Washington Township, Preble County

How Washington Township, Preble County began

Washington Township, in north-central Preble County, is the township that contains Eaton, the county seat, at its center. Established by the county commissioners on May 7, 1809, it originally reached twelve miles north to south -- all of what is now Monroe Township plus half of Gasper -- before losing territory to Monroe (1817) and Gasper, settling into its present eight-mile length. The first settlement came in 1805, with proprietor William Bruce believed to have built the township's first house; Cornelius Van Ausdal, who wintered nearby in Lanier Township before opening Eaton's first store in 1806, dealt so closely with the Native people who still moved through the area that he counted the Shawnee leader Tecumseh among his acquaintances, and in 1810 took Preble County's first census as deputy U.S. marshal. Named, like many Ohio townships of the era, for George Washington, it had 1,809 residents outside the city of Eaton at the 2020 census.

Settled 1805, incorporated 1809-05-07, by Preble County commissioners.

Where the name comes from

Washington Township was named for George Washington, the first U.S. president, following a naming pattern repeated in dozens of Ohio townships.

Before the town

No mound, village or treaty site specific to Washington Township outside the city of Eaton was found in the sources checked (Fort St. Clair also lies within the township). The clearest documented Native encounter tied to the township is commercial rather than martial: Cornelius Van Ausdal, who opened Eaton's first store in 1806, is recorded in the 1881 county history as having dealt so extensively and closely with the Native people still living in or passing through southwestern Ohio and adjoining Indiana that he was, in his own later telling, 'as intimately acquainted' with the Shawnee leader Tecumseh 'as any white man in the county,' and in old age related anecdotes about him.

Nations recorded here: Miami, Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1792-03 — Fort St. Clair was built within the future township, on ground that later became the city of Eaton.
2. 1805 — The first settlement was made within what is now Washington Township; William Bruce, Eaton's future proprietor, is believed to have built the first house, with John Goldsmith and John Meroney arriving the same year.
3. 1806 — William Bruce platted Eaton at the center of the township as Preble County organized; that same year Cornelius Van Ausdal, who had wintered with his brother Peter in Lanier Township, opened Eaton's first store from a log cabin.
4. 1808-04-04 — The first township officers were elected while the area was still part of Somers township, including Alexander C. Lanier's future fellow officers Daniel Heaton (clerk), and William Bruce (treasurer).
5. 1809-05-07 — Washington Township was established by order of the county commissioners, at ninety-six square miles including all of present Monroe Township and the northern half of Gasper.
6. 1810 — Cornelius Van Ausdal, appointed deputy U.S. marshal, took the first census of Preble County; he later served as an army paymaster in the War of 1812 and was elected to the Ohio legislature in 1819.
7. 1815-06-05 — Washington Township was enlarged to include all of present Gasper Township, reaching eighteen miles in length, as Somers township was reduced to its present size.
8. 1817 — Washington Township was reduced by the establishment of Monroe Township to its north.
9. n.d. — Gasper Township was later set off from the southern part of Washington Township, bringing it to its present eight-mile length.
10. 2020 — The U.S. Census recorded 1,809 residents in Washington Township outside the city of Eaton.

Stories

The Eaton merchant who knew Tecumseh

Cornelius Van Ausdal came west from Virginia in his early twenties and spent his first winter, in 1804-05, with his older brother Peter, who had just settled in the Preble County wilderness that became Lanier Township. But it was Washington Township, not Lanier, where Van Ausdal made his mark. He went home to Virginia, sold furs and a load of wheat in Baltimore to raise capital, bought a wagonload of goods, and in the early summer of 1806 arrived in the brand-new town of Eaton -- then just being platted by William Bruce -- and opened its first store out of a small log cabin. Trading heavily in furs, skins, beeswax, maple sugar and ginseng with the Native people who still lived in and travelled through the region, Van Ausdal became so well known among them that he counted the Shawnee leader Tecumseh among his acquaintances, and in his old age liked to tell stories about him. His business success led to public trust: appointed deputy U.S. marshal in 1810, he personally took Preble County's first census, later served as an army paymaster during the War of 1812, and was elected to the Ohio legislature in 1819.

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

Every historic place in Preble County on the full map

Groundwater pumped from 8 wells from 3 wellfield sources (City of Eaton CCR wording). The CCR does not name the aquifer type. The water here

• Eaton Public Water System70% of residentsSand and gravel (Pleistocene) aquifer wells, Preble County
• Lakengren Water Authority29% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Eldorado, Village Of1% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Gratis Village0% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (5)

Money issues on the ballot since 2020: 1 of 1 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 2025-07-31

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