Pleasant Township, Hancock County

How Pleasant Township, Hancock County began

Pleasant Township, in the northwest corner of Hancock County, was set off from Blanchard Township on March 2, 1835, and named, the 1881 county history says, 'no doubt from its pleasant location and scenery.' John Algire made the first land entry in 1833, and Edward Steveson, Benjamin Todd, and John J. Needles built the first cabins that same year at what became McComb. Benjamin Todd platted the town as Pleasantville in 1847; it was incorporated in 1858 under the name McComb. A second paper town, Olney, was platted in 1857 but never built beyond the plat map. The township remains agricultural, centered on the village of McComb and the smaller community of Mount Cory just across its eastern line in Union Township.

Settled 1833 (John Algire's land entry, March 15; first cabins the same year at present McComb), platted 1847 (McComb, as Pleasantville, by Benjamin Todd); 1857 (Olney, never developed), incorporated township organized March 2, 1835; McComb incorporated as a village 1858, by Hancock County commissioners, setting the township off from Blanchard Township.

Where the name comes from

The 1881 county history records that the township 'derives its name no doubt from its pleasant location and scenery' rather than from any person.

Before the town

No named Native village, mound, or treaty reserve within present Pleasant Township turned up in the sources we checked, and the 1881 county history's chapter on the township does not mention Native people directly. The township lies in the region ceded to the United States under the 1817 Treaty of the Maumee Rapids (Fort Meigs). A county-wide native-sites survey, not yet done for this project, would be needed to say more specifically what happened on this particular ground before 1817.

Timeline

1. 1833-03-15 — John Algire, of Fairfield County, makes the first land entry in what becomes Pleasant Township.
2. 1833 — Edward Steveson, Benjamin Todd, and John J. Needles make the first settlement, at the site of present McComb.
3. 1835-03-02 — Hancock County commissioners order township number two north, range nine east, set off from Blanchard Township and organized as Pleasant Township.
4. 1838 — The township's first schoolhouse, a round-log building, is erected.
5. 1841 — George Algire builds the township's first saw mill, on Algires Run, cutting about 300 feet of lumber a day.
6. 1845 — Thomas Pickens builds the township's first flouring mill, on Pickens' Run.
7. 1847 — Benjamin Todd lays out the town of Pleasantville at the site of the first settlement; a post office opens the same year with William Mitchell as first postmaster.
8. 1857-04 — Isaac Fairchild plats the town of Olney, which is never built up beyond the paper plat.
9. 1858 — Pleasantville incorporates as a village under the new name McComb.
10. 1835 — A Methodist class organized by Rev. Thrap, with Benjamin Todd, his wife, and John Kalb and his wife among its first members, becomes the township's first church.

Stories

A town platted twice, and a town that never was

The settlement at present-day McComb began in 1833 when Edward Steveson, Benjamin Todd, and John J. Needles built cabins on land John Algire had entered that spring. It took fourteen years for anyone to plat a town there: Todd finally laid out lots in 1847 and called the place Pleasantville, and a post office followed under William Mitchell. When the village incorporated in 1858 it took a new name, McComb, that it has kept since. A decade later, in April 1857, Isaac Fairchild tried the same trick a few miles off, platting a town called Olney; unlike Pleasantville, Olney never drew settlers or a store, and the 1881 county history records it only as a name on a map, a 'paper town' that never became a real one.

Local history sources: ohiogenealogyexpress.com · en.wikipedia.org · treaties.okstate.edu · en.wikipedia.org

Rocky Ford Creek, pumped into two off-stream reservoirs that supply the plant. The water here

• Northwestern W and SD - Mccomb94% of residentsRocky Ford Creek (via North Baltimore upground reservoirs)
• Deshler Village6% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Spills reported since 2021 (3)

Who holds office

Roster as of 2026 edition (Directory of Officials): county board of elections.

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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-06-26

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