Local events in Franklin Township, Mercer County
Nothing is posted for Franklin Township itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Franklin Township, Mercer County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Franklin Township, Mercer County began
Franklin Township, organized in 1841 in southeastern Mercer County, is bounded on its east by Auglaize County and holds the village of Montezuma in its northwest corner, on the southern shore of Grand Lake St. Marys. Montezuma was platted in 1835 -- a year before the lake that now laps at its edge existed -- and named, oddly for an Ohio farm village, after the Aztec emperor. The township's docks along Grand Lake are a legacy of the 1837-1845 canal-reservoir project that also built Celina into a lake town a few miles north.
Settled 1835 (Montezuma), platted 1835 (Montezuma), incorporated 1841 (township organized), by Ohio township organization.
Where the name comes from
One of twenty-one Franklin Townships in Ohio, almost certainly for Benjamin Franklin; no source specific to this township's own naming was found.
Before the town
The 1907 county history says that when settlement began, two small bands of Native people occupied part of what became Franklin Township, called the Big and Little Chickasaws, from whom two streams of the township took their names; it describes them as peaceable and says they never gave trouble. A later tradition holds that Chickasaw individuals lived here into the 1850s, but no primary record of a Chickasaw presence has been found.
Timeline
- — The Botkin brothers, Charles and William, settle on Chickasaw Creek.
- — Montezuma is laid out and platted, named for the Aztec emperor Montezuma.
- — Grand Lake St. Marys is dug as a canal reservoir, giving Franklin Township a lake shore it did not have when Montezuma was platted.
- — A post office begins operating at Montezuma.
- — Franklin Township is organized.
- — Franklin Township is organized on December 7; the first election is held December 24.
- — The Montezuma class of the United Brethren Church is organized.
- — The census counts 1,015 people in the township.
- — The township has 1,240 people.
- — Montezuma incorporates as a village.
- — The township has 1,320 people.
- — The census counts 2,511 people in the township.
Stories
A village that predates its own lake
Franklin Township's northern edge is the shore of the Grand Reservoir, now Grand Lake St. Marys, which the state built from 1837 to 1845 as a feeder for the canal. The township, organized in 1841, therefore grew up beside a lake that was, in Sutton's 1882 words, the largest artificial lake on the globe. The village of Montezuma had been laid out in 1835, before the digging, and so ended up on the water. The relations between the reservoir and its neighbors were not always peaceful: in May 1843 a crowd of Mercer County citizens cut the west bank over unpaid land damages. For the farmers on the south shore the lake became first a fishery and a duck and goose shooting ground, and later a gas and oil field.
Fish, ducks and gas on the south shore
When the Grand Reservoir filled in 1845, the people on its south bank found a living in it. The 1907 county history says the chief vocations of Franklin Township were fishing and shipping ducks, geese and fish, and that many of the best farmers paid for their farms and homes with fish from the reservoir. In the good fishing season 25 to 100 teams a day came to get fish, which sold for a good price. When that resource was exhausted another gold mine was struck: gas and oil were found, and more wells were drilled in Franklin Township than in any other township of the county. It proved more of a gas field than an oil field, with large gas wells, and companies were organized to pipe it. Two pipelines supplied Celina, Greenville, Piqua, Dayton and Springfield. The era did not last, and by 1907 people had gone back to coal and wood, and Celina was supplied from a field near Columbus about 140 miles away.
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org
Water
Grand Lake St. Marys (surface water intake) The water here
- Celina, City Of93% of residentsGrand Lake St. Marys (surface water intake)
- Grand Lake Estates4% of residentsGroundwater wells (1 wells)
- New Bremen Village3% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Franklin Township, Mercer County's boundary: 1 fire or EMS station and 2 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Fire and EMS stations (1)
-
Franklin Township Fire DepartmentCelina
- Address
- 6805 State Highway 219, Celina, OH 45822
- Coordinates
- 40.49295, -84.54154
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.
Spills reported since 2021 (2)
-
Manure Dairy Reached water2024-06-07 · Franklin Twp
- Reported
- 2024-06-07
- What spilled
- Manure Dairy
- Reached a waterway
- 54 - Prairie Creek
- Where
- Franklin Twp, Mercer County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2406EPA0000958
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc Reached water2021-05-27 · Franklin Twp
- Reported
- 2021-05-27
- What spilled
- Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc; Fuel Jet / Kerosene (All)
- Largest amount reported
- 60 gallons
- Reached a waterway
- 54 - Beaver Creek
- Where
- Franklin Twp, Mercer County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2105EPA0000742
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 Franklin Township, Mercer 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45822 Celina | 11% | Grand Lake St. Marys (surface water intake) | 2.1 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1968 | Celina City · 3.5 stars overall | 7.1% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45869 New Bremen | 2% | Groundwater wells (6 wells) | 5.5 pCi/L average radon | Appraisal records without year built | New Bremen Local · 5 stars overall | 1.7% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Franklin Township, Mercer County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 2 of 2 passed.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | Issue: Township of Franklin (Renewal) | 434 | 129 | Passed (77.09% for) |
| 2023-11-07 | Issue: Franklin Township | 830 | 328 | Passed (71.68% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-11-04 | Trustee | Joe Karafit 394, 50.97%; Neal Klosterman 379, 49.03% |
| 2023-11-07 | Trustee | Ronald Brookhart 936, 100.0% |
| 2023-11-07 | Fiscal Officer | Lee Ann Dorsten 941, 100.0% |
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 2026-07-07
- Financial Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-11-07
The county
Mercer County: 10 ZIP codes, 23 cities, villages and townships, 42,566 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Franklin Township, Ohio in?
Franklin Township, Mercer County is a township in Mercer County, Ohio, with 2,359 residents.
When was Franklin Township, Ohio founded?
Franklin Township, Mercer County was settled 1835 (Montezuma); laid out 1835 (Montezuma); incorporated 1841 (township organized). Founders on record: Ohio township organization. Source
How did Franklin Township, Ohio get its name?
One of twenty-one Franklin Townships in Ohio, almost certainly for Benjamin Franklin; no source specific to this township's own naming was found. Source
What ZIP code is Franklin Township, Ohio?
Most of Franklin Township, Mercer County is in ZIP code 45822.
Where does Franklin Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Franklin Township, Mercer County (Celina, City Of): Grand Lake St. Marys (surface water intake).
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Franklin Township, Mercer County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/franklin-township-mercer-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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