Hanover Township, Butler County, Ohio

Erection

The twelfth in order of creation, Hanover Township was erected from Ross and St. Clair townships by the Butler County Commissioners (James Blackburn, John Wingate, and William Robison) on December 2, 1811, with these boundaries:

Beginning at the southeast corner of the surveyed township No. 4 in the second range east of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami river; thence north to the northeast corner of the same township; thence west to the northwest corner thereof; thence south to the southwest corner thereof; thence east to the place of beginning.

Geography

The township consisted of one full survey township in the Congress Lands, and had an area of 36 square miles (93 km²) before the city of Hamilton annexed about 4 square miles (10 km²) of the township on its eastern edge. About half the village of Millville is in Hanover Township (the remainder is in Ross Township). The unincorporated community of McGonigle lies in the township's northwest.

Located in the center of the county, it borders the following townships:

Milford Township - north

Wayne Township - northeast

St. Clair Township - east

Ross Township - south

Morgan Township - southwest

Reily Township - west

Oxford Township - northwest

There are no navigable waterways in the township. It lies entirely within the Great Miami River's watershed. Beale Run, Indian Creek, Salman Run, and Lick Run drain to the south, their waters eventually entering the Great Miami below Hamilton. Becketts Run, Curlane Run, and Stony Run flow into Four Mile Creek, which enters the Great Miami above Hamilton.

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, 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.

As of 2007, the trustees were Fred Stitsinger, Timothy S. Derickson, and Douglas L. Johnson. Derickson's term expires December 31, 2011. Johnson and Stitsinger's terms expire December 31, 2009. The clerk is Elizabeth A. Brosius. The township administrator is Bruce Henry.

The first election of township officers was held at Aaron Sacket's home on December 21, 1811. In 2004, the township budget was about $1.4 million.

Policing is done by the Butler County sheriff's office under a contract with the township. The township operates a fire department which also makes ambulance runs. The township also operates a cemetery and its roads department maintains 34.5 miles (55.5 km) of highways.

Transportation

In the nineteenth century, the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railroad's Richmond division crossed the township en route from Hamilton with a station at McGonigle. This line, still active, is now part of CSX Transportation.

Major highways are U.S. Route 27, which links Cincinnati to Richmond via Millville and Oxford through the western third of the township; State Route 177, which links Hamilton and Richmond, across the northeast section of the township; State Route 130, which links U.S. 27 and State Route 177 through the center of the township; and State Route 129, which crosses the southeast from Hamilton to Millville.

Communications and utilities

The township is mostly served by the Hamilton post office, but the northeast corner is in the Oxford post office's territory. Nearly all of the township is in the Cincinnati Bell Telephone Company's Hamilton exchange, but the northwest and north central sections are in Verizon's Oxford exchange. Electricity is provided by the Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company, mainly along U.S. Route 27 and State Route 177. The remaining areas are served by the Butler County Rural Electric Co-operative [1]. Natural gas is provided by the Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company.

Schools

Most of the township is in the Talawanda City School District, which was formed by the merger of the Oxford, Hanover, Milford, and Somerville school districts in 1953. However, parts of the township are in three other districts. The Ross Local includes a section on the southern border, the Hamilton City includes territory in the southeast adjacent to the city of Hamilton, and the Edgewood City has a small piece of the township's northeast corner.

Historic population figures

1900—1,152

1910—1,078

1920—1,061

1930—2,008

1940—2,331

1950—3,266

1960—4,958

1970—6,175

1980—7,290

1990—7,653

2000—7,878

2010—8,311