Hocking Township​

200 Years in History

1801 was the year in which lands of Fairfield County were offered for sale at the Land Office in Chillicothe. This same year the 14th Township north of the Ohio river in the 19th range West of the Ohio Border was Surveyed. This flat land with rolling hills and abundance of trees and natural tributaries lent itself well to farming as well as milling.

Emanuel Carpenter started the first mill located near Utica Park in the early 1800′s. John & Samuel Carpenter patented land along the Muddy Prairie Run in 1806 on which they located a woolen mill. Daniel Arney erected a mill in the Southeast corner of the Township for grinding flax seed.

Nathaniel Wilson Sr. purchased a patent for Sec. 10 of the Township in 1812. Mr. Wilson Jr. started the erection of the Stonewall Cemetery in Section 15, and later deeded this cemetery to President James Monroe on October 23, 1817 to be held in trust. This famous cemetery is now under the care of the Fairfield Board of Park Commissioners.

The town of Hamburg was laid out in 1817 by John Roland along what was once the Zane Trace. However since Samuel Medil patented this section of land in 1808 he was credited by Fairfield County Historians as laying out the town.

Until 1831, when Lancaster was chartered, it is likely that most of the original town of Lancaster was taxed under Hocking Township.

The first written records we have of Township proceedings is dated March 18, 1867. Highlights of this era was the redistricting of roads for the purposes of maintenance. The first mention of Trustees were U.A. Gibelin, Samuel Cunningham and Henry Boercher. The first mention of a Clerk, Amos Graham, was November 1873.

The Township budget in 1911 was $4,000, much of which was spent to help residents with medical concerns, food, clothing and burial expenses. Road maintenance was largely taken care of with volunteer labor from the residences. The township bought their first truck for road maintenance in 1928 for which they paid $1,050.  

In 1946 the Board called a special meeting of the taxpayers to discuss their options regarding fire protection. On August 21, 1946 they signed their first contract with the City of Lancaster for $300.00 per year and $50.00 per run. The taxpayers agreed to a one mill Fire tax levy which was resolved by the Board on August 30, 1946. In August 1947 the Trustees passed a resolution to contract with Amanda Township for Fire protection at a cost of $150.00 per year and $25.00 per call, this contract continued for three years. Hocking Township continued contracting with Amanda Township for Fire protection with changes periodically to the charges until December 31, 2011.  January 1, 2012 Hocking Township started their own Fire and Emergency Services Department, operating with 38 volunteers. Chief Curtis Golden worked closely with the Board of Trustees to purchase a used Fire Truck and Ambulance to start the department as cost effectively as possible.   The Department of Forestry donated a pick up truck which is used as our grass truck after modifications.

Community members and the Trustees worked together to dedicate in 1994, the “Old Schoolhouse Park”, at the corner of Hamburg and Hopewell Church Roads, as a tribute to the Schoolhouse that once stood on this site. The Board of Trustees once used the Clarksburg Election House which once stood at Hamburg and Country Club Roads as their Township Meeting Hall.

History