Harrison Township, Scioto County

How Harrison Township, Scioto County began

Harrison Township, in eastern Scioto County, was established on March 6, 1832 from parts of Union, Upper, Madison and Porter townships and named for General William Henry Harrison. It is an agricultural township of hills and the Little Scioto and Long Run valleys, first settled near its southern border on the Little Scioto, with early mills: Traxler's (1804), Crull's on Long Run (1812) and the Scioto Mill (1828). Harrisonville, on the northern line, was named for Harrison, who lodged there with the Whig Joseph Bennett in 1836, and its post office was called Scioto; Harrison Furnace blew in 1853, and the first township election was held at Daniel White's house in May 1832. It holds no incorporated town; its population center is Minford, a census-designated place straddling the border with Madison Township. The Bennett Schoolhouse Road Covered Bridge, built in 1867 and listed on the National Register in 1978, no longer stands. The 2020 population was 4,275.

Settled c. 1800-1804 on the Little Scioto near the southern border (John Snyder, Simeon Wood, Thomas Feurt, Daniel White, Samuel Crull and others), platted Harrisonville platted May 24, 1859 (recorded August 22, 1859); an earlier plat by Moses Gregory in 1832 was never recorded, incorporated 1832-03-06, by Scioto County commissioners, March 6, 1832.

Where the name comes from

Named for General William Henry Harrison, according to the 1903 county history and Wikipedia; the village of Harrisonville has the same namesake, and Harrison lodged in the settlement in 1836 when it had only a few log cabins. One of nineteen Harrison Townships in Ohio.

Before the town

No Native site or event specific to Harrison Township was found. The township lies in the hills east of the Scioto River within the land ceded by the 1795 Treaty of Greenville; the 1903 county history's Harrison chapter mentions no Native people.

Timeline

1. 1804 — Emanuel Traxler builds the first mill on the site later called Dixon Mill; Benjamin Scott and others own it before Silas Dixon buys it in 1850.
2. 1806 — The township's first schoolhouse is built, a 16-foot log cabin with a puncheon floor, greased-paper windows and a mud-and-stick chimney; Robert Finley is the first teacher.
3. 1812 — Samuel Crull builds a saw and grist mill on Long Run, which his family operates until about 1880.
4. c. 1823 — Peter Tagore builds a blacksmith shop at the crossroads that becomes Harrisonville, and the frame house there that is the oldest in the township (then counted in Madison Township).
5. 1828 — Joseph Bennett and Henry Power build the Scioto Mill, 'the finest mill seat in the County'; Power is sole owner from 1831.
6. 1832-03-06 — Harrison Township is established and named for General William Henry Harrison.
7. 1832-05 — On the first Monday of May the first township election is held at Daniel White's house: Abner Wood treasurer, Abijah Batterson clerk, Thomas Hatch, Daniel White and Sylvanus Shumway trustees.
8. 1836 — Gen. William Henry Harrison passes through Harrisonville, a few log cabins on land owned by the Whig Joseph Bennett, and lodges with Bennett; the village is named for him.
9. 1837 — Harrisonville Methodist Episcopal Church is organized, first holding services in a log church at the north end of the village; a new church is built in 1856 and another in 1873.
10. 1853 — Harrison Furnace is built by Boston Eifort and Henry Spellman; it blows in the same year and runs seven years, then under Sommers and McConnell until 1872, when it fails and is sold by receiver John Lodwick.
11. 1859-05-24 — Frank C. Gibbs, deputy county surveyor, platts Harrisonville (recorded August 22); the village's post office is called Scioto and its first postmaster was Ephraim Rockwell.
12. 1861 — The Tick Ridge Catholic Church is erected, Father L. Shriver the first priest; trustees are Benedict Seidel, Lawrence Cordell and Joseph Spitznogel.
13. 1865-08-17 — Pike and Scioto County soldiers hold a Grand Soldiers' Reunion and Peace Jubilee at Dugan's Grove, the origin of an annual reunion the G.A.R. post and Sons of Veterans camp later continue.
14. 1890 — Ives Lodge, Knights of Pythias, is instituted in February with about 20 charter members and builds a two-story hall; Harrisonville has about 200 residents in 1902.
15. 1978-10-11 — The Bennett Schoolhouse Road Covered Bridge, built in 1867 by V. B. Farney across the Little Scioto at Harrison Mills, southeast of Minford, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Wikipedia says it is 'no longer in place.'

Stories

Old Tippecanoe stays the night

In 1836, when William Henry Harrison was running for president, he passed through the crossroads on the northern line of Harrison Township that was then only a few log cabins. The land belonged to Joseph Bennett, an ardent Whig, and the general lodged at his house. The settlement took its name, Harrisonville, from the visit. Bennett also built the Scioto Mill with Henry Power in 1828, 'the finest mill seat in the County,' and the township itself, set off from older townships in 1832, had already been named for the general. In 1865, on August 17, the neighborhood held a gathering that the 1903 historian called the origin of 'the Great Harrisonville Reunion.'

The Great Harrisonville Reunion of 1865

'At the close of the war,' the county historian wrote, 'everybody felt rich and happy. The patriotic fever was at white heat.' At a meeting in Dugan's Grove on July 4, 1865, local men resolved to hold a Grand Soldiers' Reunion and Peace Jubilee for the counties of Pike and Scioto. Abram F. Millar, Thomas Dugan and John L. Ward were the 'master spirits,' and committees in Portsmouth planned a dinner for August 17 at the grove, which was then three times its later size and 'not marred by a railroad.' One entrance bore the motto 'Victory at Last,' the other 'Welcome to the Soldiers'; two dinner tables were each over a thousand feet long, and banners over them read 'We honor the private soldier' and bore the names of Logan, Thomas, Rosecrans, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. Scioto Post No. 287 of the G.A.R. and Lois Camp of the Sons of Veterans kept an annual reunion going on August 17 for years.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · ohioghosttowns.wordpress.com

Every historic place in Scioto County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Portsmouth City85% of residentsOhio River
• Scioto Water Inc.-rose Hill12% of residentsPurchased: Scioto Co. Regional Water Dist. #1 (Teays Valley Aquifer)
• Northwest Regional Water District2% of residentsTeays Valley Aquifer (wells near SR 348)
• Scioto Water Inc. - Gliem Rd1% of residentsOhio River
• Scioto Water Inc.- Sheila Blvd0% of residentsOhio River

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public schools (2)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-07-21

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