Eaton Township, Lorain County

Township · Lorain County · 5,828 residents

Lorain County

Local events in Eaton Township, Lorain County

Eaton Township itself has 1 event posted in the next 90 days; the others here are within 10 miles. All local events in Eaton Township, Lorain County

  1. Kids Cook: Sweet Potato Fries

    4 to 5 p.m. · Columbia Branch · Columbia Township · 4.8 mi · From Lorain Public Library

  2. Evening Book Discussion

    6:30 to 7:30 p.m. · Columbia Branch · Columbia Township · 4.8 mi · From Lorain Public Library

  3. Lego Engineers

    6:30 to 7:30 p.m. · Columbia Branch · Columbia Township · 4.8 mi · From Lorain Public Library

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

How Eaton Township, Lorain County began

Eaton Township, town five in range sixteen, was first settled in fall 1810 by three unmarried men from Waterbury, Connecticut -- Silas Wilmot, Asa Morgan and Ira B. Morgan -- who built a shared cabin on Butternut Ridge; Wilmot, who married the next summer and raised fourteen children there, is remembered as the township's first true settler. Until its formal organization on December 3, 1822 (the 1879 history prints 1823), the township was called 'Holbrook,' after original proprietor Daniel Holbrook. Over time, two of the county's incorporated places have grown into its historic boundaries -- a small northwest corner of Elyria and most of the village of Grafton -- leaving the township itself much reduced from its original extent. It had 5,828 residents at the 2020 census.

Settled Fall 1810 (Silas Wilmot, Asa Morgan, Ira B. Morgan and Ebenezer Wilmot, of Waterbury, Connecticut), incorporated Set off from Ridgeville as Eaton on 3 December 1822 (Boynton, 1916 history; 1879 history prints 1823), officers elected spring 1823; previously 'Holbrook', by Silas Wilmot.

Where the name comes from

The township was called Holbrook, for Daniel Holbrook, a large owner of its land, until the Cuyahoga County commissioners set it off from Ridgeville as Eaton in December 1822. None of the county histories says who or what Eaton honors.

Before the town

The 1879 county history records Native use of the township in some detail. For a few years after the War of 1812, a band of Indians from Sandusky wintered in the forests of Eaton every year, and one winter fifteen families camped on Butternut Ridge near the swamp. It names Good Flint, Tobago, Silver Heels, Yellow Jacket, Bill Harris, Seneca John, Joe Seneca and Little Billy; Seneca John was later executed for alleged witchcraft, and Bill Harris, whose life the settler Thuret Chapman had once saved, left for Canada after being told as a cruel joke that Chapman suspected him of burning his house, and died there. Indians from Sandusky also visited the south of the township in 1824. This fits what is known of the Sandusky Seneca (Mingo) and Wyandot communities.

Nations recorded here: Seneca (Mingo), Wyandot.

  • Winter encampment of fifteen Native families (camp) — Butternut Ridge near the swamp, northwest Eaton Township, winters after the War of 1812 (c. 1813-1816) (archive.org)

Timeline

  1. — The Western Reserve land draft gives Town 5, Range 16 to Daniel Holbrook, Caleb Atwater, Turhand Kirtland and ten others, with a tract in Range 11 annexed to equalize it; the township is called Holbrook.
  2. — Silas Wilmot, Asa Morgan and Ira B. Morgan, three unmarried men from Waterbury, Connecticut, build a shared cabin on Butternut Ridge, lot eighty-nine.
  3. — Silas Wilmot marries Chloe Hubbard of Ashtabula County and takes his bride to the ridge cabin, which his cabin-mates have left to him; his is the first family in the township (the 1879 history says the next summer, Boynton and the 1916 history say 1812), and their son Don Carlos is the first white child born here.
  4. — Ira B. Morgan marries Louisa Bronson, daughter of Levi Bronson of Columbia township.
  5. — After the War of 1812 a band of Native people comes each winter from Sandusky to the forests of Eaton; in one winter fifteen families camp on Butternut Ridge near the swamp.
  6. — Thuret F. Chapman reaches Ridgeville with a family and no money, and moves into Eaton that fall; his house burns in March 1831 with all its contents.
  7. — The Cuyahoga County commissioners, on the inhabitants' petition, set Town 5 off from Ridgeville as Eaton, ending the name Holbrook; officers are chosen at the spring election of 1823. (The 1879 history prints 1823 for the order; Boynton's 1876 address and the 1916 history give 1822.)
  8. — Jeremiah Hance, a shoemaker, and his son Hiram set out from Cranberry, New York, with a sled and one horse, driving on the ice of Lake Erie for two days, and in March become the first settlers south of Butternut Ridge, on lot 22.
  9. — Henry J. Phillips of Tompkins County, New York, makes the first wheeled vehicle in the township.
  10. — Edmund Holden of Waterbury, Connecticut, builds the first frame house at the township center; Alva Brooks and Richard Crowell, the first settlers at the center, had come in 1832-33.
  11. — The southern half of the north-south center road is cut out.
  12. — Silas Wilmot, the township's first settler, dies on his original farm.
  13. — Census records 5,828 residents.

Stories

Three bachelors and a shared cabin

Eaton township began with three unmarried young men from Waterbury, Connecticut, who arrived in the fall of 1810 and put up a single cabin together on Butternut Ridge, a rise named for the trees that grew thick along it. They shared the place for a year, until Silas Wilmot returned from a trip east married to Chloe Hubbard of Ashtabula County; by common consent among the three, the cabin became his and his bride's, and Ira B. Morgan and Asa Morgan moved on to establish their own households. Wilmot and his wife stayed on that same original claim for the rest of his life, raising fourteen children who all lived to adulthood -- eight were still living when the county history was compiled in 1878, four of them still in Lorain County. Wilmot died on the farm he had first cleared, in 1855, forty-five years after he arrived.

The winter camp on Butternut Ridge

For some years after the War of 1812, a band from Sandusky made the forests of Eaton their winter home, arriving every fall and leaving in spring. One winter there were fifteen families camped on Butternut Ridge, near the swamp. The settlers remembered the names Good Flint, Tobago, Silver Heels, Yellow Jacket, Bill Harris, Seneca John, Joe Seneca and Little Billy. Of Seneca John the settlers knew only that he was later executed for alleged witchcraft. Bill Harris was a friend of Thuret Chapman, who had once saved his life. When Chapman's house burned in March 1831, Harris hurried to Elyria to ask if his 'good friend's house' was burned, and the distiller Levi Mills told him, as a joke, that Chapman suspected him and would shoot him on sight. Harris believed it and vanished; Chapman learned later that he had gone to Sandusky, crossed into Canada, and died there a few months afterward.

A sled across the lake ice

On 1 February 1824 Jeremiah Hance, a shoemaker, and his fourteen-year-old son Hiram left Cranberry, Niagara County, New York, for a hundred and fifteen acres in Eaton that Hance had got in a trade. They had a single horse and a sled with some bedding and food, and they drove two days on the ice of Lake Erie from Buffalo, with other emigrants, while the ice cracked and at one point broke when they were several miles from shore. When the snow went, they left the sled, put the bedding on the horse and walked. They arrived about 1 March, a month on the road, and lived in a pole shanty, the only house between the center of Columbia and La Porte. Father and son kept bachelor's hall, worked a sugar bush on shares, built a log house with the help of their neighbors in Grafton a mile and a half away, and in the fall Hance's family joined them.

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

Water

Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant The water here

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Eaton Township, Lorain County's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station, 7 public schools, 1 private school, 2 poor-rated bridges, 1 museum, 1 shale or injection well, 2 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 17 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Fire and EMS stations (1)

  1. Eaton Township Fire and RescueGrafton
    Address
    35955 Royalton Road, Grafton, OH 44044
    Coordinates
    41.31355, -82.01918

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.

Public schools (7)

  1. Little Middies PreSchoolGrafton
    Address
    13060 Durkee Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    73
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    4
    NCES school ID
    390481706057
  2. Midview East Intermediate School3.5 of 5 stars · Grafton
    Address
    13060 Durkee Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    School district
    Midview Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    409
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    20
    Report card, 2025-26
    3.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    81.6%
    Ohio building IRN
    010198
    NCES school ID
    390481705463
  3. Midview High School4 of 5 stars · Grafton
    Address
    38199 Capel Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    School district
    Midview Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    735
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    44.6
    Report card, 2025-26
    4 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    81.9%
    Four-year graduation rate
    95.3%
    Ohio building IRN
    024596
    NCES school ID
    390481703140
  4. Midview Middle School4.5 of 5 stars · Grafton
    Address
    12865 Grafton Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    School district
    Midview Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    408
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    23.1
    Report card, 2025-26
    4.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    81.9%
    Ohio building IRN
    024604
    NCES school ID
    390481703141
  5. Midview North Elementary School3 of 5 stars · Grafton
    Address
    13070 Durkee Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    School district
    Midview Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    474
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    25.45
    Report card, 2025-26
    3 of 5 stars
    Ohio building IRN
    003988
    NCES school ID
    390481703137
  6. Midview Virtual ProgrammingGrafton
    Address
    38199 Capel Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    6
    NCES school ID
    390481706139
  7. Midview West Elementary School4.5 of 5 stars · Grafton
    Address
    13080 Durkee Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    School district
    Midview Local School District
    Kind (NCES)
    Regular School
    Students, 2023-24
    453
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    26
    Report card, 2025-26
    4.5 of 5 stars
    Performance index
    83.5%
    Ohio building IRN
    008979
    NCES school ID
    390481703138

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.

Private schools (1)

  1. Christian Community SchoolPrivate, conservative Christian · Grafton
    Address
    35716 Royalton Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    Kind
    conservative Christian
    Students, 2023-24
    144
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    1.4
    Students per teacher
    102.857
    Phone
    (440) 748-6224
    NCES private school ID
    A0740111

Source: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24.

Bridges rated poor (2)

  1. Durkee Rd. over Willow Cr Durkee Rd.Poor · built 1938
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1938
    Length
    11 ft
    Owner
    County
    Vehicles a day
    381
    Coordinates
    41.33052, -82.05065
  2. Durkke Rd. over Fortune Ditch Durkee RdPoor · built 1939
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1939
    Length
    8 ft
    Owner
    County
    Vehicles a day
    381
    Coordinates
    41.33819, -82.05057

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025. "Poor" means one major part rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale; it calls for repair, not closing, unless the state posts or closes the bridge.

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

  1. American Military Forces MuseumMuseum · Grafton
    What it is
    Museum
    City
    Grafton
    Coordinates
    41.30941, -82.05227

    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 (1)

  1. Sauter {Swiw#1} 1 InjectionInjection well (Class II)
    What it is
    Injection well (Class II)
    Operator
    Eos Energy Llc
    County
    Lorain County
    API well number
    34093212360000
    Coordinates
    41.32624, -81.99451

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.

Facilities reporting toxic releases (2)

  1. Buckeye Terminals, Llc - Lorain TerminalToxics Release Inventory · Grafton
    Address
    12545 South Avon Belden Road, Grafton, OH 44044
    County
    Lorain County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    44044BPXPL12545
    EPA registry ID
    110000385574
  2. Ross Incineration Services (Grafton, Oh)Toxics Release Inventory · Grafton
    Address
    36790 Giles Rd, Grafton, OH 44044
    County
    Lorain County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    44044RSSNC36790
    EPA registry ID
    110000385592

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 (17)

  1. Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)2025-04-21 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2025-04-21
    What spilled
    Fuel Gasoline ( 25% Ethanol Not E85)
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2504EPA0000604
  2. Contaminated Water2024-08-21 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2024-08-21
    What spilled
    Contaminated Water
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2408EPA0001445
  3. Paint Nos / Lacquer (Not Specified)2024-04-09 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2024-04-09
    What spilled
    Paint Nos / Lacquer (Not Specified)
    Largest amount reported
    1 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2404EPA0000574
  4. Flammable Liquid (Nos) Reached water2024-04-08 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2024-04-08
    What spilled
    Flammable Liquid (Nos)
    Largest amount reported
    50 gallons
    Reached a waterway
    47 - Willow Creek
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2404EPA0000564
  5. Hazardous Waste Nos (Not Specified)2024-02-17 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2024-02-17
    What spilled
    Hazardous Waste Nos (Not Specified)
    Largest amount reported
    5 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2402EPA0000255
  6. Sludge (Non-Sewage)2023-09-13 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2023-09-13
    What spilled
    Sludge (Non-Sewage)
    Largest amount reported
    15 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2309EPA0001605
  7. Material Unknown2023-07-14 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2023-07-14
    What spilled
    Material Unknown
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2307EPA0001174
  8. Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc2023-05-27 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2023-05-27
    What spilled
    Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2305EPA0000879
  9. Waste Water2022-10-28 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2022-10-28
    What spilled
    Waste Water
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2210EPA0001612
  10. Asphalt / Bitumen2022-10-25 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2022-10-25
    What spilled
    Asphalt / Bitumen
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2210EPA0001595
  11. Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc2022-03-22 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2022-03-22
    What spilled
    Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc
    Largest amount reported
    20 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2203EPA0000380
  12. Leachate2026-09-08 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2026-09-08
    What spilled
    Leachate
    Largest amount reported
    85 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2609EPA0001678
  13. Leachate2026-08-25 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2026-08-25
    What spilled
    Leachate
    Largest amount reported
    25 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2608EPA0001594
  14. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2026-06-01 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2026-06-01
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    25 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2606EPA0000958
  15. Hazardous Waste Nos (Not Specified)2026-04-09 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2026-04-09
    What spilled
    Hazardous Waste Nos (Not Specified)
    Largest amount reported
    1 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2604EPA0000597
  16. Chemical(S) Unk2026-03-22 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2026-03-22
    What spilled
    Chemical(S) Unk
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2603EPA0000453
  17. Waste Water2026-03-12 · Eaton Twp
    Reported
    2026-03-12
    What spilled
    Waste Water
    Largest amount reported
    10 gallons
    Where
    Eaton Twp, Lorain County
    Ohio EPA district office
    NEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2603EPA0000358

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 Eaton Township, Lorain County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.

Local government

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

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2025-11-04 Township Trustee Jason E. Monschein 699, 37.34%; Sabrina Burrington 607, 32.43%; Matt Hignett 566, 30.24%
2025-11-04 Township Trustee Kyle Hawke 609, 61.58%; Write-In: Roberta Vance 365, 36.91%; Write-In: Invalid 15, 1.52%; Not Assigned 0

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

Auditor of State record

Quick answers

What county is Eaton Township, Ohio in?

Eaton Township, Lorain County is a township in Lorain County, Ohio, with 5,828 residents.

When was Eaton Township, Ohio founded?

Eaton Township, Lorain County was settled Fall 1810 (Silas Wilmot, Asa Morgan, Ira B. Morgan and Ebenezer Wilmot, of Waterbury, Connecticut); incorporated Set off from Ridgeville as Eaton on 3 December 1822 (Boynton, 1916 history; 1879 history prints 1823), officers elected spring 1823; previously 'Holbrook'. Founders on record: Silas Wilmot. Source

How did Eaton Township, Ohio get its name?

The township was called Holbrook, for Daniel Holbrook, a large owner of its land, until the Cuyahoga County commissioners set it off from Ridgeville as Eaton in December 1822. Source

What ZIP code is Eaton Township, Ohio?

Eaton Township, Lorain County is served by ZIP codes 44044 and 44028; 44044 holds the largest share of its residents.

Where does Eaton Township, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Eaton Township, Lorain County (Rural Lorain Co. Water A): Lake Erie, drawn through two separate offshore intakes serving the Lake Road filtration plant.

Cite this page

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Cracked Buckeye, "Eaton Township, Lorain County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/eaton-township-lorain-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

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