Harrison Township, Gallia County

How Harrison Township, Gallia County began

Harrison Township, in the southern part of Gallia County, was first laid out December 10, 1812 and organized March 6, 1816; its first settlement dates to 1806. It has no incorporated municipality but carries one notable piece of early Ohio infrastructure: a stretch of Hannan Trace, one of the oldest roads in the state -- the 1882 county history, read in full for the neighboring Ohio Township, dates its marking-out to the summer of 1800 by Thomas Hannan rather than 1798, running from the Kanawha River to Chillicothe via Jackson. Harrison Township was also, in old age, the home of "Mad Ann" Bailey, a Revolutionary War-era frontier scout and messenger whose life is recounted at length in the 1882 county history.

Settled 1806, platted 1812-12-10, incorporated 1816-03-06.

Where the name comes from

No source found explains why Harrison Township was given its name specifically; it is one of nineteen townships named "Harrison" in Ohio, likely honoring William Henry Harrison (a common namesake for Ohio townships of this period), though no source confirms that specifically for this township.

Before the town

No source found records a Native village, mound, trail, or treaty event specific to Harrison Township, though the township's Hannan Trace Road (laid out 1798) likely followed an older travel corridor typical of early Ohio roads, which frequently traced pre-existing Native trails; no source confirms that specifically for this road. The township lies within Gallia County's broader Shawnee homeland of the pre-1795 Ohio River valley.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1774-10 — Richard Trotter, husband of Ann (Hennis) Trotter -- later famous as frontier scout "Mad Ann" Bailey, who lived her final years in Harrison Township -- is killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant while serving under General Lewis in Lord Dunmore's forces.
2. 1800 — Thomas Hannan marks out what becomes known as the Hannan Trace, from a block-house on the Kanawha River near the mouth of Coal River to Chillicothe via Jackson, passing along the Ohio River near the mouth of Swan Creek; the 1882 county history dates this to the summer of 1800, not 1798.
3. 1806 — The township's first settlement is made; early settlers include Frederick Bickel, Benjamin Williams, William Littleton, John Roadarmour and others. Hannah, daughter of Isaac and Mrs. Dewitt, is the first child born in the township.
4. 1812-12-10 — The township is first laid out.
5. 1816-03-06 — Harrison Township is organized.
6. 1825 — Ann "Mad Ann" Bailey, who had lived in Harrison Township with her son in her final years, dies at an age the 1882 county history gives as nearly 120 (a figure we do not treat as reliable); she is buried on a hill near her son's residence.
7. 2020 — Harrison Township records a census population of 959, with no incorporated municipality within its 31.3 square miles.

Stories

"Mad Ann" Bailey, frontier messenger

Born Ann Hennis at Liverpool, England, she married Richard Trotter at thirty and came with him to Virginia, where both were bound into service to pay off their passage. In the summer of 1774 Richard Trotter marched with General Lewis's forces to the mouth of the Great Kanawha and was killed there in fighting with Native American forces at what became Point Pleasant. According to the 1882 county history, his widow was transformed by grief and a self-described hatred of Indians: she took up rifle and tomahawk, dressed in hunting clothes, and rode the country under the name "Mad Ann," her horse called Liverpool. Remarried to a man named Bailey, she served as a messenger between frontier forts, reputedly once escaping pursuers by hiding in a hollow sycamore log while they rode past on the trail of her horse, then recovering the horse from the sleeping party that night. Her best-remembered exploit was a solo, roughly 140-mile ride from a besieged fort at present Charleston, West Virginia to Camp Union (now Lewisburg) and back, to bring gunpowder after the garrison discovered it was nearly out -- a supply the 1882 account credits with saving the fort the next day. In old age she came west to Ohio with her son, who owned land in Harrison Township, and lived there in solitude until her death, which the county history dates to 1825 at an age it gives as nearly 120 -- a figure not corroborated elsewhere and presented here as the source's own claim rather than a verified fact.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · ohiogenealogyexpress.com · ohiogenealogyexpress.com

Mostly private wells The water here

• Gallipolis98% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
• Hecla Water Association1% of residentsOhio River
• Gallia Co. Rural Water Association1% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (10 wells, Gallipolis/Addison Twp.)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Bridges rated poor (2)

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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-09-01

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