Twin Township, Preble County

How Twin Township, Preble County began

Twin Township, in northeastern Preble County, was organized in 1808 -- the same year the county itself was formed -- and named for Twin Creek, which the 1881 county history says was itself named generations earlier by the Pottawatomie, who paired it in their own naming scheme with Whitewater River just across the Indiana line. The Pottawatomie regarded the valley as a health resort and gathering place, and the same county history records that the last band of that nation to leave Preble County spent its final night in the county on the banks of Twin Creek, on April 30, 1805. The first permanent settler was Simeon Van Winkle, a Georgia native who entered land in February 1804 on the section that became the village of New Lexington. Part of the village of West Alexandria lies within the township's southern boundary. It is one of three Twin Townships in Ohio, the others in Darke and Ross counties. Twin Township remains a small farming township of under 3,000 people.

Settled 1804-02 (Simeon Van Winkle), incorporated 1808 (township organized).

Where the name comes from

The township was named after Twin Creek, which runs through it; it is one of three Twin Townships in Ohio, the others located in Darke and Ross counties. The 1881 county history preserves what it calls 'the legend of the Pottawatomies, who once dwelt along the banks of Twin creek': that Native observers, noting two parallel streams beyond the Indiana line (a sluggish 'Westwater' and a fast 'Wildwater') and a similar pairing on the Ohio side (a sluggish stream through Miami and Montgomery counties and this one, corresponding to Whitewater), gave the Preble County stream a name meaning it was the 'twin' of Whitewater -- which English speakers rendered simply as Twin Creek.

Before the town

Twin Creek and its valley, per the 1881 county history, were named by the Pottawatomie themselves, who considered the valley 'one of nature's health resorts' and 'the Indian's Nile,' congregating there in large numbers before white settlement and returning periodically even afterward to recover their health. The same source records that the last band of Pottawatomie to leave Preble County spent their final night in the county near this stream, on April 30, 1805 -- the clearest dated Native departure recorded for the county in the sources we checked. No mound or village site specific to the township was found.

Nations recorded here: Miami, Shawnee, Pottawatomie.

• Twin Creek valley (Pottawatomie gathering ground and last encampment) (camp) — Twin Creek valley, Twin Township, pre-settlement gathering ground; last recorded Pottawatomie night in the county, April 30, 1805 (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1805-04-30 — The last band of Pottawatomie to leave Preble County spent its final night there on the banks of Twin Creek, according to the 1881 county history.
2. 1804-02 — Simeon Van Winkle, born in Georgia in 1768, entered land on section twenty-seven -- the site of the future village of New Lexington -- becoming Twin Township's first permanent settler.
3. 1808 — Twin Township was organized, the same year Preble County itself was formed, and named for Twin Creek.
4. 1840 — Twin Township's population was recorded at 1,676.
5. 1880 — Twin Township's population had grown to 1,973; part of West Alexandria, described as 'one of the wealthiest villages' in the county with fine residences, lay within the township.
6. 1975-08-19 — The Geeting Covered Bridge, within the township's shared ZIP area, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
7. 1976-10-08 — The Warnke Covered Bridge, in the same area, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
8. 2020 — The U.S. Census recorded 2,669 people in Twin Township.

Stories

The twin of Whitewater

Long before any settler laid eyes on it, Twin Creek already had a name, and the 1881 county history took care to record where it came from. The Pottawatomie who knew this country well had observed two parallel streams a little beyond the Indiana line: a sluggish one they called Westwater and a fast, turbulent one called Wildwater. They noticed that a stream flowing south through what became Miami and Montgomery counties resembled the sluggish Westwater, and that its neighboring, parallel stream here in what became Preble County matched the character of Whitewater. Having sorted the region's rivers into two matched pairs, they gave this stream a name meaning that it was the twin of Whitewater -- rendered by English speakers, in time, simply as Twin Creek. The valley itself, the history adds, was considered a favorite health resort by the Pottawatomie, who gathered there in numbers before settlement and, for years after, would return from the west from time to time seeking the health they remembered from it. Their last night anywhere in Preble County, on April 30, 1805, was spent on its banks.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Lewisburg Village54% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• West Alexandria, Village Of45% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Gratis Village1% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Bridges rated poor (3)

Spills reported since 2021 (4)

Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 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 2025-07-29

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