Tymochtee Township, Wyandot County

How Tymochtee Township, Wyandot County began

Tymochtee Township, a full thirty-six-section township in the northeast of Wyandot County, was organized in 1825 in Crawford County and for years was the most populous district in either county, with 1,817 residents in 1850. The 1884 county history says its name, from Tymochtee Creek, means in Wyandot 'the creek or river round the plains.' Henry Lish settled about 1816 and ran a ferry on the creek; the 1817 treaty granted the Wyandot chief Horonu, 'Cherokee Boy,' a 640-acre section on the Sandusky here, and James and John Whittaker also received tracts. Col. Joseph McCutchen had McCutchenville platted in 1829.

Settled 1816-17, incorporated 1825 (organized in Crawford County; Wyandot County township 1845), by Henry Lish, a New Yorker, who built the first cabin and a ferry about 1816-17; organized in 1825, formerly attached to Crawford Township.

Where the name comes from

From Tymochtee Creek, which the 1884 county history says 'in the Wyandot language denotes the creek or river round the plains.' The 1913 history repeats the creek's role and the spelling Tymochtee.

Before the town

Tymochtee lay partly in the Wyandot Reservation. The treaty of September 29, 1817 (Maumee Rapids, Fort Meigs) granted 'to Horonu, or the Cherokee Boy, a Wyandot chief,' a section of 640 acres on the Sandusky River 'to be laid off in a square form, and to include his improvements.' The 1884 county history places this section on both sides of the Sandusky, about the center of the county, with 'old Tymochtee' at the center of its western edge. Cherokee Boy, reputedly 110 years old, died in 1834, and his son Robert Cherokee went west with the Wyandot in 1843. In the same allotment of 1817, James and John Whittaker and other mixed-heritage Wyandot families received large tracts in the township. The reservation line ran across most of the southern tier of sections, then made a detour north around the Cherokee Boy section. Early settlers found Indians numerous in the 1820s: Robert Gibson, who came in 1821 aged two, herded cattle among them as a young man. Another settler, James Wright, was, the history says, captured by Indians and worked for them as a silversmith.

Nations recorded here: Wyandot, Seneca.

• Cherokee Boy's (Horonu's) 640-acre reservation section (other) — both sides of the Sandusky River, about the center of Wyandot County, in and beside Tymochtee Township, granted 1817; Horonu died 1834 (archive.org)
• Old Tymochtee (Wyandot settlement) (village) — center of the western edge of the Cherokee Boy section, before 1834 (archive.org)
• Allotments to James and John Whittaker and other Wyandot families (other) — Tymochtee Township, 1817 allotment (archive.org)
• Wyandot Reservation line, with detour around the Cherokee Boy section (other) — southern tier of sections of Tymochtee Township, then north, 1817-1843 (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1816 — Henry Lish, a native of New York, settles about 1816-17 on the southwest quarter of Section 17 with his wife and three children, builds the first cabin (18 by 20 feet) and soon sets up a government ferry across Tymochtee Creek.
2. 1817 — On September 29 the treaty at the foot of the Maumee Rapids reserves 640 acres for the Wyandot chief Horonu, 'Cherokee Boy,' on the Sandusky, and, the county history says, tracts for James and John Whittaker.
3. 1820 — Ralph Lish, son of Henry, is born, the first white child in the township.
4. 1821 — The first county election is held on April 1 at Lish's house; Thomas Leeper and family come from Ross County and Robert Gibson, aged two, arrives with his parents.
5. 1825 — Tymochtee is organized as a township of Crawford County, having been attached to Crawford Township with Sycamore; Christopher Hufford arrives that year.
6. 1826 — Adam Wininger, a German immigrant of 1804, enters or buys 1,000 acres; John Sigler, a veteran of Harrison's campaign, settles.
7. 1829 — Col. Joseph McCutchen has the village of McCutchenville platted by Dr. G. W. Sampson and builds its first house; Sampson builds the second in 1830 and Aaron Welsh opens the first store.
8. 1830 — Samuel Kenan begins keeping a hotel in Tymochtee Village, which he keeps until 1851.
9. 1834 — Horonu, the Cherokee Boy, dies at a reputed age of 110.
10. 1843 — The Wyandot leave for the West; Robert Cherokee, son of Horonu, goes with them.
11. 1845 — Tymochtee comes into the new Wyandot County; its taxpayers that year include Anthony Arnold, who owns a grist mill on Section 18, and Dr. Dunn, who holds 1,051 acres.
12. 1850 — The township has 1,817 inhabitants, the most populous district in the county at an early day.
13. 1884 — The Ohio Central Railroad crosses the northeast corner near McCutchenville; the township has Tymochtee village, Mexico and Belle Vernon and no other railroad.
14. 1913 — Two railroads cross the township; Mexico has about two hundred people, a church and a store, Belle Vernon is about the same size, and the late Jacob Newman Free, 'the Immortal J. N.,' is remembered as McCutchenville's famous resident.

Stories

Cherokee Boy's section

The treaty signed on September 29, 1817 at the foot of the Maumee Rapids set aside a twelve-mile square for the Wyandot at Upper Sandusky and then listed individual grants. One went to Horonu, called the Cherokee Boy, a Wyandot chief, for a 640-acre section on the Sandusky 'to include his improvements.' The 1884 county history puts it astride the river in what became Tymochtee Township, with old Tymochtee at the middle of its western edge. The reservation's northern line, running along most of the township's southern sections, took a sudden detour north to take in his tract. Horonu lived, the history says, to a hundred and ten and died in 1834. His son Robert Cherokee went west with the Wyandot in 1843. The same allotment gave James and John Whittaker, whom the history calls half-breeds, tracts of their own in the township, and James Whittaker opened its first store at Tymochtee.

Lish's ferry and the first election

Henry Lish, from New York, built the first cabin in what became Tymochtee Township about 1816 or 1817, an 18 by 20 foot log house on the southwest quarter of Section 17 near the Tymochtee Creek. He soon began a government ferry over the creek, and when the county's first election was held on April 1, 1821, it met at his house. His son Ralph, born in 1820, was the first white child born in the township. Around Lish the settlement filled quickly: Thomas Leeper arrived from Ross County in 1821, and Peter Baum, William Combs, Levi Bunn, John Taylor and George Bogart soon after. Ira Aikens and Joseph Chaffee kept the first taverns. In the early days, says the 1884 historian, Tymochtee was the most populous district in the future county, with 1,817 residents in 1850.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Upper Sandusky City53% of residentsSandusky River (via Upper Sandusky Reservoirs 1 & 2)
• Sycamore Village35% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Carey Village12% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

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 2025-12-16

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