Congress Township, Morrow County

How Congress Township, Morrow County began

Congress Township was first settled around 1811, when John Cook, Sr., took up a farm south of the future village of Williamsport, and it belonged to Richland County until Morrow County was organized in 1848. Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal church, organized in 1836, keeps a cemetery holding many of the township's pioneers. It borders Mount Gilead and shares the village's water system and much of its early history; today it is home to about 2,900 people with no incorporated village of its own.

Settled 1811 (John Cook, Sr.).

Where the name comes from

No source consulted states why the township was named Congress.

Before the town

The 1911 county history records that in the early settlement there were plenty of Indians passing to and fro through Congress Township, who would encamp near the streams and hunt for several days at a time; they were described as great beggars who would steal when they could not beg, requiring constant watching, until after a few years they were removed to government-provided reservations and their old haunts and hunting grounds passed out of use. The township lay within Richland County territory that the Wyandot ceded piecemeal through the early 1800s treaties, and the Owl Creek Trail (Wyandot and Delaware/Lenape) passed close by through neighboring Mount Gilead.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Lenape (Delaware).

Timeline

1. 1811 — John Cook, Sr., believed to be the first settler in Congress Township, locates on a farm three miles south of the future village of Williamsport.
2. 1815 — William Levering, an early settler on Owl Creek who had already built a horse-powered grist mill, builds the township's first water-powered saw and grist mills on Owl Creek, a major convenience for settlers who had previously traveled to Mount Vernon or Fredericktown to have grain ground.
3. 1821 — William Rush, a War of 1812 veteran from Washington County, Pennsylvania, settles on the future site of Williamsport, when only five families lived in the township.
4. 1827 — Enoch Hart enters the land on which the village of Williamsport is later laid out.
5. 1836 — Mount Tabor Methodist Episcopal church is organized about two miles southwest of Williamsport, with a cemetery beside it that holds many of the township's pioneers.
6. 1834 — Benjamin P. Truex teaches one of the township's first schools, in a small cabin built for the purpose near Williamsport.
7. 1836 — William Dakan, who had bought out Enoch Hart's successor Jerry Freeland, lays out and names the village of Williamsport after himself; William Andrews opens the first store.
8. 1848 — Congress Township passed from Richland County into the newly organized Morrow County.

Stories

Williamsport, a village that never quite grew

Enoch Hart entered the land on Owl Creek in 1827 and built a cabin so hastily finished he lived in it a full year with only a hung quilt for a door, guarding against wolves that pressed close in hard winters. He sold out to Jerry Freeland, who sold in turn to William Dakan, and in 1836 Dakan surveyed the tract into lots and named the resulting village Williamsport after himself. William Andrews opened the first store as soon as the plat was recorded; Dakan kept a second store of his own. By the time the 1911 county history was compiled, Williamsport still had fewer than a hundred residents, two general stores, a hotel and a blacksmith shop, and no church of its own -- the same modest crossroads it had been for three-quarters of a century, though 'there is plenty of room for growth,' the historian noted dryly.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · hmdb.org · en.wikipedia.org · morrow.ohgenweb.org · archive.org

Groundwater wells (5 wells) The water here

• Mt Gilead Village48% of residentsGroundwater wells (5 wells)
• Del-co Water Company, Inc.40% of residentsOlentangy River, O'Shaughnessy and Alum Creek reservoirs, plus Knox County wells
• Candlewood Lake Association Inc12% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Fredericktown Village1% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

High-hazard dams (1)

Shale and injection wells (2)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

Who holds office

Roster as of 2026-01-01: county board of elections.

Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 3 of 3 passed.

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.
• Financial Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2025-03-06

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