Jefferson Township, Muskingum County

How Jefferson Township, Muskingum County began

Jefferson Township is a small township (about 2.2 square miles) along the Muskingum River that contains part of the village of Dresden, which straddles Jefferson and neighboring Cass townships at the mouth of Wakatomika Creek. The site was a Shawnee settlement, Wakatomika, destroyed by a Virginia militia expedition under Colonel Angus McDonald in August 1774 during Lord Dunmore's War. White settlement began in 1799 when Jonathan Cass and Seth Adams claimed land there; Dresden was incorporated March 9, 1835. A 1,000-foot suspension bridge, reportedly the third built in the United States, crossed the river at Dresden from 1852 until the Great Flood of 1913 destroyed it. The 1892 county memoir groups Jefferson together with Cass Township as a single chapter, reflecting how closely the two share Dresden's history.

Settled 1799 (Jonathan Cass and Seth Adams, in the area that became Dresden).

Where the name comes from

Not established from the sources consulted (presumably for Thomas Jefferson, as with other Ohio townships of the name, but no source confirms this for Jefferson Township, Muskingum County specifically).

Before the town

Jefferson Township has a well-documented Native American history. Wakatomika, a Shawnee village (with several outlying small villages) on the Muskingum River near present-day Dresden, was settled by Shawnee people from at least 1756 and stood close to a number of Lenape (Delaware) towns. In Lord Dunmore's War, a Virginia militia force of about 400 men under Colonel Angus McDonald marched from Fort Pitt and on August 7, 1774 burned Wakatomika and four other villages to the ground, taking three chiefs prisoner. The raid did not end Native resistance; attacks on settlers increased afterward. No later treaty line or removal event specific to this township was found in the sources reviewed.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware).

• Wakatomika (village) — on the Muskingum River near the mouth of Wakatomika Creek, at/near present-day Dresden (Jefferson and Cass townships), settled by 1756, destroyed August 7, 1774 (en.wikipedia.org)

Timeline

1. 1756 — Wakatomika, a Shawnee village with several outlying settlements, is established on the Muskingum River near the mouth of Wakatomika Creek, by this date at the latest.
2. 1774 — During Lord Dunmore's War, Colonel Angus McDonald leads about 400 Virginia militiamen from Fort Pitt and, on August 7, burns Wakatomika and four other Shawnee villages, taking three chiefs prisoner.
3. 1799 — Jonathan Cass and Seth Adams claim land in the area that becomes Dresden, on or near the former village site.
4. 1830 — Dresden's population stands at 391.
5. 1835 — The village of Dresden is incorporated, March 9.
6. 1852 — A 1,000-foot suspension bridge, built by George Willison Adams and costing $30,000, is completed over the Muskingum River at Dresden - reportedly the third suspension bridge built in the United States.
7. 1913 — The Great Flood of 1913 destroys the 1852 suspension bridge.
8. 1919 — The Longaberger Company, later the largest handmade-basket manufacturer in the United States with nearly 2,000 employees, is founded in Dresden.
9. 1920 — Dresden's population peaks at 1,700.

Stories

Wakatomika, burned and resettled

For roughly two decades, the ground that became Jefferson Township was Shawnee ground. Wakatomika stood at the mouth of the creek that still carries its name, one large town with several smaller villages strung along the Muskingum, and it was close enough to Lenape towns that the two peoples' histories here are intertwined. In August 1774, during Lord Dunmore's War, a Virginia militia column of about 400 men marched from Fort Pitt under Colonel Angus McDonald and burned Wakatomika and four neighboring villages, taking three chiefs prisoner. The raid did not cow the Shawnee; attacks on Virginia's frontier settlements increased in its aftermath. It would be twenty-five more years before Jonathan Cass and Seth Adams claimed land on the same stretch of river in 1799, laying the groundwork for the village of Dresden.

The third suspension bridge in America

In 1852, George Willison Adams - later president of the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad - built a 1,000-foot suspension bridge over the Muskingum River at Dresden, reportedly only the third suspension bridge raised anywhere in the United States. It cost $30,000 and was built of locally manufactured materials, carrying travelers and freight across the river for sixty-one years until the Great Flood of 1913 tore it out.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Dresden100% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2017: 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.
• Basic Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2025-02-18

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