Morris Township, Knox County

How Morris Township, Knox County began

Morris Township was laid off March 2, 1812 in west-central Knox County and named for Morris County, New Jersey, the home region of a majority of its early settlers; it is the only Morris Township in Ohio. William Douglass, who pitched his tent on Owl Creek in 1804 as the township's first permanent settler, built the first mill in the county above Mount Vernon; nearby, New England transplant Samuel H. Smith platted the town of Clinton in 1804, which grew a newspaper (the county's first, The Ohio Register), a Masonic lodge, tanneries and distilleries, and briefly rivaled Mount Vernon for the county seat before losing that fight and fading into farmland by 1818. Two Mound Builder earthworks are recorded in the township: a large conical mound near Fredericktown and a circular ditch-and-embankment enclosure on the former Loveridge farm near Clinton's old site. Its principal surviving village, Fredericktown, was platted in 1807 by mill operator John Kerr on land given to him by Columbus founder Lucas Sullivant, on condition that Kerr build a mill there, and by 1840 Fredericktown was the commercial hub for the county's northwestern quarter. The township also touches Mount Vernon, the county seat, at its edge. It remains a small, mostly rural farm township today, with just over 2,000 residents in 2020.

Settled 1804 (William Douglass, first permanent settler), platted 1804 (Clinton, by Samuel H. Smith); 1807 (Fredericktown, by John Kerr), incorporated 1812-03-02 (township laid off), by John Kerr (Fredericktown); pioneer families from Morris County, New Jersey (township settlement and naming).

Where the name comes from

Morris Township takes its name from Morris County, New Jersey, because a majority of the township's early settlers -- including William Douglass and James Loveridge -- had come from there; it is the only township named Morris anywhere in Ohio.

Before the town

The 1881 county history records two Mound Builder earthworks within Morris Township: a mound about 20 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, surrounded by a ditch and embankment, on the bank of Owl Creek a half-mile east of Fredericktown; and, on land that belonged to William Loveridge north of the former town of Clinton, a circular ditch and embankment about 40 yards across, closely resembling a modern circus ring. A spring on the John Johnson farm lay on the Greentown trail, and Native travelers moving to and from Greentown regularly camped there into the early 1810s, a source of friction with Johnson's family (see story). Delaware Chief Tom Jelloway, who hunted across this part of the county and stayed after most of his people were removed west, is otherwise the best-documented individual tied to this stretch of Knox County. The land was ceded under the Treaty of Fort McIntosh (1785) and confirmed by the Treaty of Greenville (1795); the Greenville Treaty Line crosses the northwestern part of Knox County. See the county-level file for a fuller account.

Nations recorded here: Lenape (Delaware), Wyandot, Shawnee.

• Owl Creek mound (mound) — on the bank of Owl Creek, half a mile east of Fredericktown, Morris Township; about 20 feet high and 60 feet in diameter, with a surrounding ditch and embankment, unknown (Mound Builder) (archive.org)
• Loveridge farm circular enclosure (earthwork) — on the land of William Loveridge, north of the former site of Clinton, Morris Township; a circular ditch and embankment about 40 yards in diameter, unknown (Mound Builder) (archive.org)
• Greentown trail spring camp (camp) — spring on the John Johnson farm (later William Day heirs' property), Morris Township, on the Greentown trail, to early 1810s (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1804 — William Douglass, from Morris County, New Jersey, pitches his tent on Owl Creek below the junction of its main branches, becoming Morris Township's first permanent settler; the same year Samuel H. Smith, a New Englander, lays out the town of Clinton nearby.
2. 1806 — Douglass completes the first grist-mill in the township, relieving settlers of trips to Newark or Lancaster to mill their grain; John Johnson settles near a spring on the Greentown trail.
3. 1807 — Samuel H. Smith opens the first store in Clinton; John Kerr plats the village of Fredericktown on land given to him by Columbus founder Lucas Sullivant, on condition Kerr build and operate a mill there.
4. 1810 — The Clinton post office opens, the first in Knox County.
5. 1812 — Morris Township is laid off March 2, named for Morris County, New Jersey, the origin of most early settlers; William Douglass serves as captain of a volunteer rifle company in the War of 1812 and escorts the Greentown Indians beyond the lines.
6. 1813 — Samuel H. Smith and John P. McArdle begin publishing The Ohio Register at Clinton, the first newspaper ever printed in Knox County; it moves to Mount Vernon in 1815.
7. 1818 — Clinton's legal existence as a platted town is vacated by court order on April 17, after Mount Vernon wins out as county seat and the town's businesses relocate.
8. 1830 — William Douglass sells his mill to Anthony Banning and moves to Indiana; Fredericktown's population stands at 161.
9. 1840 — Fredericktown, now with about 500 residents, is the commercial center for the northwestern quarter of Knox County, at the meeting point of Middlebury, Berlin, Wayne, and Morris townships.
10. 2020 — The U.S. Census counts 2,098 residents in Morris Township.

Stories

Clinton, the town that almost became the county seat

New Englander Samuel H. Smith blazed a claim tree along the Kokosing in 1804, walked to Franklinton for a compass and chain, and laid out a paper town of 160 lots, streets, and a public square, naming it, by the 1881 county history's account, for DeWitt Clinton of New York. Smith became the county's first surveyor, ran its first store, hotel, and tannery, and in 1813 partnered with John P. McArdle to print The Ohio Register, the first newspaper in Knox County. For a few years Clinton genuinely rivaled Mount Vernon for population and business, and its founder hoped it would become the permanent county seat. But 'the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft aglee,' as the county historian put it: Mount Vernon won the county seat, Clinton's merchants drifted away one by one, and in April 1818 a court order formally vacated part of the town plat. Smith himself later failed in business and emigrated to Texas, where he was working as a surveyor when the Civil War broke out.

A knife at the spring

John Johnson settled near a large spring in Morris Township in the fall of 1806, not realizing the spot lay directly on the Greentown trail. Native travelers moving to and from the village of Greentown regularly camped at the spring in considerable numbers, and their presence became a source of ongoing friction for the Johnson household. On one occasion a Native man demanded butter from Johnson's wife and, when refused, brandished a large knife in a threatening manner; Johnson, within earshot, rushed to his wife's defense and drove the man off. Soon afterward the Greentown Indians were removed from the region, which the 1881 county history records brought considerable relief to the surrounding settlement.

A mill built on a bargain

Before Morris Township was even organized, Columbus founder Lucas Sullivant held a 4,000-acre tract in what would become its northwestern corner. Sullivant offered John Kerr 50 acres of it on one condition: that Kerr build and run a gristmill on the site. Kerr took the deal, and in 1807 had surveyor William Y. Farquhar lay out a village plat around the mill, naming it Fredericktown after Frederick, Maryland, the town he had come from. The mill gave farm families for miles around a place to grind their grain, and the village grew up around that single transaction. By 1840 Fredericktown was the trading center for the whole northwestern quarter of Knox County, sitting at the crossroads of four townships, a position it still holds today as the township's largest community, though the original mill is long gone.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · knoxpages.com · www2.kenyon.edu · statenews.org · archive.org

Every historic place in Knox County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Mount Vernon City79% of residentsBuried Valley Aquifer (Kokosing River valley wells)
• Fredericktown Village15% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Del-co Water Company, Inc.5% of residentsOlentangy River, O'Shaughnessy and Alum Creek reservoirs, plus Knox County wells
• Colonial Terrace Mhc Llc0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Westgate Mobile Home Community0% of residentsBuried Valley Aquifer (Kokosing River valley wells)
• Knox County Water and Wastewater0% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
• Grandview MHP A0% of residentsGroundwater wells (1 wells)

Nursing homes (1)

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked. The county's results on file run through 2025-11-04; later elections are not loaded yet.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Financial Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2026-02-17

Statewide question: State Issue 3: Voter ID

Local questions for Morris Township, Knox County, Knox County and its school district:

• Knox County: Renews a 0.79-mill property tax levy for the provide & maintain senior citizens services or facilities of Knox County for 5 years, beginning in 2027.

Races, candidates and every question for an address: your ballot. County offices and judges are on your county board's sample ballot.

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