Jefferson Township, Mercer County

How Jefferson Township, Mercer County began

Jefferson Township was organized around 1839 in the east-central part of Mercer County, and it has always been anchored by the county seat: Celina, founded 1834 by James Watson Riley, sits in central Jefferson Township, and Grand Lake St. Marys covers roughly a quarter of the township's southeastern corner. The township's history is therefore largely Celina's -- the 1837-1845 digging of the lake as a canal reservoir, and the 1891 offshore oil drilling -- with the rest of the township given over to the farmland typical of southern Mercer County.

Settled 1834 (Celina), incorporated c. 1839 (township organized), by Ohio township organization; Celina founded by James Watson Riley.

Where the name comes from

Jefferson Township is one of twenty-four Jefferson Townships in Ohio; neither Wikipedia nor the 1907 county history says whom it was named for.

Before the town

No Native village or mound in Jefferson Township is recorded. The 1907 county history notes that when Robert Linzee settled on the north bank of the future reservoir in the fall of 1832, "nothing in the shape of a road existed save the trails made by the Indians," and the nearest neighbors were at St. Marys and at Bluffton, Indiana, 40 miles away.

Timeline

1. 1832 — Robert Linzee moves from Athens County and settles on the north bank of the future reservoir east of Celina, where only Indian trails exist for roads and the nearest neighbors are at St. Marys and Bluffton, Indiana.
2. 1834 — James Watson Riley founds Celina in what becomes central Jefferson Township.
3. 1837-1845 — The Grand Reservoir, now Grand Lake St. Marys, is dug as a canal feeder reservoir; the 1907 county history dates it 1837 to 1845, and today it takes up the township's southeastern quarter.
4. c. 1839 — The Mercer County commissioners' proceedings of March 5 indicate that Jefferson Township is organized; its first election is in the spring of 1840.
5. 1843-05-15 — More than 100 citizens, angered at flooded farmland and unpaid land damages, cut the west bank of the reservoir with shovels and wheelbarrows; 34 are arrested, the grand jury declines to indict, and the repairs cost the state $17,000.
6. 1857 — The Old-town United Brethren Church is organized in the Old-town schoolhouse on March 29 with 13 members.
7. 1891 — Oil derricks are set up on Grand Lake St. Marys, the first offshore oil drilling.
8. 1907 — The township contains 16,526 acres, valued outside Celina at $1,239,450 against $309,540 twenty-five years before; tomatoes and peas have become cash crops worth $80 to $100 an acre.
9. 2020 — The census counts 13,802 people in the township, a figure that includes the county seat of Celina.

Stories

Cutting the bank of the Grand Reservoir

The Grand Reservoir was begun in 1837 and finished in 1845 at a cost of $600,000, and when its banks were finished and the water let in, it flooded farms along the shore, including Thomas Coate's, Mellinger's and nineteen acres of Judge Linzee's. A $20,000 appropriation to pay the landowners was, in the county history's words, squandered. On May 3, 1843, a meeting at Celina sent Benjamin Linzee to the Board of Public Works at Piqua, and the board's answer was 'Help yourself, if you can.' On the morning of May 15 more than 100 citizens, with shovels, spades and wheelbarrows, cut the west bank in the old Beaver channel; John Sunday and Henry Linzee started the water. Thirty-four leaders, including all the county officers, were arrested, but the grand jury refused to find a bill of misdemeanor, and the repair cost the state $17,000.

As long as water runs and wood grows

Robert Linzee came from Athens County in the fall of 1832 and settled on a farm on the north bank of what would become the Grand Reservoir, east of the future Celina. There was no road, only trails made by the Indians, and his nearest neighbor to the east was at St. Marys and to the west at Bluffton, Indiana, 40 miles off. In 1834 he moved onto the farm for good and gave the school district its land by a deed in his own handwriting, specifying that it was to be used for a school "as long as water runs and wood grows." Within four years half a dozen of his friends had settled near, and a log schoolhouse stood with 18 to 24 pupils. Wesley Herbert was the first teacher and Andrew Jackson Linzee recited the first lesson on the afternoon the building was finished.

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

Every historic place in Mercer County on the full map

Grand Lake St. Marys (surface water intake) The water here

• Celina, City Of96% of residentsGrand Lake St. Marys (surface water intake)
• Grand Lake Estates4% of residentsGroundwater wells (1 wells)

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High-hazard dams (1)

Public schools (1)

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

Police stations (1)

Facilities reporting toxic releases (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-09-12

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