Raccoon Township, Gallia County

How Raccoon Township, Gallia County began

Raccoon Township, organized in 1806 in northwestern Gallia County along Raccoon Creek, holds two of the county's villages -- Centerville, the county's smallest, and Rio Grande, its second largest -- along with the Wood Old Homestead, an 1820 brick farmhouse better known today as the original Bob Evans Farm. By 1833 the township supported four gristmills, four sawmills, two carding machines, a fulling mill and two distilleries, a substantial concentration of small industry for its size. Rio Grande and the township's Welsh community, and the Bob Evans sausage business that grew out of the Wood farmhouse in 1953, are its two best-documented later chapters.

Incorporated 1806.

Where the name comes from

The township is named for Raccoon Creek, which forms its eastern border; it is the only township named "Raccoon" in Ohio.

Before the town

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

Nations recorded here: Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1806 — Raccoon Township is organized along Raccoon Creek in northwestern Gallia County.
2. 1818 — Welsh settlers begin arriving in the township and the surrounding area; over 3,000 more Welsh immigrants, many from Tregaron and Ceredigion, follow during the 1830s and 1840s.
3. 1820 — Nehemiah Wood builds a brick farmhouse (with an 1822 addition by his son Harrison) near what became Rio Grande; it later served as a stagecoach stop and inn.
4. 1833 — Raccoon Township is recorded operating four gristmills, four sawmills, two carding machines, a fulling mill and two distilleries.
5. 1874-07-06 — The village of Rio Grande is formally established, its name commemorating the Mexican-American War.
6. 1953 — Bob and Jewell Evans buy the Wood farm near Rio Grande; Bob's homemade sausage, sold from the farm, grows into Bob Evans Farms, Inc., founded with family and friends that year.
7. 1962 — Bob Evans builds the first company restaurant, "The Sausage Shop," directly on the farm to serve growing crowds of visitors.
8. 1987-12-14 — The Wood Old Homestead is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Stories

From a stagecoach inn to a sausage empire

The brick farmhouse that stands today at 791 Farmview Road near Rio Grande was built in 1820 by Nehemiah Wood, with his son Harrison adding on in 1822, and for years it served travelers as a stagecoach stop and inn along the road through Raccoon Township. In 1953 restaurateur Bob Evans and his wife Jewell bought the farm so their six children could grow up in the country; Bob, who ran a small diner for truckers near Gallipolis, had grown frustrated with the quality of sausage he could buy wholesale and started making his own on the property. Word of the sausage spread, visitors began driving out to buy it in bulk, and Bob partnered with family and friends that same year to found Bob Evans Farms, Inc. The farmhouse's picture-postcard setting made it a natural location for the company's early television commercials promising sausage "from a farmer, down on the farm," and the growing tourist traffic led Bob to open a restaurant right on the property in 1962. The Wood Old Homestead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and now anchors the annual Bob Evans Farm Festival, running continuously since 1971.

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

Every historic place in Gallia County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Gallipolis42% of residentsGroundwater wells (6 wells)
• Leading Creek Conservancy District28% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
• Gallia Co. Rural Water Association15% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (10 wells, Gallipolis/Addison Twp.)
• Oak Hill, Village Of8% of residentsPurchased: Scioto Co. Regional Water Dist. #1 (Teays Valley Aquifer)
• Rio Grande7% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (10 wells, Gallipolis/Addison Twp.)

Colleges (1)

High-hazard dams (1)

Public schools (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (4)

Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 1 of 1 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.
• Basic Audit, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-03-10
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-08-06

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