Perry Township, Shelby County

How Perry Township, Shelby County began

Perry Township, in the eastern part of Shelby County, was one of the county's original townships, organized June 10, 1817, while the area still belonged to Miami County, two years before Shelby County itself was created. By 1819 it was far larger than today, covering the territory that later became Orange, Green, Salem, and Jackson townships as well. David Henry, who settled on Mosquito Creek in February 1814, is recorded as the township's first settler; the Robinson, Marrs, Johnston, Wilkinson, and Musselman families followed within the next few years. The unincorporated communities of Pemberton, surveyed in 1852 and named for a Confederate general, the brother of the railroad engineer who secured the name, and Pasco, a small crossroads store settlement, remain the township's only population centers alongside a small portion of the city of Sidney in its western edge.

Settled 1814-02 (David Henry, on Mosquito Creek), incorporated 1817-06-10 (organized as a township of Miami County, before Shelby County's creation), by Miami County commissioners.

Where the name comes from

No source we consulted gives a documented explanation of why the township was named Perry; the 1913 county history describes its 1817 organization as one of the county's original townships but does not explain the name choice, so none is asserted here.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound, or trail specific to Perry Township is recorded in the sources checked. The land lay within the cession of the Treaty of Greenville (1795), in the Shawnee-Miami borderlands of the upper Great Miami valley. No documented site within this township's boundaries turned up in the sources checked.

Nations recorded here: Shawnee, Miami.

Timeline

1. 1814-02 — David Henry settles on the banks of Mosquito Creek, becoming the township's first settler.
2. 1815-02-17 — David and Sally Henry, twins, are born to the Henry family, the first recorded births in the township.
3. 1815 — Samuel and William Robinson settle in the township, followed by William Marrs in 1816 and Charles Johnston, Thomas Wilkinson, and Peter Musselman before 1819.
4. 1817-06-10 — Perry Township is organized as part of Miami County, two years before Shelby County is formed; by 1819 its territory includes present-day Orange, Green, Salem, Jackson, and part of Clinton townships.
5. 1819 — Reverend Jacob Antrim, a United Brethren minister, visits Judge David Henry's home, an early record of organized worship in the township.
6. 1830-12-03 — The Baptist Miami Church organizes with eleven founding members under Reverend Willis Hance.
7. 1833 — A Methodist Episcopal congregation organizes at the home of Booth Burditt.
8. 1843 — Indian Creek Church is built to serve the township's Methodists.
9. 1852 — The village of Pemberton, sixty-four lots seven miles east of Sidney, is surveyed and platted for its proprietors; civil engineer Pemberton, of the railroad then being built through the county, secures the name for his brother, a Confederate general.
10. 1857 — Pemberton Methodist Episcopal Church is organized, succeeding the older Indian Creek Church.
11. 1863 — Tawawa United Brethren Church is built on Mosquito Creek, becoming a center of worship in the township.
12. 1874 — A Pemberton Baptist church is built at a cost of $4,000.

Stories

Naming a village for a Confederate general

In 1852 sixty-four lots were surveyed for a new village seven miles east of Sidney, and a civil engineer named Pemberton, working on the railroad then being built through the county, secured its name for his brother, whom the 1913 county history describes as "General Pemberton, a distinguished Confederate officer" — almost certainly a reference to John C. Pemberton, the Confederate general who later surrendered Vicksburg in 1863. Calvin Morris opened the village's first grocery store, and Isaac Wilkinson and Irvin Nutt ran its first dry-goods store, giving the crossroads a modest commercial life that outlasted the historical irony of its name.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Sidney City98% of residentsGroundwater wells (Great Miami River valley + Washington Twp) with Tawawa Creek/Miami R. backup
• Shelby County Water and Sewer2% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Anna Village0% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Public schools (2)

Money issues on the ballot since 2024: 0 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 0 of 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 2024-11-05; later elections are not loaded yet.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Basic Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-28

Statewide question: State Issue 3: Voter ID

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