Ridgefield Township, Huron County

How Ridgefield Township, Huron County began

Ridgefield Township's first land contract went to hunter William Frink in 1811, and its first real settler, Seth Brown, arrived in spring 1812 and named the village he founded 'Monroe' (now Monroeville) after a stretch of good luck he had in Monroe, Michigan. Major David Underhill, who bought 3,600 acres in 1811 and built a cabin in 1812, personally heard the cannon fire of General Hull's surrender at Detroit from his building site on the Huron River. Wyandot and other Native families lived along the river in the township's early years; in 1812, one was killed while cutting a bee tree along what became known as Seymour Brook, named for the victim. Organized in December 1815 -- originally a vast territory that also included Sherman, Lyme and part of Oxford townships -- Ridgefield is the only township of that name in Ohio.

Settled 1811 (William Frink, first land contract) / spring 1812 (Seth Brown, first real settler), incorporated December (first Monday), 1815 (township organized), by William Frink; Seth Brown; Major David Underhill, of Westchester County, New York.

Where the name comes from

Ridgefield Township is the only township of that name in Ohio; the specific source of the name (likely, though not confirmed in the sources consulted, Ridgefield, Connecticut, burned by British forces in 1779) was not stated directly.

Before the town

Numerous Wyandot and other Native families kept habitations along the Huron River in Ridgefield in the township's early years, the 1879 county historian records, spending their time hunting, fishing and making baskets and ax handles, and generally peaceable except when drinking. During the War of 1812, two men from the Parker blockhouse in Milan, Seymour and Pixley, were cutting a bee tree on a small stream in the township when a group of Native men fired on them from ambush; Seymour was killed instantly and Pixley, entangled in brush while fleeing, was captured and held prisoner for months (the fuller account of Pixley's captivity and eventual ransom is recorded in neighboring Bronson Township's history, since the Pixley family later settled there). The stream is still known as Seymour Brook. Separately, Major David Underhill, building his cabin on the Huron River in the summer of 1812, distinctly heard the cannon engagement between American and British forces at Detroit on the day General Hull surrendered, and the township's settlers briefly fled south on a false report that British and Native forces were landing at Huron.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot.

• Seymour Brook (other) — Ridgefield Township, entering the West Branch of the Huron River on lot fifteen, section two, 1812 (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1811 — William Frink contracts for land on lot five, section four -- the first such contract in the township -- and builds its first house; Major David Underhill also purchases 3,600 acres in the township this year, at seventy-five cents an acre.
2. 1812 — Seth Brown arrives in spring and plants the township's first corn crop; Major Underhill builds a cabin on the Huron River that summer and hears the cannon fire of Hull's surrender at Detroit from his building site, prompting a brief, false-alarm evacuation of the settlement.
3. 1812 — Native men kill a settler named Seymour and capture his companion Pixley in an ambush while the two are cutting a bee tree; the stream where it happened becomes known as Seymour Brook.
4. 1813 — Seth Brown returns to Ridgefield with his new wife, Sarah Tuttle, whom he met while serving with the army near Monroe, Michigan, and later names the village he founds 'Monroe' in honor of his good fortune there.
5. 1815 — David Sowers arrives from Fairfield County, Ohio on September 25, later laying out part of his land as part of Monroeville village; Ridgefield Township is formally organized the first Monday in December, at the time encompassing the territory of present-day Ridgefield, Sherman and Lyme townships and part of Oxford.
6. 1816 — Major Underhill brings his family to Ridgefield on February 22, and the township's first election is held that spring at Joseph F. Read's house; David Page, Levi Sutton and David Underhill are elected trustees.
7. 1817 — Monroe (later Monroeville) is laid out; Major Underhill builds a sawmill near his home, one of the first in the county.
8. 1819 — Lyme and Sherman townships are detached from Ridgefield's original territory and organized separately.
9. 1868 — Monroeville incorporates as a village.
10. 1871 — Norwalk's first municipal water plant is built; Norwalk's system, and the annexed Sycamore Hills area within the township, later tie the township to the city.

Stories

Hearing Hull's surrender from a riverbank cabin

Major David Underhill was building on his newly purchased land on the Huron River in the summer of 1812 when he distinctly heard the sound of cannon fire downriver -- the engagement between American and British forces that ended with General Hull's surrender of Detroit. He walked to a neighbor's to discuss what it meant, and soon a messenger arrived warning that British and Native forces had been seen landing at Huron and urging everyone to flee south immediately. The settlers set out, only to be overtaken partway by a group of men they first took for the enemy; the strangers turned out to be Hull's released prisoners, on their own way to Mansfield, and most of the frightened settlers turned around and went home. Underhill did not bring his own family out permanently until 1816, making an annual trading trip in the meantime, bringing goods to sell and furs to take back east.

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

Every historic place in Huron County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Norwalk City58% of residentsHuron River / East Branch Huron River (via Upper, Memorial, and Lower Reservoirs)
• Monroeville Village42% of residentsWest Branch Huron River, stored in Monroeville's reservoir
• Milan Village0% of residentsLake Erie (Sandusky Bay backup intake)

Power plants (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 2 of 2 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.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-08-05

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