Richland Township, Wyandot County

How Richland Township, Wyandot County began

Richland Township, in western Wyandot County against the Hardin and Hancock County lines, was organized in 1835 as a division of Hancock County and came into Wyandot County in 1845. The 1884 county history says two loggers, Conrad Wickiser and Charles Smith, named it on April 4, 1835, after a broken log chain tore up a spice bush and showed the rich soil beneath. Hescot Pickett built the first house in January 1832. The township has ancient mounds, an Indian burying ground in the Potato Creek swamp, the village of Wharton (laid out in 1848 as Whartonsburg), and 1,676 residents in 1880.

Settled 1832-01, incorporated 1835 (organized in Hancock County); joined Wyandot County 1845, by Hescot Pickett, who built the first house (round logs, 16 by 18 feet) in January 1832; organized in 1835 as a division of Hancock County.

Where the name comes from

The 1884 history says the name reflects the richness of the soil and was suggested on April 4, 1835, when pioneers Conrad Wickiser and Charles Smith, logging in the northwest quarter of Section 21, broke a chain that tore a spice bush up by the roots and exposed rich soil. The 1913 history keeps the soil explanation but omits the anecdote.

Before the town

The 1884 county history records Native remains in the township: 'an old Indian burying ground on an island in Potato Creek Swamp, where quite a number are buried'; flint arrowheads 'found in all sections of the township'; and 'an ancient mound' in the northwest quarter of Section 14 and another in the northeast quarter of Section 23. It gives no date, builder or excavation record for the mounds. No named Wyandot village or trail is recorded here; the township lies beyond the reservation's western side (Salem Township, on its east, was largely inside the reserve).

Nations recorded here: Wyandot.

• Indian burying ground on an island in Potato Creek Swamp (burial) — Richland Township (section not given), undated (archive.org)
• Ancient mound, northwest quarter of Section 14 (mound) — Richland Township, undated (archive.org)
• Ancient mound, northeast quarter of Section 23 (mound) — Richland Township, undated (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1830 — Samuel and Charity Pickett, from Maryland and Virginia, settle in what is now Richland Township, then part of Hancock County; their son Dr. Samuel Pickett, born in 1820, becomes a celebrated hunter and trapper.
2. 1832 — In January Hescot Pickett, from Athens County, builds the first house, of round logs 16 by 18 feet, on Section 28; Nathan Benjamin settles on Section 20.
3. 1833 — Philip Cole settles on Section 17, Joshua Cole on Section 2 and Charles Smith on Section 17.
4. 1834 — Conrad Wickiser, a German-born settler, enters 120 acres; the first wedding (John Roberts and Abigail Wickiser) is held in December at his house, and on December 25 Elijah Benjamin, aged four, is killed by a falling tree, the first death.
5. 1835 — The township is organized in Hancock County; the Burlington and Mount Blanchard road is laid out in March, Maria James is born March 1 (the first birth), and on April 4 Wickiser and Smith's broken log chain gives the township its name.
6. 1835 — The first election is held April 6 at James Duddleson's house with thirteen votes; Robert Reynolds builds the first blacksmith shop and the first school (a 16 by 20 foot round-log house on Section 17) opens, with Charles Smith teaching.
7. 1835 — On June 28 James Peters, an Old School Baptist, preaches the first sermon in the township at Joshua Cole's house, on the whole of the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew.
8. 1838 — James P. Ward brings the first buggy into the township.
9. 1845 — Richland becomes part of the new Wyandot County, and on June 2 the commissioners organize the Richland fraction as a separate township under that name.
10. 1848 — Samuel Rathbun lays out Whartonsburg (now Wharton); N. DePew builds its first house and James E. James opens its first store and serves as first postmaster.
11. 1852 — The Methodist Episcopal church builds the township's first church, of hewn logs, 24 by 30 feet, in the northwest quarter of Section 28.
12. 1855 — John and George Sterling build the first grist mill at Whartonsburg, adding the first sawmill in 1858.
13. 1870 — The township, with Whartonsburg, has about 1,271 residents.
14. 1880 — The census counts 1,676 residents, a gain of 405 in the decade; the Cincinnati, Sandusky and Cleveland Railway has a station at Whartonsburg.
15. 1913 — The county history says Whartonsburg is now called Wharton and that the railroad is the Big Four, with a station at the village.

Stories

A chain, a spice bush, and a township's name

On April 4, 1835, two pioneers, Conrad Wickiser and Charles Smith, were logging in the northwest quarter of Section 21 when the chain they were using broke, caught on a spice bush and tore it up by the roots. The overturned earth showed a soil 'rich and promising,' and the two men resolved on the spot that the newly created township should be called Richland. Wickiser, a German who had come to Ohio in 1810 and settled in Perry County, then Delaware County, had entered 120 acres in 1834 and raised eleven children. Smith had built a cabin on Section 17, taught the first school there in the winters of 1835 to 1837, and was one of the first two justices of the peace chosen at the township's first election two days after the naming. The 1884 historian notes that the naming happened 'nearly half a century ago.'

Thirteen votes at Duddleson's

Richland's first election was held on April 6, 1835, at the house of James Duddleson in the northeast quarter of Section 4. Thirteen votes were cast, and the county historian notes that several of the voters had not been in the state a year. Silas Burson and Charles Smith, both Whigs, were chosen justices of the peace, Conrad Wickiser, Ira Bristoll and Duddleson trustees, Abijah Smith treasurer and John W. Cole clerk. The township's first sermon followed on June 28 at Joshua Cole's house, preached by an Old School Baptist, James Peters, who took the whole twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew as his text. The 1884 historian remarked that what looked superfluous in length was perhaps deducted from depth.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Carey Village50% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Forest Village41% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Mt Blanchard Village8% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Money issues on the ballot since 2021: 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.
• Financial Audit, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-05

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