Huntington Township, Gallia County

How Huntington Township, Gallia County began

Huntington Township, in the northwestern corner of Gallia County, was formed from Raccoon Township June 5, 1810 and organized June 2, 1812; Joseph McKnight built the first cabin near the future village of Vinton, though George Tyler is also named as the first settler. It holds the village of Vinton, the county's second-smallest, along with the unincorporated community of Ewington, platted in 1852 by George Ewing and named for his father William "Swago Bill" Ewing. A salt well accidentally struck near Ewington in 1866, during a bout of local oil prospecting, drew curious visitors for its cold, gas-charged, flammable water. Two of the county's National Register listings genuinely stand in this township despite being commonly mis-tied by ZIP code to several neighbors: the Evans House near Vinton and Ewington Academy at Ewington. The Ponn Humpback Covered Bridge, sometimes associated with this area through shared ZIP codes, is not actually in Gallia County at all, but in Vinton County, Ohio, more than 20 miles away.

Settled the first settlement in the township was made on Raccoon Creek near the future village of Vinton; Joseph McKnight built the first cabin, though George Tyler is also named as the first settler, incorporated 1812-06-02 (formed from Raccoon Township 1810-06-05).

Where the name comes from

No source found explains why Huntington Township itself was given its name; other Ohio townships of the name are in Brown, Lorain and Ross counties, and no local origin story survives for this one in the sources checked. Ewington, the township's other named community, is confirmed named for George Ewing's father, William "Swago Bill" Ewing.

Before the town

No source found records a Native village, mound, trail, or treaty event specific to Huntington Township. The township lies within Gallia County's broader Shawnee homeland of the pre-1795 Ohio River valley.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1806 — Ezra Barker teaches the township's first school, a class of ten scholars in a log cabin about a mile and a half northwest of the future village of Vinton.
2. 1810-06-05 — Huntington Township is formed from Raccoon Township; the first election is held the last Sunday in July at the house of Stephen Holcomb, with about eighteen votes cast.
3. 1812-06-02 — Huntington Township is organized.
4. 1815 — Enoch McNeal erects the township's first grist mill, on Big Raccoon creek.
5. 1819 — Stephen and Samuel R. Holcomb build the township's first saw mill, for John Adney at the village of Vinton on Big Raccoon creek.
6. 1832 — Vinton is platted in the township by Samuel R. Holcomb.
7. 1834 or 1835 — A post office opens at Vinton and has remained in operation since (Wikipedia gives 1834; the 1882 county history gives 1835; both are recorded here).
8. 1850 — A post office opens at Ewington.
9. 1852 — George Ewing plats the community of Ewington, naming it for his father William "Swago Bill" Ewing.
10. 1866 — A salt well is struck near Ewington by parties boring for oil during a local oil-prospecting excitement; at a depth of about seven hundred feet the well begins discharging cold, gas-and-salt-charged water so strongly that the well flows constantly regardless of season and the gas can be lit with a match.
11. 1982-09-30 — Ewington Academy, at Ewington Road at Ewington, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
12. 1984-07-19 — Evans House, on Coal Valley Road southwest of Vinton, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
13. 1984 — Ewington's post office, which had operated since 1850, closes.

Stories

The well that struck salt water instead of oil

During the local oil-prospecting excitement of the 1860s, a party boring for oil near Ewington instead struck, at a depth of about seven hundred feet, a well of strongly mineralized water in 1866. The find was violent enough that the drillers abandoned their search for oil altogether: the water rushed up with such force, according to the 1882 county history, that it continued flowing just as rapidly regardless of season, unaffected even by the driest weather. The water was very cold and carried enough gas along with its salt and iron content that it could be set alight by touching a lit match to it. It quickly became a local curiosity, drawing strangers who came to see it for themselves, and the county history's writer speculated it might become one of the state's noted watering places for its supposed medicinal value -- though no later source we consulted confirms that it ever did.

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

Every historic place in Gallia County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Leading Creek Conservancy District91% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
• Gallipolis6% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
• Gallia Co. Rural Water Association2% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (10 wells, Gallipolis/Addison Twp.)
• Rio Grande0% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (10 wells, Gallipolis/Addison Twp.)

Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 1 of 1 passed.

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, 2022 to 2023, released 2026-05-07

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