Local events in Chatham Township, Medina County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Chatham Township, Medina County began
Chatham Township's first settler, Moses Parsons, arrived from New York State in April 1818 with his wife and four children, buying land on what had been the Hinckley tract three miles north of Harrisville Center; when a son was born to the family in the summer of 1820, the family named him Holden, and the young settlement took the same name until it organized on December 5, 1833 as Chatham, after the English town near London. Beginning with a commercial well on the F.R. Shaw farm in 1890, the township lived through three distinct oil booms over more than a century, the last and largest arriving with a 1918 rush that put 35 drilling rigs to work by 1920 and left an estimated 2,300 abandoned wells by 1995. The Chatham General Store has served the community continuously since 1854, and the township today hosts the county park district's Letha House Park and an annual Community Apple Butter Festival.
Settled 1818-04 (Moses Parsons and family, first settlers), incorporated 1833-12-05, by Moses Parsons, originally of Palmer, Massachusetts, by way of Ontario County, New York.
Where the name comes from
The settlement was first known informally as Holden, after a son born to first settler Moses Parsons's family in the summer of 1820 -- the first child born in the colony -- and carried that name until its political organization, when it was renamed Chatham, after the town of that name near London, England. It is the only Chatham Township in Ohio. (An earlier account of this naming, describing a separate intermediate name of "Parsons" for the settlement, is not supported by the 1881 county history, which ties the "Holden" name directly to the newborn child rather than to a second, distinct informal name; that detail is corrected here.)
Before the town
No Native village, mound, trail or documented encounter site specific to Chatham Township turned up in the sources we checked; the township organized in 1833, well after the 1805 Treaty of Fort Industry opened Medina County to settlement. The Medina County history carries the fuller treaty context and the one specific, dated Native encounter located in the county -- Potawatomi hunters meeting a squatter in Liverpool Township in 1810.
Timeline
- — Moses Parsons, his wife Elizabeth Craft (daughter of Revolutionary War officer Maj. Edward Craft) and their four children arrive from Ontario County, New York and buy land three miles north of Harrisville Center, from Harrisville land agent Joseph Harris, becoming Chatham Township's first settlers.
- — A son, named Holden, is born to the Parsons family, the first child born in the colony; the settlement takes the informal name Holden after him.
- — Chatham Township formally organizes as a separate political entity, renamed for the English town of Chatham near London; Nebediah Cass, Iram Packard and Joel Lyon become the first Board of Trustees.
- — The Chatham General Store opens, continuing to serve the community into the 21st century.
- — The first commercial oil well in the township is developed on the F.R. Shaw farm, launching the first of three oil booms.
- — A major 'oil rush' hits Chatham Township, with hundreds of wells drilled by speculators on leased land.
- — 35 drilling rigs are operating in Chatham Township at the height of the second oil boom.
- — A third and last oil boom hits Chatham Township, introducing a new recovery technique that injects water at high pressure (400 psi) into wells; improper well sealing and poor drilling contaminate many local water wells with brine.
- — Ohio regulatory changes make the high-pressure water-flooding technique used in Chatham's third oil boom more difficult and less frequent.
- — An estimated 2,300 abandoned oil wells remain in Chatham Township, a legacy of its three booms.
Stories
A Child's Name for a New Settlement
Moses Parsons and his family walked into an almost empty stretch of forest north of Harrisville in April 1818, having traveled seven weeks by ox-sled and horse from Ontario County, New York. For two years they lived there essentially alone, their nearest neighbors the Harrisville settlement to the south, wolves and bears their most persistent trouble. Then, in the summer of 1820, Elizabeth Parsons gave birth to a son -- the first child born in the young colony -- and the family named him Holden. It was enough: without any formal vote or proclamation, the settlement simply took the baby's name as its own, and Holden it remained for well over a decade, until the township's 1833 political organization replaced it with Chatham, after the English town near London. Moses Parsons's own son, DeForest, later a retired minister living in Harrisville, was still alive to tell the story of chasing off a pack of wolves as a frightened thirteen-year-old on the walk between the two settlements.
Three Oil Booms and 2,300 Wells
Chatham Township struck oil almost by accident in 1890, when a commercial well came in on the F.R. Shaw farm -- a modest beginning to what became, over the next century, one of Medina County's strangest industrial histories. A second, far larger boom hit in 1918, as speculators leased land across the township and sank well after well; by 1920, 35 drilling rigs were working the ground at once, turning a quiet farm township into an active oil field. A third and final boom arrived in 1936, this time built on a new recovery technique that pumped water into old wells at pressures up to 400 pounds per square inch to force out more oil. It worked, but not cleanly: poor drilling and improperly sealed wells let brine contaminate many local water wells, a problem serious enough that Ohio tightened its regulations on the technique in 1983. By 1995, an estimated 2,300 abandoned wells still dotted the township -- a scattered, largely forgotten industrial footprint left behind by three separate generations of Chatham Township oil rushes.
Local history sources: medinaco.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org
Water
Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant The water here
- Medina Co/northwest36% of residentsLake Erie
- Rural Lorain Co. Water A28% of residentsMostly Lake Erie (bought from Avon Lake); some New London Reservoir and Ashland wells
- Lodi Village13% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
- Medina City13% of residentsLake Erie
- Spencer, Village Of10% of residentsLake Erie
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Chatham Township, Medina County's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 1 museum, 22 shale and injection wells and 5 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Chatham Township Fire DepartmentSpencer
- Address
- 6429 Kohli Drive, Spencer, OH 44275
- Coordinates
- 41.09855, -82.02576
USGS National Map structures (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
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.
Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)
-
Chatham Historical SocietyHistorical society · Spencer
- What it is
- Historical society
- City
- Spencer
- Coordinates
- 41.08072, -82.04897
Search Wikipedia ↗ IMLS Museum Data Files (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.
Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.
Shale and injection wells (22)
-
Brandt 28-W InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Well drilled
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Well drilled
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103606260000
- Coordinates
- 41.12908, -82.03457
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Clapp D. A. J06 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620300000
- Coordinates
- 41.11034, -82.02784
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Clapp D. A. K06 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Well drilled
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Well drilled
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620290000
- Coordinates
- 41.11033, -82.02666
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Clapp D. A. L06 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620240000
- Coordinates
- 41.11031, -82.02550
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Gorczyca, James 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620080000
- Coordinates
- 41.10311, -82.03114
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 1 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620250000
- Coordinates
- 41.10886, -82.02553
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 11 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620380000
- Coordinates
- 41.10897, -82.03257
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 12 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620390000
- Coordinates
- 41.10969, -82.03257
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 13 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620410000
- Coordinates
- 41.11028, -82.03255
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 15 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620430000
- Coordinates
- 41.10967, -82.03139
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 17 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620450000
- Coordinates
- 41.10895, -82.03140
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 4 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620280000
- Coordinates
- 41.10962, -82.02787
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 5 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620310000
- Coordinates
- 41.10891, -82.02906
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Groves 6 D InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620320000
- Coordinates
- 41.10820, -82.02908
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Hughes, James 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620370000
- Coordinates
- 41.11247, -82.03120
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Kennedy, Keith 2 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103619960000
- Coordinates
- 41.10302, -82.02994
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Kennedy, Keith 5 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103619990000
- Coordinates
- 41.10214, -82.02994
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
King {Swiw #3} 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II)
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Operator
- Harley Drilling & Producing Ltd
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103245150000
- Coordinates
- 41.09663, -82.03626
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Schroeder, Kathleen 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Well drilled
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Well drilled
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620400000
- Coordinates
- 41.11253, -82.03017
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Stacer, Debbie 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Well drilled
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Well drilled
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620050000
- Coordinates
- 41.09949, -82.02870
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Valentine, Emily 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620030000
- Coordinates
- 41.09952, -82.02996
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Valentine, Emily 2 InjectionInjection well (Class II) · Orphan well - ready
- What it is
- Injection well (Class II)
- Status (ODNR)
- Orphan well - ready
- County
- Medina County
- API well number
- 34103620040000
- Coordinates
- 41.10038, -82.02996
ODNR oil and gas wells (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: ODNR Division of Oil and Gas Resources well inventory (September 2026): drilled Utica, Marcellus and horizontal wells and Class II injection wells not plugged. Older vertical wells are on the full map.
Spills reported since 2021 (5)
-
Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)2024-04-02 · Chatham Twp
- Reported
- 2024-04-02
- What spilled
- Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)
- Where
- Chatham Twp, Medina County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2404EPA0000518
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2022-06-23 · Chatham Twp
- Reported
- 2022-06-23
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 30 gallons
- Where
- Chatham Twp, Medina County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2206EPA0000952
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fertilizer(S) Nos (Not Specified)2021-07-17 · Chatham Twp
- Reported
- 2021-07-17
- What spilled
- Fertilizer(S) Nos (Not Specified)
- Where
- Chatham Twp, Medina County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2107EPA0001067
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)2026-04-14 · Chatham Twp
- Reported
- 2026-04-14
- What spilled
- Oil Petroleum Not Otherwise Specified (Nos)
- Where
- Chatham Twp, Medina County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2604EPA0000633
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Crude2026-03-25 · Chatham Twp
- Reported
- 2026-03-25
- What spilled
- Oil Crude
- Largest amount reported
- 2,100 gallons
- Where
- Chatham Twp, Medina County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NEDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2603EPA0000484
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
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 Chatham Township, Medina County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44275 Spencer Township and Spencer | 31% | Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant | 3.9 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1979 | Black River Local · 3.5 stars overall | 1.6% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 44254 Lodi | 9% | Groundwater wells (4 wells) | 4.0 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1971 | Cloverleaf Local · 4 stars overall | 5.8% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 44253 Litchfield Township and Litchfield | 3% | Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant | 4.9 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1987 | Buckeye Local · 4 stars overall | 0.5% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 44256 Medina | 1% | Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant | 3.7 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1992 | Medina City · 4 stars overall | 0.6% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Chatham Township, Medina County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 1 of 3 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 0 of 2.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-03-19 | Issue 5: Proposed Tax Levy Chatham Twp (levy type not on the results report) | 384 | 149 | Passed (72.05% for) |
| 2019-11-05 | 3: 3 Proposed Bond Issue Chatham Twp | 218 | 367 | Failed (37.26% for) |
| 2019-08-06 | 1: 1 Proposed Bond Issue Chatham Township | 86 | 193 | Failed (30.82% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | Township Trustee (unofficial count) | Joe Aungst 290, 52.35%; Rick Dumperth 264, 47.65% |
| 2023-11-07 | Township Fiscal Officer (unofficial count) | Sarah A. Poling 724, 100.0% |
| 2021-11-02 | Township Trustee (unofficial count) | Joe Aungst 325, 37.7%; Rick Dumperth 375, 43.5%; Jeffrey Schreiber 162, 18.79% |
| 2019-11-05 | Township Trustee | Denise Gumbita 417, 100.0% |
| 2019-11-05 | Township Fiscal Officer | Sarah A. Poling 434, 100.0% |
| 2017-11-07 | Trustees | Russ Arters 290, 30.72%; Joe Aungst 389, 41.21%; Rick Dumperth 265, 28.07% |
| 2017-11-07 | Township Trustee | Samuel Brown 255, 48.76%; Denise Gumbita 268, 51.24% |
| 2017-11-07 | Fiscal Officer Total | Rita Brown 245, 44.14%; Sarah A. Poling 310, 55.86% |
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 2025-12-16
The county
Medina County: 13 ZIP codes, 26 cities, villages and townships, 180,994 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Chatham Township, Ohio in?
Chatham Township, Medina County is a township in Medina County, Ohio, with 2,213 residents.
When was Chatham Township, Ohio founded?
Chatham Township, Medina County was settled 1818-04 (Moses Parsons and family, first settlers); incorporated 1833-12-05. Founders on record: Moses Parsons, originally of Palmer, Massachusetts, by way of Ontario County, New York. Source
How did Chatham Township, Ohio get its name?
The settlement was first known informally as Holden, after a son born to first settler Moses Parsons's family in the summer of 1820 -- the first child born in the colony -- and carried that name until its political organization, when it was renamed Chatham, after the town of that name near London, England. Source
What ZIP code is Chatham Township, Ohio?
Chatham Township, Medina County is served by ZIP codes 44275, 44254 and 44253; 44275 holds the largest share of its residents.
Where does Chatham Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Chatham Township, Medina County (Medina Co/northwest): Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant.
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Cracked Buckeye, "Chatham Township, Medina County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/chatham-township-medina-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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