Richmond Township, Ashtabula County

• Pymatuning LakeBuilt 1934 · 17,088 acres

How Richmond Township, Ashtabula County began

Richmond Township passed through several administrative homes before becoming independent -- attached first to Jefferson (later Denmark) Township in 1808, then to Pierpont in 1818, before organizing as its own township on March 4, 1828. Settlement began in the spring of 1805 with the Yateman, Newcomb, and Tead families building log cabins together on lot 46, at what became Richmond Center. Four small settlement clusters grew within the township -- Richmond Center, Padanaram, Steamburg, and Leon, the last a station on the Ashtabula and Jamestown railroad branch. Wikipedia says it later became a center for the Underground Railroad.

Settled spring 1805 (Peter Yateman, Benjamin Newcomb, and the Tead brothers, first settlers), incorporated March 4, 1828 (organized independently), by Peter Yateman, Benjamin Newcomb, and the Tead brothers.

Where the name comes from

The origin of the name Richmond is not recorded. Ohio has one other Richmond Township, in Huron County.

Before the town

No Native American village, trail, or site specific to Richmond Township is recorded.

Timeline

1. spring 1805 — Peter Yateman, Benjamin Newcomb, and the Tead brothers settle together on lot 46, the southwest corner of what becomes Richmond Center, building the township's first log dwellings.
2. 1808 — The area is attached to Jefferson Township (later renamed Denmark).
3. 1811 — Miss Laura Ford becomes the township's first schoolteacher; a Methodist congregation organizes under Ewins Wright.
4. 1813 — The territory of present Richmond Township, part of Jefferson at the county's organization in 1808, is included in the part taken from Jefferson and named Denmark.
5. 1818 — The area becomes part of Pierpont Township.
6. 1820 — Leon's first store opens; the settlement later grows around a station on the Ashtabula and Jamestown railroad branch.
7. March 1824 — Nicholas Knapp and Elvira Rockwell marry, the township's first recorded wedding.
8. 1826 — The township's first schoolhouses are built, one in Padanaram and one in the "Old Rockwell District."
9. March 1827 — Roswell Moody dies, the township's first recorded adult death.
10. March 4, 1828 — Richmond Township separates from Pierpont and organizes independently; the first officer election is held April 8 at John H. Montgomery's home.
11. c. 1828 — Charles Jordon builds the township's first frame house.
12. 1849 — The Methodists and the Wesleyan Methodists both erect houses of worship in Padanaram, in the southeast corner of the township; the Disciples build there later.
13. 1852 — The township's first grist mill is built.

Stories

A stage station on the Conneaut road

Richmond Center grew up at the intersection of two highways on the direct line of travel from the lake at Conneaut to the south, and it became an important stage station. Benjamin Newcomb, who had come in 1805 with Peter Yateman, the Teed brothers and Mr. Morehouse to lot 46, built a double house of logs there that was a pretentious structure for its day, and it was converted in the early years into a tavern for travelers. The first public school teacher, Miss Laura Ford, was hired in 1811, and the Methodist society organized the same year with the help of Ewins Wright of Pierpont. In the southwest corner, where the Ashtabula and Jamestown branch of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern later crossed, the hamlet of Leon grew up, and the county history says a Mr. Barber kept a general store, trading station and public house there known throughout the section as Barber's. He also built one of the largest cheese factories in the county, with two hundred presses and more than a dozen hands, working up three tons of curd a day. By the 1920s the township's post offices at Richmond Center, North Richmond, Padanaram, Steamburg and Leon had all closed in favor of rural delivery.

Local history sources: ohiogenealogyexpress.com · conneautohio.us · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Andover-camplands Water76% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Andover Village24% of residentsGroundwater wells (5 wells)

Money issues on the ballot since 2022: 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, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-07

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