Gratis

How Gratis began

Gratis village grew up in Gratis Township, from which it takes its name. The 1881 county history records that a delegation of Quaker settlers, led by spokesman Samuel Stubbs, petitioned county commissioners for a new township in the southeastern corner of Preble County; when Stubbs argued the petition should be granted 'gratis' (free), the board's clerk, Alexander C. Lanier, both approved it and suggested the new township be named Gratis. A post office called Gratis opened in 1823. The village's population rose from 462 in 1860 to a peak of 998 in 1990 before declining to 842 by 2020; its 1850 post office and Odd Fellows lodge building still stands and is documented in public-domain photographs.

Where the name comes from

The village takes its name from Gratis Township. The 1881 county history records that the name arose when Samuel Stubbs, spokesman for a party of Friends (Quakers) petitioning the county commissioners for a new township in Preble County's southeastern corner, remarked that the petition should be granted 'gratis' -- free; the board's clerk, Alexander C. Lanier, both advised granting the township and suggested it be called Gratis, and it is the only Gratis Township in Ohio. The book notes a second, less well-supported local tradition that the name instead came from the township's first officers volunteering to serve without pay.

Before the town

No mound, village, trail or treaty site specific to Gratis village was found in the sources checked.

Nations recorded here: Miami, Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1823 — A post office called Gratis began operating in the village.
2. 1850 — The building later documented as the Gratis post office and Eden Lodge No. 147 (Odd Fellows) hall was constructed.
3. 1860 — Gratis's population was recorded at 462; the same decade, houses that still stand on East Street's east side, south of North Street, were being built (one dated 1860, another 1880).
4. 1900 — Gratis's population had declined to 375.
5. 1975-09-05 — Shuey's Mill, within the township surrounding the village, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
6. 1990 — Gratis's population peaked at 998, its highest recorded figure.
7. 2020 — Gratis's population had declined to 842.

Stories

Granted 'gratis'

In the early 1800s, most of the settlers in what would become Gratis Township lived in its far southern end, a long way from the township elections held in the north, in the much larger township then called Lanier. A delegation of Friends (Quakers) travelled to the county commissioners and asked that a new township be carved out for the southeastern corner of the county. The commissioners at first balked, doubting there were enough settlers there to justify it. Before the delegation gave up, its spokesman, Samuel Stubbs, made one more attempt, going back over their arguments and closing with the remark that he thought the petition should be granted 'gratis' -- free of charge. It worked: the board's clerk, Alexander C. Lanier, not only advised approving the new township but suggested it be called Gratis on the spot. The Friends went home victorious, and Preble County got the only township of that name in Ohio.

Photographs

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

Groundwater wells (2 wells) The water here

• Gratis Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public libraries (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (4)

Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 2 of 2 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.

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, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-10-07

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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