Local events in Penn Township, Highland County
Nothing is posted for Penn Township itself yet; here is what is on within 20 miles. All local events in Penn Township, Highland County
Know a calendar we should watch? Send the link
Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Penn Township, Highland County began
Penn Township lies in the northern part of Highland County, bordering Clinton County, and was the last of the county's seventeen townships to be formed, in March 1852, from parts of Fairfield and neighboring townships. The county commissioners named it for William Penn in honor of the many Quaker families of the area, who had come chiefly from Virginia and North Carolina. Early settlers included Salmon Templin about 1801, Capt. Thomas M. Johnson with a group of North Carolina families who followed him, and Thomas Bailey in 1808. No town or village ever incorporated within its 32 square miles, and it remains farm country crossed by Lees and Rattlesnake creeks, with 1,542 residents in 2020.
Settled c. 1801, by Salmon Templin and the families of Capt. Thomas M. Johnson; township set off in March 1852.
Where the name comes from
Named for William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania and a leading early Quaker, in honor of the many Quaker families of the region.
Before the town
No named Native American village, mound, trail or documented encounter specific to Penn Township is recorded in the sources checked, and the 1902 county history notes that the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society's report listed no prehistoric sites in the township. The township's land lay within the cession of the Treaty of Greenville (1795), which opened southern and central Ohio, including the future Highland County, to American settlement by the Wyandot, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), Miami, Ottawa and other nations who had held it. Elsewhere in Highland County, the Native record includes the 1792 skirmish near present-day Lynchburg and the documented Shawnee encampment there under Tecumseh.
Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Wyandot, Lenape (Delaware).
Timeline
- — Highland County's earliest settlers, mainly from Virginia and North Carolina and including many Quakers, begin arriving in the area that becomes the county; the first settlement concentrates near New Market, with Penn Township and the county's other outlying townships filling in over the following decades.
- — Salmon Templin comes from the Chillicothe settlement to what is now Penn Township, about the time his brothers settle on Rocky Fork.
- — Thomas Bailey, a Quaker from Virginia, settles in Penn Township with his wife Elizabeth Timberlake and two children; he lives there until his death at Samantha in 1858.
- — Capt. Thomas M. Johnson, whose family settled in what became Penn Township, takes command of the Fairfield militia company.
- — On March 5 (Thompson gives March 2) the seventeenth and last township of the county is set off from parts of Fairfield and Union (Thompson says Fairfield and Liberty) and named Penn.
- — The federal census counts 30,281 residents in Highland County, of whom 527 were born in Pennsylvania — among the states, second only to Virginia (1,120) as a birthplace for county residents born outside Ohio.
- — The census counts 1,154 people in Penn Township.
- — The federal census counts 1,542 residents in Penn Township, across 32.1 square miles, with no incorporated municipality inside the township.
Stories
The Johnson wagon train
Capt. Thomas M. Johnson brought his family to land he had located in what is now Penn Township, traveling through New Market and past the site of Hillsboro. Near the site of the old Patterson mill, one of his wagoners, a man named McDorman, took his rifle and walked along the road away from the wagons. He saw horses grazing, and beyond them a deer, visible only when he stooped to look under the horses. Afraid the deer would bolt if he moved, he risked the shot, killing the deer and clipping a tuft of hair from one of the horses. Other families followed Johnson's trail from North Carolina and settled near him, among them Williams Williams, James and Jacob Griffin, James Stafford, Jonas and John Matthews and Alexander Starr.
Photographs
Photo: Nyttend, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Nyttend, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Ruhrfisch and Nyttend, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · freepages.rootsweb.com · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · timesgazette.com · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · commons.wikimedia.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org
Water
Mostly private wells The water here
- Hillsboro City34% of residentsClear Creek (via Selph Road & Liberty Park Reservoirs)
- Leesburg Village28% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
- New Vienna Village26% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
- Highland County Water Company, Inc.12% of residentsSand-and-gravel aquifer wells (Ross/Highland Co. well fields; local wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Penn Township, Highland County's boundary: 1 poor-rated bridge. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Bridges rated poor (1)
-
SR 73 over East Fork Little MiamiPoor · built 1946
- Condition
- Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
- What it is
- Bridge
- Built
- 1946
- Length
- 15 ft
- Owner
- State
- Vehicles a day
- 5,565
- Coordinates
- 39.31513, -83.68959
National Bridge Inventory (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025. "Poor" means one major part rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale; it calls for repair, not closing, unless the state posts or closes the bridge.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Penn Township, Highland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45135 Fairfield Township and Leesburg | 12% | Mostly private wells | 4.8 pCi/L average radon | Appraisal records without year built | Fairfield Local · 4.5 stars overall | 1.3% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45159 New Vienna | 10% | Mostly private wells | 2.4 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1986 | East Clinton Local · 3.5 stars overall | 0.9% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 45133 Hillsboro | 3% | Mostly private wells | 4.2 pCi/L average radon | Appraisal records without year built | Hillsboro City · 3.5 stars overall | 0.2% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Penn Township, Highland County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-07 | Trustee | Daryl Bumgarner 386, 100.0% |
| 2023-11-07 | Fiscal Officer | Joshua L. Matthews 361, 100.0% |
| 2021-11-02 | Township Trustee (unofficial count) | Jay E. Duncan 142, 45.08%; Derek Watson 119, 37.78%; Zachary Stout 54, 17.14% |
| 2021-11-02 | Township Fiscal Officer (unofficial count) | Joshua L. Matthews 155, 100.0% |
| 2019-11-05 | Trustee | Daryl Bumgarner 121, 100.0% |
| 2019-11-05 | Fiscal Officer | Jason Davis 123, 100.0% |
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, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-09-30
- Financial Audit, 2021 to 2022, released 2024-07-18
The county
Highland County: 7 ZIP codes, 26 cities, villages and townships, 42,302 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Penn Township, Ohio in?
Penn Township, Highland County is a township in Highland County, Ohio, with 1,542 residents.
When was Penn Township, Ohio founded?
Penn Township, Highland County was settled c. 1801. Founders on record: Salmon Templin and the families of Capt. Thomas M. Johnson; township set off in March 1852. Source
How did Penn Township, Ohio get its name?
Named for William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania and a leading early Quaker, in honor of the many Quaker families of the region. Source
What ZIP code is Penn Township, Ohio?
Penn Township, Highland County is served by ZIP codes 45135, 45159 and 45133; 45135 holds the largest share of its residents.
Where does Penn Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Penn Township, Highland County (Hillsboro City): Mostly private wells.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Penn Township, Highland County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/penn-township-highland-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
How to cite · Report a correction · Built 2026-10-31
