Midvale

How Midvale began

Midvale was platted in 1888 as a small crossroads village straddling parts of Goshen, Mill and Warwick townships in central Tuscarawas County, and was named for lying about halfway between the county's larger towns of New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville. It grew as a modest residential village rather than an industrial center and covers about three-quarters of a square mile. Its water system came under Ohio EPA orders to cut iron and manganese, and an unofficial Midvale website now says water billing is handled by Aqua Ohio. The 2020 census counted 673 residents.

Platted 1888.

Where the name comes from

Midvale was named for its location roughly halfway between New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville, the county's two larger towns along the Tuscarawas Valley.

Before the town

No Native American history specific to the site of Midvale is recorded here; the village was platted in 1888, a century after the region's Lenape and Wyandot towns were destroyed or ceded. For the county's record of prehistoric mound-building cultures, the historic nations who lived, hunted or traveled through the Tuscarawas Valley, and the treaties that ceded the land.

Timeline

1. 1888 — Midvale is platted as a village midway between New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville, spanning parts of Goshen, Mill and Warwick townships.
2. 1918 — Frank Baumholtz is born in Midvale on October 7; he attends high school in the village.
3. 1930 — Village population is recorded at about 667 residents.
4. 1941 — Baumholtz, a guard at Ohio University, is named most valuable player of the National Invitation Tournament.
5. 1946-47 — Baumholtz plays for the Cleveland Rebels of the Basketball Association of America and is named to the All-BAA Second Team in 1947.
6. 1947 — Baumholtz begins a ten-year major league career as an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds, finishing fifth in National League rookie voting; he later plays for the Cubs and Phillies, his last game coming in 1957.
7. 1950 — Population is 632 (670 in 1940; 683 in 1960; 636 in 1970; 654 in 1980).
8. 1990 — Population falls to 575, and to 547 in 2000, before rising to 754 in 2010.
9. 2010 — Village population peaks at 754 residents before declining over the following decade.
10. 2020 — The census counts 673 residents; children attend the Indian Valley Local School District.
11. 2020s — Under Ohio EPA orders to reduce iron and manganese in its water, village officials seek loans for a roughly $2.6 million filtration system and a $1 million federal grant is received; council debates keeping the system or selling it to Aqua Ohio.
12. 2026 — An unofficial Midvale website says water billing is now handled by Aqua Ohio.

Stories

A village named for being in the middle

Unlike the Moravian mission towns and canal ports elsewhere in Tuscarawas County, Midvale has no dramatic founding story: it was platted in 1888 and named for its position halfway between New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville. The village covers about three-quarters of a square mile and crosses portions of Goshen, Mill and Warwick townships. By 2020 its population of 673 was below its 2010 peak of 754. An unofficial Midvale website now says that water billing is handled by Aqua Ohio.

Halfway between two towns

Midvale was laid out in 1888 and named for its location midway between New Philadelphia, the county seat, and Uhrichsville. The little village was platted across the lines of three townships, Goshen, Mill and Warwick, and so has never belonged to a single township. It stayed a small residential place of about 550 to 750 people through the 20th century, with the census counting 667 in 1930 and 673 in 2020. Its best-known native, Frank Baumholtz, was born there in 1918, went to high school in the village, and became a college basketball star at Ohio University, an All-BAA Second Team guard and a major league outfielder.

Photographs

Local history sources: news.yahoo.com · en.wikipedia.org · prod.aquawater.com · commons.wikimedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Groundwater wells (3 wells) The water here

• Aqua Ohio - Midvale96% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Twin City Water and Sewer District4% of residentsTuscarawas River valley aquifer (local wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public schools (1)

Facilities reporting toxic releases (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.
• Financial Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-12-03

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

Cite this page