Perry Township, Columbiana County

How Perry Township, Columbiana County began

Perry Township, the central northern township of Columbiana County, was erected by the county commissioners on December 5, 1832 from four sections each of Salem, Green, Goshen and Butler townships (sixteen sections in all), and named, say the 1905 county historians, for the hero of Lake Erie, Oliver Hazard Perry. Elisha Schooley, a Virginia Quaker, built the first log cabin in 1801 on ground that became part of Salem. The county histories treat the township's history as the history of the Quaker town of Salem, laid out in 1806, which occupies its center; the township's own people outside the city now live mainly in Salem Heights, a census-designated place on Blackburn Hill.

Settled 1801 (Elisha Schooley), platted 1806 (Salem, May 6, by John Straughan and Zadok Street), incorporated 1832-12-05 (township erected), by Columbiana County commissioners, from sections 5-8 of Salem, 29-32 of Green, 25, 26, 35, 36 of Goshen and 1, 2, 11, 12 of Butler townships.

Where the name comes from

Named in honor of Oliver Hazard Perry, 'the hero of Lake Erie,' per the 1905 county history; the 1879 history gives the erection date and the four-sections-from-each-township makeup but no name explanation. Perry's victory at the Battle of Lake Erie came in September 1813.

Before the town

Neither the 1879 nor the 1905 county history's chapters on Perry Township and Salem mention any Native village, trail, mound or encounter within the township; both describe a settlement of Virginia and Pennsylvania Quakers from 1801 on land that the Treaty of Greenville (1795) had opened to settlement.

Timeline

1. 1801 — Elisha Schooley, from Virginia, builds the first log cabin recorded in the township, on section 32, ground later part of Salem; he later replaces it with a frame house.
2. 1802 — Jacob Painter, a Virginia Quaker, settles on section 32 with his wife and children, living first in a tent made from the wagon cover.
3. 1803 — Samuel Davis, a New Jersey-born Quaker, settles on section 31 and later gets a patent for it signed by Thomas Jefferson dated August 9, 1806; Jonas Cattell and Elisha Hunt settle on the future site of Salem the same year.
4. 1806 — Salem is laid out; the plat, made by John Straughan and Zadok Street, is recorded May 6, and the first tavern is opened.
5. 1807 — The Salem post office opens and the first Friends' meeting house is built.
6. 1814 — The first cotton mill is built in Salem.
7. 1830 — Salem is incorporated as a village, two years before the township is erected.
8. 1832 — Perry Township is organized from four sections each of the surrounding Green, Salem, Goshen and Butler townships.
9. 1832 — On December 5 the county commissioners erect Perry Township from sixteen sections; Joseph Wright, Thomas Webb and Joseph England, with Dr. Benjamin Stanton treasurer and Benjamin Hawley clerk, are its first trustees in 1833.
10. 1845 — The Anti-Slavery Bugle is established at Salem, in a township settled by Quakers.
11. 1851 — Salem's first railroad opens; the town hall had been built in 1847.
12. 1905 — The 1905 county history lists Salem's Carnegie Free Library, opened that year, and the first suburban trolley of 1904 among the town's milestones.
13. before 2020 — Salem Heights, on Blackburn Hill west of Salem, is first listed as a census-designated place ahead of the 2020 census.
14. 2020 — Perry Township's population, including the independent city of Salem at its center, is recorded at 16,318.

Stories

Samuel Davis's wagon-cover cabin

In 1803 Samuel Davis, a New Jersey-born Quaker of 'indomitable perseverance' who had lived for years in Pennsylvania, followed the New Lisbon road to the rolling land of northern Columbiana County and cut his way about a mile through dense woods to section 31, then purchased the land from Samuel Smith. In spring 1804 his wife and seven children came out. He cleared a field, planted wheat and built a log cabin on the spot where he later built a large brick house, and the family held a deed signed by President Thomas Jefferson dated August 9, 1806, with later deeds for other sections in 1807 and 1808. Jacob Painter, who arrived from Virginia in 1802, had meanwhile lived on section 32 in a tent made from his wagon cover while building his cabin. The 1879 historian wrote that at this moment 'commenced the wondrous change' that turned wilderness into fields and a manufacturing village.

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

Mostly surface water: three active SDWIS surface intakes (Spring Valley Reservoir, Cold Run Creek intake, Salem Reservoir intake), plus 4 active groundwater wells (Wells 0001, 0002, 0003 and 0004; two older wells are inactive). The water here

• Salem City97% of residentsEast Cold Run Reservoir & Spring Valley Reservoir (Cold Run Creek)
• Washingtonville Village3% of residentsEast Cold Run Reservoir & Spring Valley Reservoir (Cold Run Creek)
• Deer Run Mc0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Police stations (1)

Superfund sites (1)

Facilities reporting toxic releases (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2021: 3 of 3 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.
• Financial Audit, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-06-25
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-08-01

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