Brown Township, Knox County

How Brown Township, Knox County began

Brown Township, in the northern tier of Knox County, was originally part of Union Township, attached to Jefferson Township in 1825, and set off as its own township on March 6, 1826, named for Major General Jacob Brown, a War of 1812 commander. Its first permanent settler was Charles McKee, an Irish immigrant who arrived about 1809, and for years afterward the township's wooded hills, watered by the Big and Little Jelloway creeks, were among the best hunting grounds in Ohio, with a noted pigeon roost covering some 600 acres. It has never had an incorporated village of its own, though the mill town of Jelloway (first called Brownsville) grew up on the Big Jelloway in the township's northeast corner; the census-designated place of Apple Valley, a large lake-centered subdivision, now lies partly within its boundaries. The township remained a modest farming community through most of its history but has grown steadily since 1990, more than doubling in population by 2020 as residential development around Apple Valley Lake expanded.

Settled c. 1809 (Charles McKee, first permanent settler), incorporated 1826-03-06 (set off as a separate township, after being attached to Jefferson Township in 1825).

Where the name comes from

The township is named for Major General Jacob Brown, an American army officer noted for his command in the War of 1812; Brown Township is one of eight townships of that name in Ohio. The Big and Little Jelloway creeks that water the township were named for Tom Jelloway, a Native chief whose people camped along them.

Before the town

The 1881 county history records that Brown Township's Big and Little Jelloway creeks were named for Tom Jelloway, a Native chief whose people camped along the stream and were frequent visitors at the cabin of early settler Alexander McKee, once arriving sixty-five strong to drink and socialize with him. No source found documents a village, mound, or other specific site within the township. The township lies in the same part of Knox County that historic Delaware (Lenape) and Wyandot travel and hunting grounds covered before the Greenville Treaty line and later cessions removed Native title from the county.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Lenape (Delaware).

• Big Jelloway and Little Jelloway creeks (camp) — Brown Township, named for chief Tom Jelloway whose people camped along them, pre-1810s (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1809 — Charles McKee, an immigrant from Ireland, becomes the first permanent white settler within present-day Brown Township.
2. 1810 — Alexander McKee settles in the township's eastern part near Big Jelloway creek; Native families camped along the creek are frequent visitors at his cabin.
3. 1818 — Jacob Phifer, a German immigrant and veteran of both the German army and the War of 1812, settles in the township's north and later keeps a hotel on the stage route between Cleveland and Columbus, at what becomes Jelloway.
4. 1825 — The county commissioners attach the sparsely settled territory to Jefferson Township on March 9, pending enough inhabitants to organize it separately.
5. 1826 — Brown Township is set off as a separate township on March 6, with its organizing election at the house of Jonas Ewing.
6. 1830 — The township's first schoolhouse is built near present-day Jelloway, with Joseph Dunlap as first teacher.
7. 1833 — Immor Barrett, from Bedford County, Pennsylvania, builds the township's first grist-mill and first saw-mill on Little Jelloway run.
8. 1840 — Freeman Pipher lays out the village of Jelloway, originally called Brownsville, on the Big Jelloway; James Pearce builds the first house and keeps the first store.
9. 1850 — The German Evangelical Lutheran church is organized and a log church built southwest of Jelloway; the Episcopal Methodist church in Jelloway is also organized this year.
10. 1872 — The Farmers' Home Fire Insurance Company of Jelloway is incorporated April 9 with $200,000 capital, insuring farm property against fire.
11. 1990 — Census records 1,019 residents in the township.
12. 2000 — Population rises to 1,425, a 39.8% increase over 1990.
13. 2010 — Population reaches 1,862, up 30.7% from 2000.
14. 2020 — Census records 2,048 residents.

Stories

The pigeon roost and the bear

For years after its first settlement, Brown Township's forested hills held one of Ohio's best hunting grounds, and a noted pigeon roost in the township's southern part covered about 600 acres, drawing hundreds of visitors from within a fifty-mile radius each spring when the birds returned. Bears still lurked in those woods, and on one visit to the roost, pioneer Alexander McKee became separated from his hunting party while bagging birds and startled a ferocious she-bear with three or four cubs. He scrambled up the nearest sapling with the bear in pursuit, and she caught his leg just as he reached the first limb; he clung on and shouted for help, but the noise of the hunters and flying pigeons kept his companions from hearing him for some time. By the time help arrived the bear had torn enough flesh from his leg to cripple him for life, and it took careful nursing to save him at all.

A camp-meeting murder

About 1840, a camp meeting held in the township turned deadly. A man named Bartlett kept a refreshment stand at the camp grounds and had angered a party of rowdies also in attendance. Seeking revenge, they secretly cut part of the harness on his team. When Bartlett started his horses for home, the men's loud yelling and commotion spooked the animals into a runaway, and he was thrown from the wagon and killed instantly.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · knoxhistory.org · knoxpages.com · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Knox County Water and Wastewater52% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
• Danville Village40% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Butler Village8% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Private schools (1)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2022: 1 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.

Ballot issues

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, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-06-23

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