Independence Township, Washington County

How Independence Township, Washington County began

Independence Township was set off from Newport Township on June 3, 1840, in eastern Washington County along the Ohio River, its commissioners' journal entry proudly styled 'the declaration of Independence' -- the only Independence Township in Ohio. The Leath family made the first settlement about 1800 near the mouth of the run that still bears their name; William Little, a physician from County Down, Ireland, followed in 1806 and started the township's first orchard. Near its administrative center, Archer's Fork, German immigrant Ernst (Ernest) Waernicke, who pioneered tobacco cultivation in the township during the 1850s and served as its first treasurer, built a brick house in 1864 that still predates every other brick house in the township, paired with a frame store. The 2020 census recorded 315 residents, and no incorporated village has ever stood in the township.

Settled about 1800 (the Leath family), incorporated June 3, 1840, by petition of inhabitants of Newport Township, set off as an independent township.

Where the name comes from

Not established beyond the name itself; the county history notes only that the commissioners' 1840 journal entry establishing the new township, set off from Newport at residents' request, could 'not inaptly be styled the declaration of Independence.'

Before the town

The 1881 county history records what it calls 'the Valley of Dry Bones': about a hundred yards from the Ohio River, on land later owned by John Butler and originally by John Burris, stood a rocky ledge eight or nine feet high, beneath which lay a collection of human bones -- 'about a cart load,' some of remarkable size -- that survived visibly until as late as 1840. The source treats these as traces of an earlier, prehistoric people distinct from the historic Native nations, and the discovery was substantial enough to give the name Bone Run to the small stream running past the ledge. No specific nation, village, or trail elsewhere in the township was identified in the sources checked.

• the Valley of Dry Bones (Bone Run ledge) (burial) — about a hundred yards from the Ohio River, on the John Butler farm (originally John Burris's land), prehistoric (undated in the source) (archive.org)

Timeline

1. about 1800 — The Leath family, of whom little else is known, becomes the first white family to settle in what is now Independence Township, at the mouth of the stream later named Leath's Run; the family's stay is short, ending soon after the 1804 death and burial of the wife, Sarah -- the township's first death and the origin of its first graveyard.
2. 1806 — William Little, a physician born in County Down, Ireland, settles at the mouth of Leath's Run with his family, having emigrated in 1805 with the family of William Rea; on his way west he buys young apple trees at Steubenville and plants them on arrival, starting the township's first orchard.
3. 1808 — William Rea moves his tavern, 'The Travellers' Rest,' to the mouth of the stream later named Rea's Run, serving travelers on the Ohio River.
4. 1840-06-03 — On petition of Newport Township residents, the county commissioners set off Independence as its own township -- an act the commissioners' journal itself calls 'the declaration of Independence' -- and hold the first election at the cabin built by Benjamin Burris on Archer's Fork, using a teakettle as the ballot box.
5. 1850s — German immigrant Ernst (Ernest) Waernicke pioneers tobacco cultivation in the township, spurring growth among other German settlers; he serves as township treasurer in 1871-72.
6. 1864 — Waernicke builds the township's first brick house, near Archer's Fork, and an adjoining frame store.
7. 1979 — The Waernicke-Hille House and Store is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Stories

The declaration of Independence

When residents of the eastern part of Newport Township petitioned in 1840 to be set off as a township of their own, the county commissioners' journal recorded the act in language that could hardly resist the obvious pun, describing the June 3, 1840 resolution as one that might 'not inaptly be styled the declaration of Independence.' The new township's early records were soon lost, so little is remembered of its first election beyond a few details: it was held at a cabin on Archer's Fork built by Benjamin Burris and then occupied by John Goodman, William Rea Jr. is thought to have served as clerk, and -- for lack of anything better on hand -- the ballot 'box' was an ordinary teakettle. Stillman Harvey became the township's first justice of the peace, and James S. Cady, elected soon after, served for many years as its first treasurer.

Tobacco brought brick to Archer's Fork

Ernst Waernicke arrived in Independence Township from Germany and, through the 1850s, pioneered tobacco growing in a township that had until then been given over mostly to grain and livestock. As other German families followed his lead and the tobacco trade grew, Waernicke prospered enough to build, in 1864, a substantial brick house near Archer's Fork -- the first brick house anywhere in the township -- paired with a frame store just 150 feet away to serve the growing community; the 1881 county history independently confirms him as a leading citizen of the settlement and records his service as township treasurer in 1871-72. Both buildings still stand, joined by a handful of smaller outbuildings across roughly three acres, a rare intact record of how one immigrant family's cash crop reshaped a small corner of rural Washington County.

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

Every historic place in Washington County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Matamoras Village53% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Newport Water/sewer District47% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (4)

Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 0 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 0 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, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-11-07

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