Whitewater Township, Hamilton County

Township · Hamilton County · 6,369 residents

Hamilton County

Local events in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County

Nothing is posted for Whitewater Township itself yet; here is what is on within 10 miles. All local events in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County

  1. Stars, Stripes & Smarts Trivia

    Oct 1 to 31 · Miami Township Branch Library · Cleves · 2.5 mi · From Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

  2. Stars, Stripes & Smarts Trivia

    Nov 2 to 30 · Miami Township Branch Library · Cleves · 2.5 mi · From Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

  3. American Mahjong - Open Play

    5:30 to 8:30 p.m. · Green Township Branch Library · Green Township · 5.0 mi · From Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library

Know a calendar we should watch? Send the link

Checked October 20; the events page is refreshed daily.

How Whitewater Township, Hamilton County began

Whitewater Township, the only township of that name in Ohio, sits in the far western corner of Hamilton County along the Indiana line and the Great Miami River. Arthur Henry founded Miamitown in 1816 around a flour mill and distillery, and Isaac Mills platted Elizabethtown in 1817, naming it for his wife; both stayed small rail and river hamlets into the 20th century. The township's low terraces along the Great Miami and the Ohio state line preserve an unusually long archaeological record: an Archaic-period village and later Woodland-period mounds at the Wesley Butler site, more mounds at Rennert Mound, and a 13th-century Fort Ancient village at the State Line Archeological District, occupied at the same time as the well-known SunWatch and Turpin sites and yielding Mississippian-style effigy pottery. Gulf Oil ran a refinery at Hooven from 1931 to 1986, whose closure cost the community more than 200 jobs. Population grew from 1,661 in 1820 to 6,375 by 2020.

Settled 1816 (Miamitown, by Arthur Henry), platted 1817 (Elizabethtown, by Isaac Mills).

Where the name comes from

Whitewater Township is named for the Whitewater River, a tributary that joins the Great Miami near the township's southwestern corner on the Indiana line; it is the only township named Whitewater anywhere in Ohio.

Before the town

Whitewater Township holds an unusually deep archaeological record along the Great Miami River and the Indiana state line. The Wesley Butler Archeological District, a 30-to-40-acre site near Elizabethtown, combines an Archaic-period village at least 6,000 years old with later Woodland-period mounds built over it; a 1950s survey found stone tools but no pottery at all, suggesting the two occupations were widely separated in time. Nearby, Rennert Mound preserves another Native American mound on the west edge of Elizabethtown. Two miles north of the Ohio River, straddling the Indiana line west of Elizabethtown, the State Line Archeological District holds a Fort Ancient culture village (Henry Bechtel Village) radiocarbon-dated to the 13th century AD, contemporary with and culturally related to the well-documented SunWatch site in Dayton and the Turpin Site in Anderson Township; excavations found burial pits, hearths, trash pits, a wide midden, three of an original five mounds, and shell-tempered pottery modeled with owl and human-head effigies showing influence from the Mississippian culture to the south.

Nations recorded here: Fort Ancient culture.

  • Wesley Butler Archeological District (village|mound) — Whitewater Township, near Elizabethtown, north of U.S. Route 50, Archaic-period village (6,000+ years old) with later Woodland-period mounds (en.wikipedia.org)
  • Rennert Mound (mound) — Whitewater Township, western edge of Elizabethtown, prehistoric, culture not further specified in sources consulted (commons.wikimedia.org)
  • State Line Archeological District (Henry Bechtel Village) (village|burial) — Whitewater Township, on the Ohio-Indiana state line, about 2 miles north of the Ohio River, west of Elizabethtown, Fort Ancient culture, Middle Fort Ancient period, 13th century AD (en.wikipedia.org)

Timeline

  1. — Arthur Henry founds Miamitown around a flour mill and distillery, naming it for the nearby Great Miami River.
  2. — Isaac Mills plats Elizabethtown, naming it for his wife.
  3. — Township population is 1,661.
  4. — Elizabethtown, now a depot on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, has three stores, two churches, and a grain elevator.
  5. — The Gulf Oil Company begins operating a refinery at Hooven.
  6. — An archaeological survey of the Wesley Butler site finds stone scrapers, an axe, and small projectile points but no pottery, indicating a very old, separate Archaic-period occupation beneath later Woodland-period mounds.
  7. — The State Line Archeological District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 24.
  8. — The Wesley Butler Archeological District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 24.
  9. — Township population reaches 4,662.
  10. — The Gulf Oil refinery at Hooven closes, eliminating more than 200 jobs and severely affecting the local economy.
  11. — Township population reaches 6,375, up 15.5 percent from 2010.

Stories

Two villages, thousands of years apart, on the same acre

When archaeologists surveyed the Wesley Butler site near Elizabethtown in the 1950s, they found something that at first looked contradictory: stone scrapers, an axe, and tiny projectile points scattered through the soil, but not a single fragment of pottery anywhere on the roughly 30 to 40 acres. Pottery is exactly the kind of thing archaeologists expect to find in abundance at a Woodland-period mound site, and the Wesley Butler site does have mounds -- but the absence of ceramic fragments in the surrounding village debris told them the mounds had been built by a much later group of people on ground that a far older, pottery-less Archaic-period community, at least 6,000 years old, had already lived on and abandoned millennia earlier. Two miles away and two millennia later still, on the Indiana state line, a Fort Ancient culture village now known as the State Line Archeological District was thriving in the 13th century AD, at exactly the same time as the well-studied SunWatch village near Dayton, its people making shell-tempered pottery shaped into owls and human faces that shows clear influence from the Mississippian civilization far to the south. Three separate cultures, thousands of years apart, all chose the same low terraces along the Great Miami and the Whitewater for the same practical reasons: water, game, and good bottomland -- and all three left something for a 1970s survey crew to find.

Photographs

The Thomas Miller House, built 1830, on U.S. Route 50 southwest of Elizabethtown
The Thomas Miller House, built 1830, on U.S. Route 50 southwest of Elizabethtown (2010)
Photo: Nyttend, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Fields at the Wesley Butler Archeological District, west of Elizabethtown
Fields at the Wesley Butler Archeological District, west of Elizabethtown (2012)
Photo: Nyttend, public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wooded ground covering the Rennert Mound, western edge of Elizabethtown
Wooded ground covering the Rennert Mound, western edge of Elizabethtown (2010)
Photo: Nyttend, public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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

Historic places

1 place in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County on the National Register of Historic Places. Press a pin or a name for its whole record.

  1. Miller, Thomas, HouseBuilding · Elizabethtown · listed 2000
    Address
    11294 US 50
    Where
    Elizabethtown, Hamilton County · ZIP 45052
    What it is
    Building
    Listed on the National Register
    2000
    NRIS reference number
    00001294
    Coordinates
    39.16008, -84.81518

Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places point file. The listing year is shown where NPS's certification date agrees with the listing's reference number. Listing recognizes significance; it does not restrict a private owner.

Every historic place in Hamilton County on the full map

Water

Groundwater wells (3 wells) The water here

Hospitals, fire stations and more

Inside Whitewater Township, Hamilton County's boundary: 3 fire and EMS stations, 1 private school, 4 poor-rated bridges, 1 museum, 2 Superfund sites, 4 Toxics Release Inventory facilities, 17 spill cases and 2 mounds and earthworks. Press a pin or a name for its whole record and its source.

Fire and EMS stations (3)

  1. Whitewater Township Fire Department Station 104North Bend
    Address
    3586 Wayne Avenue, North Bend, OH 45052
    Coordinates
    39.16132, -84.80567
  2. Whitewater Township Fire Department Station 105Miamitown
    Address
    6736 State Highway 128, Miamitown, OH 45041
    Coordinates
    39.21426, -84.70429
  3. Whitewater Township Fire Department Station 95Hooven
    Address
    311 Ohio Avenue, Hooven, OH 45033
    Coordinates
    39.17744, -84.76412

Source: USGS National Map structures (most Ohio records last updated 2019 to 2022), checked against the Columbus and Cleveland station lists. The department that answers a call is set by jurisdiction and mutual aid, not by distance.

Private schools (1)

  1. Mt. Hope Christian AcademyPrivate, conservative Christian · Harrison
    Address
    9200 Strimple Rd, Harrison, OH 45030
    Kind
    conservative Christian
    Students, 2023-24
    5
    Teachers (full-time equivalent)
    1.9
    Students per teacher
    2.63158
    Phone
    (513) 367-0450
    NCES private school ID
    A1502936

Source: NCES Private School Survey 2023-24.

Bridges rated poor (4)

  1. I-275 over Whitewater RiverPoor · built 1976
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1976
    Length
    173 ft
    Owner
    State
    Vehicles a day
    15,977
    Coordinates
    39.18427, -84.79398
  2. I-275 over Whitewater RiverPoor · built 1976
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1976
    Length
    173 ft
    Owner
    State
    Vehicles a day
    15,977
    Coordinates
    39.18404, -84.79391
  3. US 50 over Whitewater RiverPoor · built 1941
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1941
    Length
    140 ft
    Owner
    State
    Vehicles a day
    12,104
    Coordinates
    39.16612, -84.78887
  4. Wb Ir 275 over Norfolk Southern Rr; Us5Poor · built 1976
    Condition
    Poor: a deck, superstructure, substructure or culvert rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale
    What it is
    Bridge
    Built
    1976
    Length
    115 ft
    Owner
    State
    Vehicles a day
    15,977
    Coordinates
    39.15001, -84.81708

Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025. "Poor" means one major part rated 4 or below on the 0 to 9 scale; it calls for repair, not closing, unless the state posts or closes the bridge.

Museums, historical societies, gardens and zoos (1)

  1. Miami Historical Society Of Whitewater TownshipHistorical society · Miamitown
    What it is
    Historical society
    City
    Miamitown
    Coordinates
    39.21406, -84.70473

    The museum list is IMLS's 2018 file; a museum may have closed or moved since.

Source: IMLS Museum Data Files, 2018.

Superfund sites (2)

  1. Cleves StyreneSuperfund program · Cleves
    Address
    Us Route 50 Adjunct To Barrett Asphalt Plant, Cleves, OH 45002
    County
    -- Not Defined -- County
    Status
    Superfund program site, not on the National Priorities List
    EPA program ID
    OHN000522075
    EPA registry ID
    110071846632
  2. Farwick Fields Lead SiteSuperfund program · Miamitown
    Address
    8015 Furlong Drive, Miamitown, OH 45002
    County
    Hamilton County
    Status
    Superfund program site, not on the National Priorities List
    EPA program ID
    OHN000507902
    EPA registry ID
    110071102371

Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Superfund (SEMS) and National Priorities List sites. Many program sites were assessed and needed no cleanup.

Facilities reporting toxic releases (4)

  1. Bruewer Woodwork Mfg. Co. (1431473393)Toxics Release Inventory · Cleves
    Address
    10000 Cilley Road, Cleves, OH 45002
    County
    Hamilton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45002BRWRW10000
    EPA registry ID
    110002112632
  2. Chevron Usa Inc Cincinnati RefineryToxics Release Inventory · Hooven
    Address
    5000 State Rte 128, Hooven, OH 45033
    County
    Hamilton County County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45033CHVRNINTER
    EPA registry ID
    110001103859
  3. Elco Corp.Toxics Release Inventory · Hooven
    Address
    4000 State Route 128, Hooven, OH 45033
    County
    Hamilton County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (active)
    EPA program ID
    45033THLCCSTATE
    EPA registry ID
    110000591832
  4. Quikrete - Cincinnati, Oh PlantToxics Release Inventory · Harrison
    Address
    5425 Kilby Rd, Harrison, OH 45030
    County
    Hamilton County County
    Status
    Reports to the Toxics Release Inventory (***unchanged***)
    EPA program ID
    4503WQKRTC5425K
    EPA registry ID
    110071432934

Source: EPA Facility Registry Service, Toxics Release Inventory reporters. Reporting a release is required of large users of listed chemicals; it is not by itself a violation.

Spills reported since 2021 (17)

  1. Material Unknown2025-06-09 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2025-06-09
    What spilled
    Material Unknown
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2506EPA0000938
  2. Sheen Rainbow / Hydrocarbon2025-04-22 · Null
    Reported
    2025-04-22
    What spilled
    Sheen Rainbow / Hydrocarbon
    Where
    Null, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2504EPA0000617
  3. Leachate2025-02-17 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2025-02-17
    What spilled
    Leachate
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2502EPA0000222
  4. Oil Transformer Non Pcb2025-02-15 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2025-02-15
    What spilled
    Oil Transformer Non Pcb
    Largest amount reported
    100 gallons
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2502EPA0000198
  5. Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc2024-12-11 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2024-12-11
    What spilled
    Other / All Other / Trade Name / Mixture / Solution Etc
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2412EPA0001997
  6. Chemical(S) Unk2024-09-24 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2024-09-24
    What spilled
    Chemical(S) Unk; Styrene (C8H8)
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2409EPA0001636
  7. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-04-05 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2024-04-05
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    150 gallons
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2404EPA0000545
  8. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2024-01-12 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2024-01-12
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2401EPA0000073
  9. Oil Transformer Non Pcb2023-02-12 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2023-02-12
    What spilled
    Oil Transformer Non Pcb
    Largest amount reported
    39 gallons
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2302EPA0000219
  10. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2022-09-16 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2022-09-16
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    50 gallons
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2209EPA0001418
  11. Oil Transformer Non Pcb2022-04-02 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2022-04-02
    What spilled
    Oil Transformer Non Pcb
    Largest amount reported
    45 gallons
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2204EPA0000457
  12. Sewage Human2021-11-26 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2021-11-26
    What spilled
    Sewage Human
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2111EPA0001781
  13. Sewage Human Reached water2021-10-09 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2021-10-09
    What spilled
    Sewage Human
    Reached a waterway
    99 - Unnamed
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2110EPA0001601
  14. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)2021-05-14 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2021-05-14
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Largest amount reported
    50 gallons
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2105EPA0000670
  15. Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road) Reached water2021-03-06 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2021-03-06
    What spilled
    Fuel Diesel / Diesel Fuel (Vehicle On Or Off Road)
    Reached a waterway
    99 - Unnamed
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2103EPA0000294
  16. Sewage Human2021-01-26 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2021-01-26
    What spilled
    Sewage Human
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2101EPA0000116
  17. Material Unknown2026-05-28 · Whitewater Twp
    Reported
    2026-05-28
    What spilled
    Material Unknown
    Where
    Whitewater Twp, Hamilton County
    Ohio EPA district office
    SWDO
    Ohio EPA case number
    2605EPA0000922

Source: Ohio EPA emergency response spill reports, 2021 to September 2026, one point per case where Ohio EPA placed it. A report is what the caller or responder recorded; amounts are often blank or estimated.

Mounds and earthworks (2)

  1. State Line Archeological DistrictVillage and burial · Fort Ancient culture
    What it is
    Village and burial
    Also named
    State Line Archeological District (Henry Bechtel Village)
    Age
    Fort Ancient culture, Middle Fort Ancient period, 13th century AD
    Where
    Whitewater Township, on the Ohio-Indiana state line, about 2 miles north of the Ohio River, west of Elizabethtown
    County
    Hamilton County
    Named in the history of
    Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Hamilton County
    Map point
    from the site's Wikipedia article

    Many mounds stand on private land; visit only those open to the public.

  2. Wesley Butler Archeological DistrictVillage and mound · Archaic-period village (6
    What it is
    Village and mound
    Age
    Archaic-period village (6,000+ years old) with later Woodland-period mounds
    Where
    Whitewater Township, near Elizabethtown, north of U.S. Route 50
    County
    Hamilton County
    Named in the history of
    Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, Hamilton County
    Map point
    from the site's Wikipedia article

    Many mounds stand on private land; visit only those open to the public.

Source: the History records' native sites, each placed by its own Wikipedia article; sites no article places are named on the History card but not pinned.

Its ZIP codes

Each ZIP code that touches Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, with the share of its residents who live here and the same headline figures as the ZIP page.

Local government

Who holds office in Whitewater Township, Hamilton County, how its elections and ballot issues came out, and the state auditor's record.

Money issues on the ballot since 2024: 0 of 2 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 0 of 2.

Ballot issues

DateIssueForAgainstResult
2024-11-05 Issue 26: PROPOSED TAX LEVY (ADDITIONAL) TOWNSHIP OF WHITEWATER 9661,622Failed (37.33% for)
2024-03-19 Issue 7: PROPOSED TAX LEVY (ADDITIONAL) TOWNSHIP OF WHITEWATER 153567Failed (21.25% for)

Elections for office

DateOfficeCandidates and votes
2025-11-04 Township Trustee Doug King 279, 50.73%; Willie Pope 271, 49.27%
2023-11-07 Township Trustee Guy G. Schaible 985, 100.0%
2023-11-07 Township Fiscal Officer James L. Brett 960, 100.0%
2021-11-02 Township Trustee Willie Pope 313, 52.43%; Doug King 284, 47.57%

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

Quick answers

What county is Whitewater Township, Ohio in?

Whitewater Township, Hamilton County is a township in Hamilton County, Ohio, with 6,369 residents.

When was Whitewater Township, Ohio founded?

Whitewater Township, Hamilton County was settled 1816 (Miamitown, by Arthur Henry); laid out 1817 (Elizabethtown, by Isaac Mills). Source

How did Whitewater Township, Ohio get its name?

Whitewater Township is named for the Whitewater River, a tributary that joins the Great Miami near the township's southwestern corner on the Indiana line; it is the only township named Whitewater anywhere in Ohio. Source

What ZIP code is Whitewater Township, Ohio?

Whitewater Township, Hamilton County is served by ZIP codes 45033, 45041, 45002, 45052 and 45030; 45033 holds the largest share of its residents.

Where does Whitewater Township, Ohio get its water?

The main water source for Whitewater Township, Hamilton County (Cincinnati Public Water System): Groundwater wells (3 wells).

Cite this page

Cite this page as:

Cracked Buckeye, "Whitewater Township, Hamilton County", https://crackedbuckeye.com/place/whitewater-township-hamilton-county/, built 2026-10-31, accessed [date].

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