York Township is one of twelve
townships in
Steuben County,
Indiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 710, down from 733 at 2010,
and it contained 293 housing units. York Township has the distinction of being Indiana's lone township to border both
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
and
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
as well as bordering two states on land as all other tri-points along Indiana's border are underwater.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , all land.
The streams of Hanselman Branch and West Branch Fish Creek run through this township.
Unincorporated towns
*
Berlien at
*
Courtney Corner at
*
Eastpoint Terminal (a
tollbooth on the
Indiana Toll Road)
*
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
at
*
Page at
*
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
at
(This list is based on USGS data and may include former settlements.)
Cemeteries
The township contains three cemeteries: Dygert, York, and Powers.
Major highways
*
Indiana Toll Road (
Interstate 80 and
Interstate 90)
*
U.S. Route 20
History

In the decades before it was settled by white immigrants, York Township and the surrounding area were the domain of the
Potawatomi Indians.
The first recorded white settler in York Township was Fayette Barron, who built a homestead at what would become Metz in 1836. The following year saw the arrival of the Powers families, who settled in the northwest sections of the township. Two Powers brothers had scouted the area the year before, and now brought six families on a long journey from
New York state.
[Folck, p. 46.]
In 1879, the Powers families and neighbors built what is now known as the
Powers Church.
The land for a nondenominational church (hence its other name "Free Church") had been donated in 1839 by Clark Powers, head of one of the original Powers families. The last regular services were held at the church in the 1920s. The church was restored in 1976 and added to the
National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The unincorporated village of Metz enjoyed its heyday during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At one point or another it boasted a sawmill, a hotel, physicians, an undertaker, and several of the more typical retail shops.
[Anspaugh.] In 1919, the York township schools were consolidated with those of
Richland Township into the Metz school. This school, with students from kindergarten through high school, operated for 40 years, until it was closed in 1959, a victim of declining enrollment.
Education
York Township residents may obtain a free library card from the Carnegie Public Library of Steuben County.
References
*Anspaugh, Colleen (1997) "Old towns", ''Steuben Herald-Republican'', Angola, Indiana, p. A3.
* Folck, Dorsey (1956) "York Township", Harvey Morley, editor, ''The 1955 History, Complete County Atlas, pictorial and Biographical Album of Steuben County, Indiana'', Angola, Indiana, pp. 46–47.
Steuben County Cemeteries, Steuben County, Indiana, INGenWeb Site, accessed August 12, 2008.
*Taylor, Robert M.; Stevens, Errol Wayne; Ponder, Mary Ann (1990) ''Indiana: A New Historical Guide'', Indiana Historical Society, .
U.S. Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)United States Census Bureau cartographic boundary files
External links
Indiana Township AssociationUnited Township Association of Indiana
{{authority control
Townships in Steuben County, Indiana
Townships in Indiana