Van Buren Township is one of the fifteen
townships
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
of
Putnam 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
2020 census found 2,821 people in the township.
Geography
Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:
*
Bartlow Township, Henry County - north
*
Jackson Township, Wood County - northeast corner
*
Pleasant Township, Hancock County - east
*
Blanchard Township, Hancock County - southeast corner
*
Blanchard Township - south
*
Ottawa Township - southwest corner
*
Liberty Township - west
*
Marion Township, Henry County - northwest corner
Two villages are located in Van Buren Township:
Belmore in the northern part of the township, and
Leipsic in the western part of the township.
Name and history
The township was surveyed in 1821, but not organized until 1843. (Before organization it had been known as North Blanchard.) The swampiness of the land and "masses of fallen timbers" were the primary reasons for its slow settlement. Abraham Baughman was the township's first settler, moving there in 1835. In 1850, the population was 172, rising to 608 by 1860 (768 if Leipsic is included). Most of the early residents were farmers but a significant number were occupied as railroad laborers (over 30 in 1860).
Statewide, other Van Buren Townships are located in
Darke,
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
, and
Shelby counties.
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
The ''Ohio Revised Code'' contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments of the Ge ...
. 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.
References
External links
Putnam County website
{{authority control
Townships in Putnam County, Ohio
Townships in Ohio