Local events in Harrison Township, Pickaway County
Nothing is posted for Harrison Township itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Harrison Township, Pickaway County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Harrison Township, Pickaway County began
Squatters were already working the treeless Walnut Plains in Harrison Township by 1798, three years before the land east of the Scioto went on sale at Chillicothe; James and Stephen Short, from Delaware, are remembered as the first. David Denny platted the village of South Bloomfield here in 1804, according to the 1880 county history (the village's own history says 1803 and the 1906 county history 1805), hoping it would become the Pickaway County seat, a hope Circleville dashed six years later, and the township itself was not formally erected from parts of Madison and Walnut townships until June 1810. Ashville, the township's other village, grew slowly around Richard Stage's distillery until the Scioto Valley Railroad reached it in 1874 and gave it a depot, an elevator, and a post office. Today the township holds the Scioto and Walnut Creek bottomlands in the northern tip of the county, still centered on Ashville and South Bloomfield.
Settled 1798, incorporated 1810, by erected by order of the Board of County Commissioners of Pickaway County, its territory taken from Madison and Walnut townships.
Where the name comes from
No source consulted states directly why the township carries Harrison's name. It was erected in 1810, before the Battle of Tippecanoe (1811), so that battle cannot explain it; the name may simply follow the common practice of naming Ohio townships for national figures; Ohio has nineteen townships named Harrison. Neither the 1880 nor the 1906 Pickaway County history explains the choice.
Before the town
Neither the 1880 nor the 1906 Pickaway County history records a named Native village, camp, mound, or trail within Harrison Township's own boundaries, and no other source consulted supplies one. The township's land was opened to settlement by the Treaty of Greenville, signed August 3, 1795, in which the Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), Miami, Ottawa and other nations ceded most of what is now Ohio to the United States; Pickaway County itself takes its name from the Pekowi (also spelled Pickaway) division of the Shawnee, who had a town on the Pickaway Plains south of Circleville, several miles south of Harrison Township. The 1880 county history notes only that the Columbus and Chillicothe pike, which crosses the township past the old Short homestead, followed the line of an older Indian trail. No source consulted names a specific nation, village, or leader tied to ground within the township.
Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), Miami, Ottawa.
Timeline
- — The Treaty of Greenville cedes most of what becomes Ohio, including the future Harrison Township, to the United States.
- — James Short and his son Stephen, from Delaware, squat on the Walnut Plains a short distance below the future South Bloomfield and plant the township's first crops.
- — At the government land sale at Chillicothe, James Short buys section fifteen and part of section sixteen, the first land purchase of record in the township.
- — David Denny lays out the village of South Bloomfield on the Walnut Plains, according to the 1880 county history (other accounts give 1803 or 1805), surveyed by General James Denny, hoping it will become the Pickaway County seat.
- — A major flood covers the entire section between the Scioto River and Walnut Creek south of South Bloomfield.
- — Harrison Township is erected on June 15 by the Pickaway County commissioners from parts of Madison and Walnut townships; an election for justice of the peace is set for June 23 at Hugh Creighton's house.
- — South Bloomfield is incorporated by special act of the legislature; Thomas Burrell becomes its first village president.
- — Richard Stage sells his Ashville distillery site to Mahlon Ashbrook, who expands it and later builds a grist-mill on Walnut Creek; the same year Stage lays out the hamlet of Millport.
- — Ashbrook's store and distillery at Ashville close; the village does little business for nearly two decades afterward.
- — The Scioto Valley Railroad is built the length of Harrison Township, reviving Ashville; William Morris and Mr. Keyes build a steam-powered grain elevator near the tracks.
- — A railroad depot and a post office are established at Ashville; George Morrison becomes the village's first postmaster.
- — The Ashville Depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, February 25.
- — The Renick farmhouse north of South Bloomfield on U.S. Route 23 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, March 5.
Stories
A County Seat That Never Was
In 1804, by the 1880 county history's date (other accounts say 1803 or 1805), six years before Pickaway County even existed, David Denny platted a forty-acre town on the Walnut Plains, laid off by his kinsman General James Denny into eighty lots. Denny's ambition was plain: he wanted his town to be the seat of whatever county eventually formed here. For a while South Bloomfield had reason to hope, sitting near the midpoint of the stage line between Chillicothe and Franklinton (later Columbus), with regular coaches keeping it lively. But when Pickaway County was organized in 1810, Circleville took the courthouse instead, and South Bloomfield's fortunes never recovered the ground. The Ohio Canal was dug a mile to the east, then a railroad ran to Columbus by another route, and the coaches stopped coming. The 1880 county history summed it up plainly: its brightest days were 'not of the present, nor of the future, but of the past.'
The Plains Win Out Over the Bottoms
William Renick, who settled on his brother's Virginia Military District land in 1803, spent his first years chasing what every Virginia-born settler wanted: rich river bottomland. In 1804 he cleared ten acres of Scioto bottom and planted corn, only to watch the great flood of 1805 wash out every hill of it along with the soil beneath. Discouraged, he offered to sell out for the bare government price, paid in horses, and found no buyer. That fall he plowed twenty acres of the plain land everyone else considered inferior and sowed wheat instead; it came up well, and Renick spent the next quarter-century convinced, against the received wisdom of his neighbors, that the plains were the better land. His farmhouse north of South Bloomfield stood long enough to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, though it has since been demolished.
A Village That Waited on the Railroad
Ashville began as Richard Stage's small distillery on land he owned outright. Mahlon Ashbrook bought him out around 1837 and built the business into a real concern, adding a grist-mill and a large store and becoming, by local reputation, quite wealthy before he finally failed. When the distillery shut its doors for good in 1855, Ashville had almost no business left to speak of, and the 1880 county history says as much: 'very little business was done in Ashville' for nearly twenty years. The turn came in 1874, when the Scioto Valley Railroad was built the length of Harrison Township. A depot went up at Ashville the following year, a post office opened alongside it, and grain elevators followed the tracks; the depot itself, at Madison and Cromley streets, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Photographs
Photo: Nyttend, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Christopher L. Riley, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Aesopposea, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: archive.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · npgallery.nps.gov
Water
South Well Field wells in Scioto valley sand and gravel, off Parsons Ave near Shadeville and Lockbourne The water here
- Columbus Public Water System66% of residentsScioto River (Griggs & O'Shaughnessy), Hoover Reservoir on Big Walnut Ck, plus wells
- Ashville Village15% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Caravan Village MHP11% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- South Bloomfield Village4% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
- Lockbourne Village3% of residentsScioto River (Griggs & O'Shaughnessy), Hoover Reservoir on Big Walnut Ck, plus wells
- Obetz Satellite 61% of residentsScioto River (Griggs & O'Shaughnessy), Hoover Reservoir on Big Walnut Ck, plus wells
- Obetz Village0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Commercial Point Village0% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Harrison Township, Pickaway County's boundary: 1 poor-rated bridge, 3 Toxics Release Inventory facilities and 21 spill cases. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Bridges rated poor (1)
-
Bulen-Pierce Road over Rathmel DitchPoor · built 1900
- Condition
- Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
- What it is
- Bridge
- Built
- 1900
- Length
- 8 ft
- Owner
- County
- Vehicles a day
- 429
- Coordinates
- 39.77910, -82.96722
National Bridge Inventory (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
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.
Facilities reporting toxic releases (3)
-
Aep Picway Power PlantToxics Release Inventory · Lockbourne
- Address
- 9301 Us 23, Lockbourne, OH 43137
- County
- Pickaway County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (closed)
- EPA program ID
- 43137MRCNL9301U
- EPA registry ID
- 110000382069
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Marbleland of OhioToxics Release Inventory · Lockbourne
- Address
- 11272 U.S. Rte. 23 S., Lockbourne, OH 43137
- County
- Pickaway County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (closed)
- EPA program ID
- 43137MRBLL11272
- EPA registry ID
- 110002109156
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Novelis Alr Rolled Products, Inc.Toxics Release Inventory · Ashville
- Address
- 1 Reynolds Road, Ashville, OH 43103
- County
- Pickaway County
- Status
- Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
- EPA program ID
- 43103RYNLDREYNO
- EPA registry ID
- 110000381836
EPA facility record ↗ EPA Facility Registry Service (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.
Spills reported since 2021 (21)
-
Sheen Organic2024-12-17 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2024-12-17
- What spilled
- Sheen Organic
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2412EPA0002032
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-11-11 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2024-11-11
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2411EPA0001871
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Transmission / Steering Fluid2024-08-16 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2024-08-16
- What spilled
- Transmission / Steering Fluid
- Largest amount reported
- 1 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Franklin County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2408EPA0001418
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Runoff Nos (Not Specified)2024-07-24 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2024-07-24
- What spilled
- Runoff Nos (Not Specified)
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2407EPA0001262
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Waste Water2024-07-10 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2024-07-10
- What spilled
- Waste Water
- Largest amount reported
- 200 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2407EPA0001167
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-06-11 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2024-06-11
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 60 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2406EPA0000985
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2023-12-12 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2023-12-12
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 100 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2312EPA0002049
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)2023-08-14 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2023-08-14
- What spilled
- Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)
- Largest amount reported
- 10 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2308EPA0001404
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2023-08-11 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2023-08-11
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 75 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2308EPA0001383
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2023-05-08 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2023-05-08
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2305EPA0000747
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Material Unknown2023-03-10 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2023-03-10
- What spilled
- Material Unknown
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2303EPA0000375
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Waste Water2022-11-29 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2022-11-29
- What spilled
- Waste Water
- Largest amount reported
- 450 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2211EPA0001771
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Ethylene Glycol (C2H6O2)2022-09-16 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2022-09-16
- What spilled
- Ethylene Glycol (C2H6O2)
- Largest amount reported
- 1 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2209EPA0001414
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Transformer Non Pcb2022-07-11 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2022-07-11
- What spilled
- Oil Transformer Non Pcb
- Largest amount reported
- 200 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2207EPA0001052
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle2022-05-26 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2022-05-26
- What spilled
- Oil Motor / Lube Oil / Vehicle
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2205EPA0000772
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2022-05-05 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2022-05-05
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2205EPA0000639
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)2022-02-02 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2022-02-02
- What spilled
- Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)
- Largest amount reported
- 1 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2202EPA0000113
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2021-09-08 · Columbus
- Reported
- 2021-09-08
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Largest amount reported
- 40 gallons
- Where
- Columbus, Franklin County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2109EPA0001418
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Oil Transformer Non Pcb2021-08-16 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2021-08-16
- What spilled
- Oil Transformer Non Pcb
- Largest amount reported
- 35 gallons
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pike County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2108EPA0001269
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2021-03-25 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2021-03-25
- What spilled
- Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2103EPA0000392
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
-
Boil Alert / Boil Advisory / Drinking Water Issue(S)2026-05-04 · Harrison Twp
- Reported
- 2026-05-04
- What spilled
- Boil Alert / Boil Advisory / Drinking Water Issue(S)
- Where
- Harrison Twp, Pickaway County
- Ohio EPA district office
- CDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2605EPA0000748
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 Harrison Township, Pickaway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43137 Harrison Township and Lockbourne | 39% | South Well Field wells in Scioto valley sand and gravel, off Parsons Ave near Shadeville and Lockbourne | 9.5 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1978 | Teays Valley Local · 4 stars overall | 9.3% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 43103 Ashville | 4% | Mostly private wells | 8.3 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1995 | Teays Valley Local · 4 stars overall | 9.9% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
The county
Franklin County: 45 ZIP codes, 42 cities, villages and townships, 1,356,733 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Harrison Township, Ohio in?
Harrison Township, Pickaway County is a township in Franklin County, Ohio, with 1,549 residents.
When was Harrison Township, Ohio founded?
Harrison Township, Pickaway County was settled 1798; incorporated 1810. Founders on record: erected by order of the Board of County Commissioners of Pickaway County, its territory taken from Madison and Walnut townships. Source
What ZIP code is Harrison Township, Ohio?
Harrison Township, Pickaway County is served by ZIP codes 43137 and 43103; 43137 holds the largest share of its residents.
Where does Harrison Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Harrison Township, Pickaway County (Columbus Public Water System): South Well Field wells in Scioto valley sand and gravel, off Parsons Ave near Shadeville and Lockbourne.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Harrison Township, Pickaway County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/harrison-township-pickaway-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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