Johnson Township is one of fourteen

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Clinton County, Indiana Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 33,190. The county seat is Frankfort. History Clinton County officially came into existence on March 1, 1830, and was named in honor of DeWitt Cli ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 450 (down from 511 in 2010) and it contained 213 housing units. The township was named for

Richard M. Johnson Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was an American lawyer, military officer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren. He is ...

, a military officer and later

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

. and it contained 213 housing units.

History

Johnson Township, established in March 1843 by the county commissioners, was one of the later areas of the county to be settled, it being originally included in the Big Miami Reserve and not open to white settlement until after the cession of 1838. The township's first white settlers were brothers George, William and Charles Thomas who arrived in 1839 and for two years were the only residents. The township's early social and business center was Burget's Corner two and a half miles north of Scircleville which had a general store and a post office that remained in operation for over 30 years. The building housing the store and post office was later moved to Scircleville and used as a saloon.

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, another early settlement platted in 1847 in the southeastern part of the township, also faded into extinction during the 19th century.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , all land. A

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

rail line runs east and west through the southern part of the township, connecting Frankfort and

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

. The line previously operated as the

Lake Erie and Western Railroad The Lake Erie and Western Railroad was a railroad that operated in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. The Lake Erie and Western main line extended from Sandusky, Ohio, westward to Peoria, Illinois, passing through Fremont and Fostoria, Ohio, Muncie ...

and the

Nickel Plate The New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad , abbreviated NYC&St.L, was a railroad that operated in the mid-central United States from 1881 to 1964. Commonly referred to as the "Nickel Plate Road", the railroad served parts of the states of ...

Unincorporated towns

Hillisburg Hillisburg is an unincorporated community in Johnson Township, Clinton County, Indiana. History Hillisburg was laid out in 1874 by John Etherton Hillis (1840-1904), a local businessman and financier, and by 1886 had two general stores, two drug ...

* Scircleville

Adjacent townships

* Forest Township (north) * Prairie Township, Tipton County (northeast) * Jefferson Township, Tipton County (east) * Sugar Creek Township (south) * Kirklin Township (southwest) * Michigan Township (west)

Cemeteries

The township contains seven cemeteries: Bacon, Baker, Merrit, Plummer, Prairie Chapel, Scott and Stroup.

References

*
United States Census Bureau cartographic boundary files
{{authority control Townships in Clinton County, Indiana Townships in Indiana 1843 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1843