Watertown Township, Washington County

How Watertown Township, Washington County began

Watertown Township, in northwestern Washington County on Wolf Creek, is the only Watertown Township in Ohio. Its village center, platted with a post office in 1826, grew steadily from the Civil War through World War I into a cluster of seventy-five weatherboarded and brick buildings trimmed in Stick-Eastlake woodwork, listed as a National Register historic district in 1986. Nearby, Revolutionary War veteran Colonel Simeon Deming built one of Ohio's oldest surviving Federal-style brick houses around 1815, and bridge builder William Meredith raised the Harra Covered Bridge over Wolf Creek's south branch in 1875. The 2020 census recorded 1,541 residents.

Settled by 1815 (Deming House).

Where the name comes from

Not established in the sources checked.

Before the town

No Native village, mound, trail or treaty site specific to Watertown Township was found in the sources checked.

Timeline

1. 1815 (circa) — Revolutionary War veteran Colonel Simeon Deming, who had enlisted in the Continental Army in 1780, builds a two-and-a-half-story Federal-style brick house near Watertown.
2. 1826 — A post office named Watertown is established, with the settlement's first merchant serving as postmaster from 1828.
3. 1875 — Bridge builder William Meredith of Marietta, with stone mason Billy Gamble cutting the abutments, completes the Harra Covered Bridge over the south branch of Wolf Creek.
4. 1976 — The Harra Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
5. 1980 — The Col. Simeon Deming House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
6. 1986 — The village of Watertown, with 75 contributing buildings, is listed as a National Register historic district.
7. 1993 — The Watertown post office closes after 167 years of continuous operation.

Stories

A soldier's house that outlasted his war

Simeon Deming enlisted in the Continental Army from Sandisfield, Massachusetts in 1780, near the end of the Revolutionary War, and rose to officer rank before eventually settling on the Ohio frontier. Around 1815 he built himself a substantial two-and-a-half-story brick house near Watertown, laid in Flemish-bond brickwork with a rounded-arch front doorway and fanlight -- a level of craftsmanship that makes it, today, one of the oldest surviving Federal-style houses anywhere in Ohio. Only a single brick smokehouse survives among what were once several outbuildings, but the main house itself, listed on the National Register in 1980, stands as a rare direct link between the Revolutionary generation and the settlement of this corner of Washington County.

Named for stone, built by hand

In 1875, William Meredith of Marietta directed the construction of a Long-truss covered bridge across the south branch of Wolf Creek two miles north of Watertown, while stone mason Billy Gamble cut and laid the abutments from stone quarried on James Harrah's nearby farm -- giving the bridge its name, Harra, a worn-down version of the farmer's own. It is one of fewer than ten historic Long-truss bridges left standing in Ohio. The bridge served daily traffic well into the twentieth century, a working piece of infrastructure for more than a hundred years before its 1976 National Register listing recognized it as a historic structure rather than simply a road.

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

Every historic place in Washington County on the full map

Mostly private wells The water here

• Little Hocking Water Association, Inc.32% of residentsOhio River Valley Aquifer (own wells, Porterfield wellfield)
• Waterford Water/sewer Association27% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Marietta City15% of residentsOhio/Muskingum River valley sand-and-gravel aquifer (own wells)
• Beverly Village9% of residentsGroundwater wells (4 wells)
• Putnam Community Water Association4% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Tri-county Rural W and S District4% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)
• Lowell Village3% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)
• Warren Comm W and S Assn 23% of residentsMuskingum River valley aquifer (Oak Grove wellfield)
• Reno Water and Sewer 12% of residentsOhio/Muskingum River valley sand-and-gravel aquifer (own wells)
• Highland Ridge W and S Association Inc1% of residentsMuskingum River valley aquifer (Oak Grove wellfield)
• Reno Water and Sewer 20% of residentsOhio/Muskingum River valley sand-and-gravel aquifer (own wells)
• Reno Water and Sewer - Kardex0% of residentsOhio/Muskingum River valley sand-and-gravel aquifer (own wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Private schools (1)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Spills reported since 2021 (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 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 2025-07-15

Cite this page