Local events in Liberty Township, Putnam County
Nothing is posted for Liberty Township itself yet; here is what is on within 20 miles. All local events in Liberty Township, Putnam County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Liberty Township, Putnam County began
Liberty Township, in northern Putnam County, was first settled by Alexander Montooth in 1835 and organized in April 1837 -- one of twenty-five Liberty Townships across Ohio, a common patriotic name. Its first town, Medary, platted in 1845 by Judge Palmer (the same jurist for whom Palmer Township is named) with a combination grist- and saw-mill, has vanished entirely, its site now farmland. The township holds the village of West Leipsic in its far eastern portion.
Settled 1835, incorporated 1837-04 (organized), by Alexander Montooth, first settler.
Where the name comes from
No specific origin for the name 'Liberty' is documented in the sources checked; it is one of twenty-five Liberty Townships in Ohio, a common patriotic township name.
Before the town
No Native American site or village specific to Liberty Township was located in the sources checked.
Timeline
- — Alexander Montooth becomes the township's first settler; the same year Charles Hofstetter, Nicholas and J. R. McConnell, Samuel James, James and John Irvin, John Krebbs and O. C. Pomeroy also settle.
- — Liberty Township organizes; Nicholas McConnell is chosen the first justice of the peace.
- — Judge Palmer lays out the township's first town, Medary, where he keeps the first store and builds a combination grist- and saw-mill with the grinding floor above the sawing floor.
- — John W. Peckenpaugh buys the land where West Leipsic now stands and has the first survey of twenty lots made; John Shakely builds the first house, later a hotel and drug store.
- — West Leipsic, in the township's east, is platted (as Leipsic, in a naming swap with the neighboring village that took the name West Leipsic).
- — Louisa M. Lowry, daughter of the first storekeeper J. J. Lowry, is born September 29, the first white child born in West Leipsic.
- — The swamps and ponds that had confined the township's first settlements to a slightly elevated strip called the Ridge are drained, greatly reducing the area's endemic sickness.
- — West Leipsic incorporates as an Ohio village.
- — West Leipsic is incorporated with R. Haskell as mayor and W. J. White as clerk.
- — West Leipsic counts 253 residents.
- — The census counts 1,675 residents in Liberty Township.
Stories
The Judge's Town, Now a Cornfield
Before West Leipsic existed, Liberty Township's town was Medary, laid out in 1845 by the same Judge Palmer who would later give his name to Palmer Township on the other side of the county. Palmer kept the first store there and built what the county's 1915 historian called "quite a curiosity to the early settlers": a combination grist- and saw-mill in one frame building, with the grist-mill occupying the floor above the saw-mill below. For a time Medary was a real destination, a place where farmers brought grain to be ground and timber to be sawed in the same structure. It did not last. By the time the county's history was written seventy years later, the site of Medary -- once a functioning village with its own mill and store -- was described in a single blunt sentence: "now covered with fields of waving corn." No trace of the judge's town remained, and the township's commercial center had long since shifted east to West Leipsic instead.
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Leipsic Village79% of residentsGroundwater wells (7 wells)
- Ottawa Village18% of residentsBlanchard River (via intake reservoir)
- Glandorf Village3% of residentsBlanchard River (via intake reservoir)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Liberty Township, Putnam County's boundary: 1 spill case. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Spills reported since 2021 (1)
-
Fertilizer(S) Nos (Not Specified)2023-04-13 · Liberty Twp
- Reported
- 2023-04-13
- What spilled
- Fertilizer(S) Nos (Not Specified)
- Largest amount reported
- 300 gallons
- Where
- Liberty Twp, Putnam County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2304EPA0000586
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Liberty Township, Putnam County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45856 Leipsic | 22% | Mostly private wells | 4.0 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1946 | Leipsic Local · 4 stars overall | 0.2% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45875 Ottawa | 3% | Mostly private wells | 2.5 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1975 | Ottawa-Glandorf Local · 4 stars overall | 12% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Liberty Township, Putnam County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2022: 2 of 2 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 2 of 2.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-07 | Issue: Proposed Tax Levy (Replacement) - Liberty Twp | 482 | 226 | Passed (68.08% for) |
| 2022-11-08 | Issue: Liberty Township | 552 | 153 | Passed (78.3% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-02 | Township Trustee | Gary E. Kuhiman 121, 46.72%; Joseph A. Schroeder 138, 53.28% |
| 2019-11-05 | Township Trustee (unofficial count) | Tom J. Niese 218, 100.0% |
| 2019-11-05 | Township Fiscal Officer (unofficial count) | Jeffery H. Long 198, 100.0% |
| 2017-11-07 | Township Trustee (unofficial count) | Ryan Barlage 220, 26.6%; Gary E. Kuhlman 287, 34.7%; Joe A. Schroeder 320, 38.69% |
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, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-10-14
The county
Putnam County: 13 ZIP codes, 31 cities, villages and townships, 35,849 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Liberty Township, Ohio in?
Liberty Township, Putnam County is a township in Putnam County, Ohio, with 1,449 residents.
When was Liberty Township, Ohio founded?
Liberty Township, Putnam County was settled 1835; incorporated 1837-04 (organized). Founders on record: Alexander Montooth, first settler. Source
How did Liberty Township, Ohio get its name?
No specific origin for the name 'Liberty' is documented in the sources checked; it is one of twenty-five Liberty Townships in Ohio, a common patriotic township name. Source
What ZIP code is Liberty Township, Ohio?
Liberty Township, Putnam County is served by ZIP codes 45856 and 45875; 45856 holds the largest share of its residents.
Where does Liberty Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Liberty Township, Putnam County (Leipsic Village): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Liberty Township, Putnam County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/liberty-township-putnam-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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