Local events in Sharon Township, Richland County
Nothing is posted for Sharon Township itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Sharon Township, Richland County
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Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.
How Sharon Township, Richland County began
Sharon Township, in northwestern Richland County, was created from Blooming Grove Township on February 9, 1819, and at first included half of what is now Jackson Township. Judge Hugh Gamble, who arrived from New York in 1823, was among its most prominent pioneers, and his relative John Gamble built the township's first grist mill, a horse-powered operation at a crossroads that grew into a small settlement called Gamble's Mills. Around 1840 that settlement was renamed Shelby, after Kentucky governor Isaac Shelby; most of the present city of Shelby now lies within the township's northeast section, though it is separately incorporated. In the township's rural southwest, the unincorporated community of Bethlehem grew around Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, founded in 1834 as a mission station and still serving the area from its 1892-95 Gothic Revival building.
Incorporated 1819-02-09 (township organized from Blooming Grove Township), by organized by county authority; early leaders included Judge Hugh Gamble and John Gamble.
Where the name comes from
No specific name-origin account for 'Sharon' Township was found in the sources checked; townships of this name recur across Ohio (also in Franklin, Medina, and Noble counties), often echoing a biblical or New England place name.
Before the town
No mound, named village, or battle site specific to Sharon Township is documented in the sources checked. The township lies north of the Treaty of Greenville (1795) cession line that crossed Richland County's southern edge and within the broader zone of Wyandot, Delaware (Lenape), and Mingo movement in north-central Ohio before removal. We could not get access to the 1903 Baughman township history to check it for a township-specific native account.
Timeline
- — Sharon Township was created out of Blooming Grove Township, taking in half the territory of present-day Jackson Township.
- — Judge Hugh Gamble arrived from New York and settled in Sharon Township.
- — A post office named 'Gamble's Mills' was established at the crossroads of what are now Main and Gamble streets, with John Gamble as postmaster, after he built the area's first (horse-powered) grist mill there.
- — Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic congregation began as a mission station of the parish at Peru, Ohio, serving the Bethlehem settlement in the township's southwest.
- — Gamble's Mills was renamed Shelby, honoring Isaac Shelby, first governor of Kentucky.
- — Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Bethlehem was built in the Gothic and Gothic Revival styles to a design by architect William P. Ginther; the cornerstone was laid in 1892 and the church dedicated in 1895.
- — Sacred Heart of Jesus Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Stories
From a horse mill to a governor's name
The settlement that became Shelby began as nothing more than a crossroads where John Gamble ground grain with a horse-powered mill. A cluster of houses grew up around the intersection of what are now Main and Gamble streets, and in 1828 the community got a post office, named Gamble's Mills for its founder and first postmaster. About a dozen years later the name changed to Shelby, honoring Isaac Shelby, Kentucky's first governor and a hero of the War of 1812 — a common pattern in Ohio, where new towns often borrowed the names of admired figures from older states rather than keeping the name of the local family that built them.
A mission station that became the parish center
Catholic families in the Bethlehem area of Sharon Township were served as early as 1834 by traveling priests from the parish at Peru, Ohio — Bethlehem was a station, not yet a parish of its own. The congregation grew enough by the 1890s to build its own church, an ambitious Gothic Revival building designed by William P. Ginther and dedicated in 1895. The relationship with the larger town nearby kept shifting: in 1967 the Bethlehem church was folded into the Shelby parish as a mission, but within a year the arrangement reversed and the parish center moved out to Bethlehem itself, where it remains today — a small rural church outlasting its role as the lesser partner.
Photographs
Photo: User:OHWiki, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Local history sources: shelbyohiohistory.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · richlandcountyhistory.com · commons.wikimedia.org
Historic places
1 place in Sharon Township, Richland County on the National Register of Historic Places. Press a pin or a name for its whole record.
-
Sacred Heart of Jesus ChurchesBuilding · Bethlehem · listed 1986
- Address
- OH 61
- Where
- Bethlehem, Richland County · ZIP 44875
- What it is
- Building
- Listed on the National Register
- 1986
- NRIS reference number
- 86000035
- Coordinates
- 40.83788, -82.72250
National Register file (NPS) ↗ Search Wikipedia ↗ Street map and directions ↗ On the Cracked Buckeye map
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places point file. The listing year is shown where NPS's certification date agrees with the listing's reference number. Listing recognizes significance; it does not restrict a private owner.
Water
City reservoirs (Nos. 2 & 3) fed by Black Fork Mohican River/Marsh Run The water here
- Shelby City94% of residentsCity reservoirs (Nos. 2 & 3) fed by Black Fork Mohican River/Marsh Run
- Crestline Village6% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
Hospitals, fire stations and more
Inside Sharon Township, Richland County's boundary: 1 private school and 1 spill case. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.
Private schools (1)
-
Sacred Heart SchoolPrivate, Catholic · Shelby
- Address
- 5754 State Route 61 S, Shelby, OH 44875
- Kind
- Catholic
- Students, 2023-24
- 77
- Teachers (full-time equivalent)
- 5
- Students per teacher
- 15.4
- Phone
- (419) 683-1697
- NCES private school ID
- 01061266
Source: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24.
Spills reported since 2021 (1)
-
Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)2025-10-02 · Sharon Twp
- Reported
- 2025-10-02
- What spilled
- Oil Hydraulic Fluid(S)
- Largest amount reported
- 45 gallons
- Where
- Sharon Twp, Richland County
- Ohio EPA district office
- NWDO
- Ohio EPA case number
- 2510EPA0001631
Ohio EPA spill reports (source) ↗ Street map and directions ↗
Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.
Its ZIP codes
Each ZIP code that touches Sharon Township, Richland County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.
| ZIP | Share | Water | Radon | Home value | Schools | Flood |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44875 Shelby | 6% | City reservoirs (Nos. 2 & 3) fed by Black Fork Mohican River/Marsh Run | 6.2 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1951 | Shelby City · 4 stars overall | 4.6% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
| 44827 Crestline | 1% | Groundwater wells (3 wells) | 5.7 pCi/L average radon | Median year built 1958 | Crestline Exempted Village · 2.5 stars overall | 9.0% of residents in the 1% floodplain |
Local government
Who holds office in Sharon Township, Richland County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.
Money issues on the ballot since 2015: 1 of 1 passed.
Ballot issues
| Date | Issue | For | Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-03 | Issue: Sharon Twp (Excluding Shelby City) Tax Levy-Renewal-2M 5Yrs-Fire (2.0 mills, renewal) | 291 | 83 | Passed (77.81% for) |
Elections for office
| Date | Office | Candidates and votes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-03 | Trustee | Edward Schumacher 1,654, 75.15%; Christopher B. Pugh 547, 24.85% |
| 2015-11-03 | Fiscal Officer | Ursula Esterline 1,938, 100.0% |
Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.
The county
Richland County: 12 ZIP codes, 27 cities, villages and townships, 124,341 people.
Nearby places
Quick answers
What county is Sharon Township, Ohio in?
Sharon Township, Richland County is a township in Richland County, Ohio, with 933 residents.
When was Sharon Township, Ohio founded?
Sharon Township, Richland County was incorporated 1819-02-09 (township organized from Blooming Grove Township). Founders on record: organized by county authority; early leaders included Judge Hugh Gamble and John Gamble. Source
How did Sharon Township, Ohio get its name?
No specific name-origin account for 'Sharon' Township was found in the sources checked; townships of this name recur across Ohio (also in Franklin, Medina, and Noble counties), often echoing a biblical or New England place name. Source
What ZIP code is Sharon Township, Ohio?
Most of Sharon Township, Richland County is in ZIP code 44875.
Where does Sharon Township, Ohio get its water?
The main water source for Sharon Township, Richland County (Shelby City): City reservoirs (Nos. 2 & 3) fed by Black Fork Mohican River/Marsh Run.
Cite this page
Cite this page as:
Cracked Buckeye, "Sharon Township, Richland County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/sharon-township-richland-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].
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