Perry Township, Gallia County

How Perry Township, Gallia County began

Perry Township, organized March 4, 1816 in the western part of Gallia County, was settled from 1803 by Andrew Friend, a squatter, hunter and noted local marksman who lived for a time in a cave known as "Friend's Rock House." In its 19th-century heyday the township was a small industrial center for its size, recorded in 1833 as running three gristmills and three sawmills. One of those mills, Davis Mill on Cora Mill Road northeast of the unincorporated community of Patriot, survives today and is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Patriot itself was surveyed under the name Greenville in August 1827 and platted that September 12 -- the county history's date, a year earlier than the 1828 sometimes given -- before being renamed Patriot because another Ohio post office already used the name Greenville; it is the township's main population center, with no incorporated status but a post office kept continuously since 1839.

Settled 1803, incorporated 1816-03-04, by First settler Andrew Friend.

Where the name comes from

No source found explains why Perry Township was given its name specifically; it is one of twenty-six townships named "Perry" in Ohio, likely honoring naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry (a common namesake for Ohio townships organized in the years after the War of 1812), though no source confirms that specifically for this township.

Before the town

No source found records a Native village, mound, trail, or treaty event specific to Perry Township. The township lies within Gallia County's broader Shawnee homeland of the pre-1795 Ohio River valley.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1803 — Andrew Friend, a squatter and roving hunter, builds a cabin on Big Raccoon creek three miles from the future village of Patriot; he later occupies a cave known as "Friend's Rock House" in neighboring Greenfield Township and another in Walnut Township, and makes his own gunpowder by burning sumac into charcoal.
2. 1806 — Nehemiah Wood erects the township's first grist mill, on Big Raccoon creek.
3. 1816-03-04 — Perry Township is organized; the first election, held April 1 at the house of Stephen Gates, draws twenty-four votes.
4. 1827-08-29 — Joseph Fletcher surveys the village later known as Patriot, under the name Greenville, for proprietors Jacob Roadamour and John McDaniel; the plat is recorded September 12. The name is changed to Patriot because another Ohio post office already used the name Greenville.
5. 1833 — Perry Township is recorded as operating three gristmills and three sawmills, a substantial concentration of milling industry for a rural Gallia County township of the period.
6. 1838 — The township's Welsh church building is erected, its congregation organized in 1841 by Rev. J. A. Davis.
7. 1839 — A post office opens at Patriot; it has remained in continuous operation since.
8. 1980-11-28 — Davis Mill, northeast of Patriot on Cora Mill Road, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Stories

Andrew Friend, hunter of the Rock House

Andrew Friend came into what became Perry Township in 1803, a squatter and roving hunter who built a cabin on Big Raccoon creek three miles from the future village of Patriot. In the winter of 1814 alone, the 1882 county history credits him with killing three hundred and sixty deer and five bears. On September 1, 1806, the county paid its second-ever bounty for wolf scalps -- nine dollars for three -- to Friend, on the same day it paid its very first such bounty, three dollars for one scalp, to his companion James Burford. Friend occupied a cave in neighboring Greenfield Township on Dirty Face creek, still known afterward as "Friend's Rock House," and another cave in Walnut Township. Self-sufficient to an unusual degree for the frontier, he made his own gunpowder by burning sumac into charcoal and mixing in saltpeter and brimstone, ground together in a mortar, and supplied a large share of the early settlers with game. His daughter Mary, by his wife Elizabeth Peragen, was the first child born in the township; her elder sister Hannah's marriage to Samuel Allison was the township's first wedding.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · ohiogenealogyexpress.com

Every historic place in Gallia County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Gallipolis88% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
• Oak Hill, Village Of9% of residentsPurchased: Scioto Co. Regional Water Dist. #1 (Teays Valley Aquifer)
• Hecla Water Association2% of residentsOhio River
• Gallia Co. Rural Water Association1% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (10 wells, Gallipolis/Addison Twp.)

Public schools (2)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

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.
• Basic Audit, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-05-19

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