the south of Paulding County along the Van Wert County line and holds the village of Haviland in its east, plus part of the small village of Scott along its southeastern border. Robert Barnhill cut a road up Blue Creek and built the first cabin in 1837, followed in 1839 by Robert Hakes, James Cunningham and Daniel Traul; the township held its first election in 1857, and its industries by 1892 were lumber at Dague and a hoop and stave factory at Scott.

Settled 1837, by Robert Barnhill, first settler.

Where the name comes from

Named for Blue Creek, which runs through the township.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound, or treaty site specific to Blue Creek Township is recorded.

Timeline

1. 1837 — Per Judge A. S. Latty's 1886 account to Henry Howe, only two settler families -- John Musselman and George Platter -- live across the entire territory that will become Emerald, Paulding, and Blue Creek townships, a combined 108 square miles.
2. 1837 — Robert Barnhill cuts a winding road up the banks of Blue Creek, builds a log cabin on the southwest quarter of section 14, and becomes the first actual settler of Blue Creek Township.
3. 1839 — Robert Hakes, James Cunningham and Daniel Traul settle on sections 14 and 15, then in the heart of dense forest ten miles from any other settlement; Hakes's son George, the first white child born in the township, later dies of disease in the Union army at Nashville.
4. 1839-10-19 — Robert McDaniel and Maria Barnhill are married, the first wedding in the township.
5. 1848 — Rev. Luther, a Free Will Baptist, preaches the first sermon in the township at the home of Joseph Reed; in 1850 Rev. Abram Shingledecker, a United Brethren minister, organizes the first church there.
6. 1851 — Samuel Stone organizes the first Sabbath school in the township at the Reed school house.
7. 1857-04-06 — The first township election is held at the Reed school house, with eleven voters; Joseph Bowyer, Hiram Davis and Roswell Haskins are elected trustees.
8. 1870 — The first saw mill is built in the eastern part of the township in the winter of 1870-71.
9. 1872 — A post office called Point Pleasant opens on the Paulding & Van Wert pike; it moves to Dague when the Mackinaw railroad opens.
10. 1882 — Scott, the small village straddling the township's southeastern border with Van Wert County, is platted by J. T. Scott and named for him; a post office called Scott has operated there since.
11. 1884 — The Leeson Cooperage Company founds a hoop and stave factory at Scott about this year; Robinson's lumber works at Dague is the township's other large industry.
12. 1890 — Blue Creek Township's population is 2,243, down from 2,406 in 1880; it has nine school districts and four church societies.
13. 1900 — Haviland, in the township's east, records 186 residents.
14. 1920 — Haviland's population reaches a historical peak of 270.

Stories

A road up Blue Creek

In 1837 Robert Barnhill cut a winding road up the forest-covered banks of Blue Creek, built a log cabin on the southwest quarter of section 14, and became the township's first settler. Two years later Robert Hakes, James Cunningham and Daniel Traul brought their families to sections 14 and 15, ten miles from the nearest neighbors, and lived largely on what they could hunt until their farms were cleared. The first child born there, George Hakes, grew up and died in the Civil War, and the first wedding, in October 1839, joined Robert McDaniel and Maria Barnhill. The township took its name from Blue Creek, its only stream. A rich black loam one to two feet deep lay under a heavy growth of ash, elm, oak and sycamore, and by 1892 the site of that first settlement held some of the finest farms in the county.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Country Inn Enhanced Living Center72% of residentsGroundwater wells (1 wells)
• Payne Village28% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Power plants (1)

Public schools (1)

Bridges rated poor (2)

Who holds office

Roster as of 2026-09-18: 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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-12-30

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