Liberty Township, Darke County, Ohio

Liberty Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 986 people in the township.

Liberty Township, Darke County, Ohio
Township
The Clemens Farmhouse, a historic site in the township
The Clemens Farmhouse, a historic site in the township
Location in Darke County and the state of Ohio
Location in Darke County and the state of Ohio
Coordinates: 40°3′20″N 84°45′26″W
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyDarke
Area
 • Total33.3 sq mi (86.2 km2)
 • Land33.2 sq mi (86.0 km2)
 • Water0.08 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation
[1]
1,161 ft (354 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total986
 • Density30/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code39-43092[3]
GNIS feature ID1086017[1]

Geography

Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

The village of Palestine is located in central Liberty Township.

Name and history

One of twenty-five Liberty Townships statewide,[4] it was originally named German Township, but its name was changed to Liberty Township in the 1910s.[5]

German Township was formed from parts of Harrison and Washington counties in 1820. The first settler within its bounds was James Cloyd, who arrived six years before the township's organization.[6]: 552  The first school in the township was established near Palestine in 1820, while the first church (a Lutheran congregation) was built in 1826.[6]: 553 

One of German Township's most distinctive features was Tampico, an African-American settlement founded in 1822 and platted in 1850. Located in the northwestern part of the township, its earliest residents were freeborn African Americans from Rockingham County, Virginia who moved to Ohio after the county evicted all freeborn African Americans. In 1914, Tampico and the surrounding rural areas supported four schools and two churches.[6]: 554 

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer,[7] who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

References
  1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. "Liberty township, Darke County, Ohio - Census Bureau Profile". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
  3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. "Detailed map of Ohio" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
  5. Fourteenth Census of the United States: State Compendium, Volume 34: Ohio: Statistics of population occupations, agriculture, manufactures, and mines and quarries for the State, counties, and cities. Footnote 6. Bureau of the Census, United States Department of Commerce. 1925.
  6. Wilson, Frazer Ells (1914). History of Darke County, Ohio, from its earliest settlement to the present time. Milford, Ohio: Hobart Publishing Company. p. 552.
  7. §503.24, §505.01, and §507.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009.
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