Freeport Township, Harrison County

Township · Harrison County · 405 residents

Harrison County

Local events in Freeport Township, Harrison County

Nothing is posted for Freeport Township itself yet; here is what is on within 20 miles. All local events in Freeport Township, Harrison County

  1. A Novel Bunch Book Club at Bethesda

    3 to 4 p.m. · Bethesda Public Library · Bethesda · 17 mi · From Belmont County District Library

  2. Victoria Read Bookclub

    3:30 to 4:30 p.m. · Victoria Read Public Library · Flushing · 12 mi · From Belmont County District Library

  3. JrH Wrestling @ Claymont

    9 a.m. to 2 p.m. · Claymont High School, 4205 Indian Hill Rd SE, Uhrichsville, OH 44683, USA · Uhrichsville · 16 mi · From Coshocton City School District

Know a calendar we should watch? Send the link

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

How Freeport Township, Harrison County began

Freeport Township sits in the southwestern corner of Harrison County, four miles from north to south and six from east to west, and is the only township in the county to touch Guernsey County. The county commissioners organized it on December 6, 1824. Settlers arrived from about 1806, among them John Hollett from Maryland, Daniel Easly from Virginia and five Reeves brothers in 1813. The township holds the village of Freeport, laid out in 1810, and part of Smyrna, platted in 1817 and mostly in Guernsey County. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad runs through it. A Muskingum Watershed reservoir, Piedmont Lake, was planned here in the 1930s and reached conservation pool in 1942; the township counted 726 people in 2020.

Settled c. 1806 (John Hollett), platted March 1810 (Freeport village), incorporated December 6, 1824 (organized as a township), by Harrison County commissioners.

Where the name comes from

The township takes the name of Freeport village, laid out in 1810; no source consulted explains the name. The earlier 'still water' explanation is not supported by the histories and has been dropped.

Before the town

No Native village, mound, burial or battle site is recorded for Freeport Township in the sources consulted (Hanna's 1900 county history, Lewis's 1921 county history, the township and village chapters). What the record does show is regional. The 1785 Treaty of Fort McIntosh, signed with the Wyandot, Delaware (Lenape), Ojibwe and Odawa, claimed most of eastern and southern Ohio for the United States, though many Native leaders rejected it, and the 1795 Treaty of Greenville confirmed the cession after Fallen Timbers. Hanna notes that the first routes into Harrison County were probably old Indian trails along streams and ridge tops, and cites Archer Butler Hulbert's 1900 study of Ohio's Indian thoroughfares, which traced a 'Mingo Trail' from the Mingo Bottoms (Steubenville) to Will's Town (Duncan Falls) crossing the county a short distance south of Cadiz. The first settlers to reach Short Creek in 1796 included former government Indian scouts paid in land, and Hanna describes the county's earliest white visitors as Indian fighters, scouts and hunters from the Ohio River frontier.

Nations recorded here: Mingo (Seneca-Cayuga), Delaware (Lenape), Shawnee.

Timeline

  1. — John Hollett, from Maryland, settles in what becomes Freeport Township; Henry Stevens, Berriman McLaughlin and Isaac Cadwallader follow in 1808.
  2. — William Melton, Daniel Easly and Jonathan Bogue lay out the village of Freeport; Easly, from Halifax County, Virginia, and John Gilmore from New York have settled in 1810.
  3. — James, John, Richard, Thomas and William Reeves settle in the township.
  4. — The Freeport post office opens.
  5. — Samuel Burrows plats Smyrna in the southwest quarter of section 4, on the Guernsey County line; most of the village lies in Guernsey County.
  6. — Dr. Richard Lee Mason passes through Freeport on October 19 and describes a thriving village of Quakers and mechanics.
  7. — The Freeport Presbyterian Church is organized by the Presbytery of Steubenville.
  8. — The Harrison County commissioners organize Freeport Township.
  9. — The village of Freeport is incorporated.
  10. — The township counts 1,422 people; the count is 1,379 in 1900, 1,193 in 1910 and 1,074 in 1920.
  11. — The Baltimore and Ohio is the township's railroad, with a station at Freeport; the Orchard Coal Company works a mine by the inclined system with about twenty men, and Bear's Den Park is a summer retreat.
  12. — The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District is established to build flood-control reservoirs after the 1913 flood.
  13. — Land speculators at Freeport, the planned site of the Piedmont reservoir, corner the land market; the district drops Piedmont from its plan until a general outcry in Harrison County sends the plan forward again.
  14. — Piedmont Lake reaches conservation pool level.
  15. — The census counts 726 people in the township, 321 of them in the village.

Stories

The land speculators and Piedmont Lake

After the great flood of March 1913 the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District was established on June 3, 1933 to build flood-control reservoirs, and Freeport was the planned site of one called Piedmont. A group of land speculators bought up land there and, in one account, cornered the market and demanded exorbitant prices. The district answered by revising the plan to drop Piedmont and to build reservoirs at Bolivar and on the River Styx near Rittman instead. That brought a general outcry across Harrison County, and in the end the plans for Piedmont Lake went forward. Piedmont reached conservation pool level in March 1942, and Joe D. Lykins took a 55-pound muskie there in 1972 that has been Ohio's record since.

A natural park behind the depot

Lewis's 1921 history lingers over the topography of the township: rough hills and deep valleys, 'almost mountain-like', that on a small scale resembled the far-western scenery. From the railway station at Freeport one could look up a narrow valley where the tracks wound among the hills and the Big Stillwater meandered, 'a natural park' that once seen remained 'a vision of beauty forever'. Crab Orchard Creek and scores of lesser streams make the township ideal stock country, which is how its farmers had made their living for decades. Lewis also notes Bear's Den Park, controlled by the citizens of Freeport and a noted summer retreat.

Local history sources: archive.org · us-data.org · postalhistory.com · weelunk.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Water

Mostly private wells The water here

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Freeport Township, Harrison County's boundary: 1 poor-rated bridge, 30 shale and injection wells and 4 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Bridges rated poor (1)

  1. SR 800 over Stillwater CreekPoor · built 1927
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1927
    Length
    39 ft
    Owner
    State
    Vehicles a day
    1,611
    Coordinates
    40.20259, -81.26812

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.

Shale and injection wells (30)

  1. Bouska N Fre Hr 7HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Ascent Resources Utica Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218190000
    Coordinates
    40.19473, -81.23189

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  2. Bouska N Fre Hr 9HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Ascent Resources Utica Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218200000
    Coordinates
    40.19473, -81.23181

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  3. Bouska Ne Fre Hr 11HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Ascent Resources Utica Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218210000
    Coordinates
    40.19473, -81.23174

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  4. Bouska Ne Fre Hr 13HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Ascent Resources Utica Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218220000
    Coordinates
    40.19473, -81.23167

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  5. Clay 1-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067210780100
    Coordinates
    40.17347, -81.22687

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  6. Clay 2-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067211390000
    Coordinates
    40.17351, -81.22690

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  7. Clay 3-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067211410000
    Coordinates
    40.17341, -81.22683

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  8. Clay 4-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067211590000
    Coordinates
    40.17355, -81.22692

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  9. E Clark South 5-25HdUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067212370000
    Coordinates
    40.22456, -81.29975

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  10. E Clark South 7-25HdUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067212350100
    Coordinates
    40.22470, -81.29970

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  11. E Clark South Hfp25 2BUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217900000
    Coordinates
    40.22546, -81.30027

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  12. E Clark South Hfp25 4BUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217910000
    Coordinates
    40.22545, -81.30033

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  13. E Clark South Hfp25 6BUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217920000
    Coordinates
    40.22543, -81.30038

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  14. Gambit Hfp 10AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218270000
    Coordinates
    40.21499, -81.31524

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  15. Gambit Hfp 2AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218230000
    Coordinates
    40.21515, -81.31514

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  16. Gambit Hfp 4AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218240000
    Coordinates
    40.21511, -81.31516

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  17. Gambit Hfp 8AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067218260000
    Coordinates
    40.21503, -81.31521

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  18. Milliken 1-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067211850000
    Coordinates
    40.17485, -81.23965

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  19. Milliken 2-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067211860000
    Coordinates
    40.17487, -81.23970

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  20. Milliken 3-4HUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Gulfport Appalachia Llc
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067211870000
    Coordinates
    40.17489, -81.23974

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  21. Wolverine Hfp07 2AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217860000
    Coordinates
    40.22412, -81.26450

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  22. Wolverine Hfp07 4AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217870000
    Coordinates
    40.22408, -81.26452

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  23. Wolverine Hfp07 6AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217880000
    Coordinates
    40.22404, -81.26453

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  24. Wolverine Hfp07 8AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217890000
    Coordinates
    40.22400, -81.26455

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  25. Xavier Hfp07 10BUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217650000
    Coordinates
    40.22712, -81.24962

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  26. Xavier Hfp07 12BUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217660000
    Coordinates
    40.22745, -81.24974

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  27. Xavier Hfp07 2AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217410000
    Coordinates
    40.22708, -81.24998

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  28. Xavier Hfp07 4AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217420000
    Coordinates
    40.22712, -81.24998

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  29. Xavier Hfp07 6AUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217430000
    Coordinates
    40.22716, -81.24998

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

  30. Xavier Hfp07 8BUtica shale well
    What it is
    Utica shale well
    Drilled sideways
    Yes
    Operator
    Eog Resources Inc.
    County
    Harrison County
    API well number
    34067217640000
    Coordinates
    40.22716, -81.24962

    The point is the surface well head (the pad); a horizontal well runs a mile or more underground from it.

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 (4)

  1. Bentonite / Drilling Mud2025-03-21 · Freeport Twp
    Reported
    2025-03-21
    What spilled
    Bentonite / Drilling Mud
    Largest amount reported
    25,200 gallons
    Where
    Freeport Twp, Harrison County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2503EPA0000407
  2. Brine Oil And Gas Related2024-11-03 · Freeport Twp
    Reported
    2024-11-03
    What spilled
    Brine Oil And Gas Related
    Largest amount reported
    3,360 gallons
    Where
    Freeport Twp, Harrison County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2411EPA0001831
  3. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-08-14 · Freeport Twp
    Reported
    2024-08-14
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    70 gallons
    Where
    Freeport Twp, Harrison County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2408EPA0001408
  4. Bentonite / Drilling Mud2023-07-14 · Null
    Reported
    2023-07-14
    What spilled
    Bentonite / Drilling Mud
    Largest amount reported
    150 gallons
    Where
    Null, Harrison County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SEDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2307EPA0001175

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 Freeport Township, Harrison 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 Freeport Township, Harrison County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.

Money issues on the ballot since 2015: 3 of 3 passed.

Ballot issues

DateIssueForAgainstResult
2024-11-05 Issue: FREEPORT TOWNSHIP EMS 206158Passed (56.59% for)
2024-11-05 Issue: FREEPORT TOWNSHIP FIRE 243126Passed (65.85% for)
2022-11-08 Issue: Freeport Township Fire Protection (Renewal) 20664Passed (76.3% for)
2022-11-08 Issue: Freeport Township Fire Protection (Additional) 152115Passed (56.93% for)
2022-11-08 Issue: Freeport Township Cemetery 19773Passed (72.96% for)
2019-11-05 Issue: Freeport Twp Fire Protection .570 mil (0.57 mills) 15745Passed (77.72% for)
2017-11-07 Issue: Freeport Township Cemetery - Renewal Levy 17250Passed (77.48% for)
2017-11-07 Issue: Freeport Township Fire Protection - Renewal Levy 18140Passed (81.9% for)
2015-11-03 Issue: Freeport Township Fire Tax Levy 22963Passed (78.42% for)

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2023-11-07 Township Trustee Tate Bardall 188, 100.0%
2023-11-07 Township Fiscal Officer Bethany Doane 189, 100.0%
2021-11-02 . Trustee (unofficial count) Randy Cunningham 112, 52.83%; Jimmy Hershman 100, 47.17%
2019-11-05 Township Fiscal Officer Bethany Dawn Doane 175, 100.0%
2019-11-05 . Trustee Tate Edward Bardall 120, 60.3%; Karl Phillip Hoop 79, 39.7%
2017-11-07 Trustees Jay T. Bardall 71, 18.39%; Jimmy Hershman 152, 39.38%; Randy Cunningham 163, 42.23%
2015-11-03 Township Trustee Karl P. Hoop 149, 53.21%; Carl Jones 96, 34.29%; Marie Karl 35, 12.5%
2015-11-03 Township Fiscal Officer Kaye Clay 70, 24.14%; James D. Hershman 90, 31.03%; Miranda M. Mace 130, 44.83%

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

Auditor of State record

Quick answers

What county is Freeport Township, Ohio in?

Freeport Township, Harrison County is a township in Harrison County, Ohio, with 405 residents.

When was Freeport Township, Ohio founded?

Freeport Township, Harrison County was settled c. 1806 (John Hollett); laid out March 1810 (Freeport village); incorporated December 6, 1824 (organized as a township). Founders on record: Harrison County commissioners. Source

How did Freeport Township, Ohio get its name?

The township takes the name of Freeport village, laid out in 1810; no source consulted explains the name. Source

What ZIP code is Freeport Township, Ohio?

Most of Freeport Township, Harrison County is in ZIP code 43973.

Where does Freeport Township, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Freeport Township, Harrison County (Freeport Village): Mostly private wells.

Cite this page

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye, "Freeport Township, Harrison County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/freeport-township-harrison-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

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