Catawba Island Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. The 2000 census found 3,157 people in the township.

Communities

Catawba Island is an affluent

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in the northern portion of the township and the northern portion of the Catawba Island peninsula. The Catawba Island ferry terminal is located within the unincorporated community; the Miller Ferry runs from the terminal to the

Put-in-Bay Put-in-Bay is a village located on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, east of Toledo. The population was 154 at the 2020 census. The village is a popular summer resort and recreational destinati ...

ferry terminal and the Middle Bass ferry terminal. The Catawba Island Nature Preserve is also located within the unincorporated community.

Geography

The township is located in the northeastern part of the county on the northern point of the

Marblehead Peninsula Marblehead may refer to: Places in the United States * Marblehead, Illinois * Marblehead, Massachusetts * Marblehead, Ohio * Marblehead, Wisconsin Other uses * Marblehead to Halifax Ocean Race, a biannual sailing race on the North Atlantic * USS ...

, presently forming its own peninsula into

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

, but formerly it was an actual island. It borders the following townships: * Put-in-Bay Township - north, across Lake Erie *

Kelleys Island Kelleys Island is both a village in Erie County, Ohio, and the island which it fully occupies in Lake Erie. The British originally called it Sandusky Island. Later the United States took it over and officially designated it as Island Number 6 ...

- northeast, across Lake Erie * Danbury Township - southeast * Portage Township - southwest No municipalities are located in Catawba Island Township.

Name and history

It is the only Catawba Island Township statewide. The township's website claims that it was named for the variety of grapes that grew plentifully there, however, another source claims that it is named for the

Catawba tribe The Catawba, also known as Issa, Essa or Iswä but most commonly ''Iswa'' (Catawba: '' Ye Iswąˀ'' – "people of the river"), are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, known as the Catawba Indian Nation. Their current lands a ...

, who live in

the Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nort ...

but descend from the Ohio Valley. Old newspaper articles refer to

Rattlesnake Island Rattlesnake Island refers, variously, to the following places: United States * Rattlesnake Island (Clear Lake), in Lake County, California * A previous name for Terminal Island, in Los Angeles County, California * Rattlesnake Island (New Hampshire ...

as once being inhabited by the

. Although currently not an actual island, it is presently a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

. In prehistoric times, the Portage River is thought to have flowed into Lake Erie at the West Harbor (near East Harbor State Park), and this old channel of the river (which was also denoted on 19th-century maps) formerly made Catawba into a true island. All that currently remains of most of the old riverbed is an insignificant ditch. Prior to about 1804, the British seem to have referred to this island as Cunningham's Island (but, later, that name seems to have been briefly transferred to present-day Kelley's Island, which had formerly been named Sandusky Island in the 18th-century). A large section of this township is within the

Firelands The Firelands, or Sufferers' Lands, tract was located at the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio. It was legislatively established in 1792, as the "Sufferers' Lands", and later became named "Fire Land ...

region (the westernmost area of the Connecticut Western Reserve), and was originally a part of Danbury Township.

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,§503.24§505.01
an
§507.01
of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009. 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.

Tourism and recreation

Catawba Island is a very popular summer destination as part of Ohio's

Vacationland Vacationland may refer to: *An official slogan for the state of Maine * ''Vacationland'' (comedy show), a 2015 stand-up comedy show by John Hodgman * ''Vacationland'' (film), a 2006 film by Todd Verow * MV ''Vacationland'', a ferry that crossed the ...

region. The long and protected shoreline provides multiple marinas and cottage communities. The Lake Erie Islands including the Bass Islands, Kelleys, and Pelee are all easily accessible. The Miller Ferry which is able to carry cars, trucks, and pedestrians to and from the islands operates off the tip of the peninsula.

References

External links

County websiteTownship website
{{authority control Townships in Ottawa County, Ohio Townships in Ohio