Good Hope Township, Hocking County

How Good Hope Township, Hocking County began

Good Hope Township, in the northwestern part of Hocking County, was organized in the years after the county's 1818 founding and is believed to take its name from a former Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic church landmark in the area, the only township of that name in Ohio. The Hocking River enters the county through this township. Its best-known feature is the Rockbridge Natural Bridge, a roughly 100-foot sandstone arch that gives the unincorporated community of Rockbridge, in the township's eastern end, its name; a post office there has operated since 1863, and the arrival of the Hocking Canal and later the railroad drew visitors to it through the 19th century. The state bought the land around the arch in 1977 and opened it as Rockbridge State Nature Preserve in 1978. The township remains unincorporated and rural today, its farmland shaped by early settler families and by the sandstone geology that produced its namesake landmark.

Settled By the early 19th century, shortly after Hocking County's 1818 formation; families such as the Smiths and Koons are named among the earliest settlers, incorporated Organized as a township in the early 19th century, after Hocking County's formation on March 1, 1818.

Where the name comes from

The township was likely named after the former Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic church landmark; it is the only Good Hope Township in Ohio.

Before the town

No source reviewed documents a Native American village, mound, or treaty site specifically within Good Hope Township. The township holds the point where the Hocking River enters Hocking County from the northwest; the river's name is generally traced to a Delaware (Lenape) word rendered 'Hockhocking,' said to describe a bottle-shaped narrows in the stream, which places a Delaware-language place name directly on this township's principal waterway even though no specific village or camp site here has been documented in the sources checked. Delaware, Wyandot, and Shawnee people traveled and hunted through the wider Hocking Valley in the 18th century, following centuries of earlier Adena-culture presence in the region.

Nations recorded here: Lenape (Delaware), Wyandot, Shawnee, Adena culture.

Timeline

1. 1818 — Hocking County is organized (March 1) from parts of Athens, Fairfield, and Ross counties; the Hocking River enters the new county through what becomes Good Hope Township.
2. 1863 — A post office called Rockbridge opens in eastern Good Hope Township, named for the natural sandstone arch nearby.
3. 19th century — The Hocking Canal and later a railroad line reach the Rockbridge area, increasing visitation to the natural arch.
4. 1977 — The land around the Rockbridge Natural Bridge is sold to the State of Ohio.
5. 1978 — The site is designated Rockbridge State Nature Preserve, protecting what is considered the largest natural bridge in Ohio.
6. 2007 — Hocking Hills Canopy Tours, described as Ohio's first zipline canopy tour, opens in the township.
7. 2020 — The U.S. Census records 1,331 residents in Good Hope Township.

Stories

The bridge that outlasted the sea that made it

Rockbridge Natural Bridge, in eastern Good Hope Township, is a roughly 100-foot span of Black Hand sandstone that formed the way most of the Hocking Hills' rock features did: hundreds of millions of years ago the region lay under a shallow inland sea, and rivers carried sand into it that settled, compressed, and cemented into stone over geologic time. Later, water erosion cut away the softer rock beneath a narrow ridge and left the harder cap standing as a bridge, arching 50 feet across a ravine. A post office named for the landmark opened in 1863, and 19th-century travelers reached it first by the Hocking Canal and then by rail. It stayed in private hands for more than a century after that, until the state bought the surrounding land in 1977 and opened Rockbridge State Nature Preserve in 1978, protecting what is generally described as the largest natural bridge in Ohio.

Photographs

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Old Straitsville-rockbridge60% of residentsGroundwater wells (8 wells)
• Sugar Grove Village40% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

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. The county's results on file run through 2024-03-19; later elections are not loaded yet.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-07

Statewide question: State Issue 3: Voter ID

Local questions for Good Hope Township, Hocking County, Hocking County and its school district:

• Good Hope Township: Renews a 0.5-mill property tax levy for the fire protection of Good Hope Township for 5 years, beginning in 2027.
• Hocking County: Renews a 0.5-mill property tax levy for the provide & maintain senior citizens services or facilities of Hocking County for 5 years, beginning in 2027.

Races, candidates and every question for an address: your ballot. County offices and judges are on your county board's sample ballot.

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