Hartland Township, Huron County

How Hartland Township, Huron County began

Hartland Township's first settlers, brothers William and Alva Munsell, arrived on Hartland Ridge in the spring of 1817 but abandoned their claim -- afterward known as the 'old brier patch' -- by that fall; permanent settlement followed with Daniel Bills, Jared Tolls, and the Blackman brothers over the next few years. Among the township's early settlers was Joseph Waldron, a Revolutionary War veteran born near Boston in 1753 who had stood at the firing of the first shot at Lexington, fought at Bunker Hill, and spent two years a prisoner aboard a British warship before he ever came west; he settled in Hartland in 1821 and died there the following year. Organized in 1826, Hartland is the only township of that name in Ohio, and likely takes its name from Hartland, Connecticut.

Settled spring 1817 (William and Alva Munsell, first settlers, did not stay) / 1818 (Daniel Bills and Elijah Bills, first permanent settlers), incorporated 1826 (township organized), by William and Alva Munsell; Daniel Bills, originally of Connecticut.

Where the name comes from

Williams (1879) and Baughman (1909) say only that the township was originally named Canterbury, was attached to Clarksfield (then Bethel) until April 1826, and was then detached and organized as Hartland. The reason for the name is not recorded. It is the only township of that name in Ohio.

Before the town

No Native American village, trail, or site specific to Hartland Township is documented in the sources consulted.

Timeline

1. 1817 — William and Alva Munsell become the township's first settlers in the spring, clearing and planting a piece of land on Hartland Ridge, but abandon it by fall; the plot is afterward known locally as the 'old brier patch.'
2. 1818 — Daniel Bills's family and Elijah Bills arrive from New York in the spring, becoming among the township's first lasting settlers; Jared Tolls, an early settler who dies the following year, and the Blackman brothers also settle around this time.
3. 1818 — The first birth and the first death in the township occur in the family of Jared Tolls, who dies in the fall and is buried on his farm in a coffin made of Daniel Bills's wagon-box, with an apple sprout planted at the head of the grave.
4. 1821 — Joseph Waldron, a Revolutionary War veteran who had witnessed the first shot at Lexington, fought at Bunker Hill and spent two years a prisoner on a British warship, moves to Hartland from Bristol, New York on June 2 with his wife and two grandchildren.
5. 1821 — Hartland's first schoolhouse, 16 by 20 feet with puncheon floor, door, seats and desks and greased paper for glass, is built in the fall where the Ridge burying ground now stands; Cyrus Munger keeps the first school that winter, and the first regular religious services are held at Joseph Waldron's house.
6. 1822 — Joseph Waldron dies in Hartland on June 15, at age sixty-nine.
7. 1822 — Elijah Bills and Mary Howard, daughter of Captain William Howard, are married on June 2 in the first wedding in the township, with John Beatty, Esq., officiating.
8. 1824 — A few Free Will Baptist families, including that of the preacher Allen Mead, settle in Hartland and hold meetings that lead to a church organized in Clarksfield.
9. 1826 — In April the township is detached from Clarksfield, which was Bethel, and organized as Hartland, having been called Canterbury; its first election is held at the schoolhouse on the ridge, with Daniel Miner chosen clerk.
10. 1827 — On March 5 the trustees make their first settlement with township officers and pay the clerk of election 33 cents; the spring election turns on whether road work is confined to the ridge.
11. 1832 — The Methodist Episcopal church of West Hartland is organized at the house of Perez Miner by Rev. Leonard Hill with four members, the first church organized in the township; its building is erected in 1873 for about $2,300.
12. 1833 — The first post office is established at Daniel Miner's house on the ridge, and he keeps it for twenty-one years.
13. 1840 — John Laugan builds the township's oldest sawmill at Olena (1840 or 1845); Hartland never has a grist mill, and settlers carry grain to Cold Creek or even Mansfield.
14. 1865 — A United Brethren church is organized at the center in spring and builds a church in 1867 for about $1,200, followed by a revival of about a hundred conversions in 1877.

Stories

From Lexington's first shot to Hartland Ridge

Joseph Waldron was born near Boston in February 1753 and was a young soldier present at the firing of the first shot of the Revolutionary War at Lexington; he went on to fight at Bunker Hill before being captured and held prisoner aboard a British man-of-war for two years. After the war he settled in Bristol, New York, and it was not until 1821, an old man of sixty-eight, that he moved with his wife and two young grandchildren to Hartland Township, buying land from settler Allen Blackman. He died there the following June, having outlived the Revolution by more than four decades and having sent three sons -- Sylvester, Stephen and Joseph -- of his own into the War of 1812. His grandson, Elnathan J. Waldron, stayed on in the township and later wrote its history for the Firelands Pioneer.

A jug of whisky decides the road work

Hartland's spring election of 1827 was unusually exciting, according to a vague tradition recorded in the 1879 history. The contest was over the supervisor of highways: one party wanted all the road work confined to Hartland Ridge, the other wanted some done on the other roads. A canvass before the voting found six men for the ridge and seven against. The minority bargained with one of the seven, whose weakness for drink was well known, to vote with them for a jug of whisky, with the penalty that if he failed to deliver he would be kicked by his purchasers from the polls to his home. The ridge got all the work.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Norwalk City66% of residentsHuron River / East Branch Huron River (via Upper, Memorial, and Lower Reservoirs)
• New London Village23% of residentsBuck Creek, impounded in New London's upground reservoir
• Rural Lorain Co. Water A8% of residentsMostly Lake Erie (bought from Avon Lake); some New London Reservoir and Ashland wells
• Wakeman Village1% of residentsLake Erie
• North Fairfield Village1% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Northern Ohio Rural Water0% of residentsLake Erie
• Firelands Manor MHP0% of residentsLake Erie via Avon Lake Regional Water (blended with Rural Lorain Co. Water Authority supply)
• Erie Co. Vermilion District0% of residentsLake Erie
• Milan Village0% of residentsLake Erie (Sandusky Bay backup intake)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2018: 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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-07-24

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