Washingtonville

How Washingtonville began

Washingtonville was laid out in 1832 and incorporated in 1844, straddling the line between Columbiana and Mahoning counties. Its first hotel opened in 1833. The Niles and New Lisbon Railroad reached it in 1866 and coal mining followed. Wikipedia gives a peak population of about 1,092 in 1900, and the 2020 census counted 712 residents.

Settled 1832, platted 1832, incorporated 1844 (but not organized until some years later, per the 1879 county history), by Michael Frederick.

Where the name comes from

The origin of the name Washingtonville is not recorded.

Before the town

No source names a specific Native American village, camp or burial site within present Washingtonville's boundaries. The village was not platted until 1832, decades after the region's Native land claims were ceded under the 1785 Treaty of Fort McIntosh and confirmed by the 1795 Treaty of Greenville.

Timeline

1. 1832 — Washingtonville is laid out.
2. 1833 — The village's first hotel is built.
3. 1844 — Washingtonville incorporates as a village.
4. 1844 — Watson Ruckman, John Robins, Philip Houtz and their wives form the first Methodist class, meeting in Houtz's house with Rev. John M. Murray as first pastor; the present church is built in 1872-73.
5. 1866 — The Niles and New Lisbon Railroad is completed through the village, spurring coal development at Washingtonville, Leetonia, Franklin Square and Teegarden.
6. 1874 — Cleveland men open extensive coal mines on the Samuel Shelton farm on the line of the Niles and New Lisbon Railroad, and Coleman and Thompson of Cleveland begin work nearby.
7. 1880 — The census counts 958 residents.
8. 1892 — The seven-mile Salem Railroad, a coal road built by the city of Salem at a bonded cost of $125,000, is opened in September to connect Salem with the Erie system at Washingtonville.
9. 1900 — Washingtonville's population peaks at about 1,092.
10. 1902 — The Salem Railroad, sold to bondholders for $125,000 after the act that authorized it was declared unconstitutional, is taken over by the Pittsburg, Lisbon and Western in November and becomes part of the Wabash system.
11. 1904 — The Cherry Valley Iron Company abandons its Washingtonville mines over wage differences; they had run at 250 to 300 tons a day, and in 1905 the company still has 200 coke ovens burning Connellsville coal.
12. 1905 — Washingtonville, partly in Salem Township and partly in Green Township, Mahoning County, has about 800 residents by the 1905 county history's count (the 1900 census counted 1,092), a number of stores and small industries, and Johnathan Lorrybottom as mayor.
13. 1950 — The census counts 848 residents.
14. 2020 — The census counts 712 residents.

Stories

Coke ovens at Washingtonville

Washingtonville was a small village until the Niles and New Lisbon Railroad was completed through it in 1866, which the 1905 county history calls a great incentive to the development of the coal lands there. About 1874 Cleveland parties opened mines on the Samuel Shelton farm beside the railroad and Coleman and Thompson of Cleveland began work nearby. The Cherry Valley Iron Company's mines at Washingtonville produced 250 to 300 tons a day and fed its coke ovens, 200 of which were still in operation in 1905 using Connellsville coal; but in 1904 the mines were abandoned in a dispute over wages between the operators and the miners. That left a village of about 800 people on the Mahoning County line, with a hotel that had opened in 1833 under Michael Frederick and a Methodist congregation that had met since 1844.

Photographs

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

Mostly surface water: three active SDWIS surface intakes (Spring Valley Reservoir, Cold Run Creek intake, Salem Reservoir intake), plus 4 active groundwater wells (Wells 0001, 0002, 0003 and 0004; two older wells are inactive). The water here

• Washingtonville Village100% of residentsEast Cold Run Reservoir & Spring Valley Reservoir (Cold Run Creek)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Who holds office

Roster as of 2026-09-17: county board of elections.

Money issues on the ballot since 2023: 0 of 3 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.
• Financial Audit, 2022 to 2023, released 2025-02-25

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

Cite this page