Van Buren Township, Darke County

How Van Buren Township, Darke County began

Van Buren Township, in southern Darke County, was organized in June 1838 and named for President Martin Van Buren at the urging of James Gower, an early settler still living at ninety-three in 1880, who pushed the formation through over opposition. It lost its eastern part to the new Franklin Township a year later. It was so level and wet, with one to five feet of water over most of it for half the year, that no settlers came before about 1818; once drained it became strong farmland. Delisle and Jaysville grew up on the Dayton and Union railroad, while Abbottsville, platted by a man named Abbott, vanished. Wikipedia counts 1,528 residents in 2020.

Settled c. 1818 (Samuel Pearce, Samuel Martin, Elias Burt, probably first), incorporated 1838-06, by James Gower, described as 'the moving spirit' in the township's formation, over considerable opposition; taken from the south end of Adams and east end of Neave Townships.

Where the name comes from

Named for Martin Van Buren, eighth President of the United States, in office at the time the township was created; the 1880 county history credits pioneer James Gower, then 93 years old and still living, as the man who actually gave the township its name.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound or trail specific to Van Buren Township is recorded in the sources checked. The 1914 county history reports that the Greenville and West Milton pike across the north of the township is one of the oldest roads in the county, known to have existed by 1815 and probably cut through the forest during or before the War of 1812 to link Greenville with Dayton; the sources do not say whether it followed an older trail. The township lies south of the Greenville treaty line in country ceded in 1795.

Nations recorded here: Miami, Shawnee.

• Greenville and West Milton pike (old military road) (trail) — across the northern part of Van Buren Township, Poplar Ridge area, by 1815 (archive.org)

Timeline

1. 1815 — The Greenville and West Milton pike across the north of the later township is known to have existed by this year; the 1914 history thinks it was cut during or before the War of 1812 to link Greenville and Dayton.
2. 1818 — Samuel Pearce, Samuel Martin and Elias Burt probably build the first cabins within the present township; Eli Townsend and Jacob Sebring follow soon after.
3. 1820 — John Charkwith settles in the extreme southwest corner and Isaac Byers, later the first Justice of the Peace, moves up from Preble County.
4. 1826 — Richard and James Gower move into the extreme north part of the township.
5. 1838-06 — Van Buren Township is organized, named for President Van Buren at James Gower's urging; the first election is held in Jacob Potoff's blacksmith shop at Nineveh, with forty or fifty votes cast.
6. 1839-06 — Franklin Township is formed from the eastern part of Van Buren, leaving it twenty-six sections.
7. 1850 — Mrs. Fairchild plats Delisle, probably in expectation of the Greenville and Miami railroad; John Tillman and Jesse Lease open its first store and Aaron Vanatta is the first blacksmith.
8. 1850 — The United Brethren establish a church at Abbottsville and the Methodists one east of Jaysville about this time.
9. 1851 — The Christians build the township's first church at Delisle, over thirty years after the first settlement.
10. 1869 — Rev. Edward Caylor causes a church to be built at Nineveh, near the center of the township, later called Caylor's Chapel.
11. 1870 — The township's population is 1,212.
12. 1910 — The population is 1,360; the township is strictly rural, with Delisle and Jaysville its stations on the Dayton and Union railway.
13. 2020 — Census population is 1,528.

Stories

A ninety-three-year-old namesake, still living

Van Buren Township's creation in 1838 was not automatic. The 1880 county history records that its formation was pushed through only 'with much opposition and difficulty,' and credits one man, pioneer James Gower, as the 'moving spirit' behind it -- the same man who chose to name the new township for Martin Van Buren, then in the White House. Remarkably, the history's authors could report that Gower was still alive at the time of writing, ninety-three years old, a living link between the township's contested 1838 organization and its settled 1880 present.

Abbottsville: a town that only history remembers

Before Delisle became Van Buren Township's lone surviving village, there was Abbottsville, laid out by a founder named Abbott and, for a time, showing real promise to its hopeful residents. Storekeepers George and William Falkner opened a business there, joined by a wagon and blacksmith shop. But the promise did not last, and by 1880 the county historian could write only that the settlement's existence 'is known only to the pages of history' -- one of what he called the era's 'thousands' of speculative plats that left behind nothing but a few ominous, empty houses and scattered, disappointed occupants.

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

Mostly private wells The water here

• Arcanum Village50% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Greenville City46% of residentsGreenville Creek (primary, ~78%) blended with 8 wells
• Verona, Village Of4% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Sherwood Forest MHP1% of residentsGroundwater wells (1 wells)
• Northtowne Communities Llc0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Spills reported since 2021 (2)

Money issues on the ballot since 2022: 1 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked. The county's results on file run through 2023-11-07; later elections are not loaded yet.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2024 to 2025, released 2026-06-11
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-08-08

Statewide question: State Issue 3: Voter ID

Races, candidates and every question for an address: your ballot. County offices and judges are on your county board's sample ballot.

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