Columbia Township, Hamilton County, Ohio

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Columbia Township, Hamilton County, Ohio
Township
A building of the Seven Hills School in the township
A building of the Seven Hills School in the township
Location in Hamilton County and the state of Ohio.
Location in Hamilton County and the state of Ohio.
Coordinates: 39°8′58″N 84°23′3″W / 39.14944°N 84.38417°W / 39.14944; -84.38417Coordinates: 39°8′58″N 84°23′3″W / 39.14944°N 84.38417°W / 39.14944; -84.38417
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyHamilton
Settled1788[1][2]
Established1791[1][2]
Named forColumbia[1][2]
Area
 • Total2.7 sq mi (6.9 km2)
 • Land2.5 sq mi (6.6 km2)
 • Water0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation
[3]
571 ft (174 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total4,532
 • Density1,700/sq mi (660/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code39-16882[4]
GNIS feature ID1086203[3]
Websitewww.columbiatwp.org

Columbia Township is one of the twelve townships of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census found 4,532 people in the township.[5] Originally one of Ohio's largest townships by area at its inception in 1791, it gradually shrank to one of the smallest by the early 1950s.[6]

Name[]

Columbia Township is named after Columbia, the first white settlement in the historical Miami Valley, near Cincinnati Municipal Lunken Airport and now part of Cincinnati's Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood.[1][2] Statewide, other Columbia Townships are located in Lorain and Meigs counties.

History[]

Columbia Township was formed in 1791, a year after Hamilton County was organized, when the court of general quarter sessions of the peace divided the southern part of the county into Columbia, Cincinnati, and Miami townships, each extending from the Ohio River north past the present-day Butler County line. Each township was assigned a standard cattle brand; historians have considered Columbia Township to be the county's first township, on account of its cattle brand of "A". The township's boundaries were defined as:[7][2]

Beginning at the foot of the second meridian east of Cincinnati on the Ohio bank; thence north to the third entire (or military) range; thence east to the Little Miami; thence down the Miami to Ohio river; thence down the Ohio to place of beginning.

Columbia Township was one of the largest townships in Ohio, larger than some present-day counties. The three townships included virtually all the white residents of the Symmes Purchase; in the midst of the Northwest Indian War, conflicts with indigenous peoples continued to take place to the north until the Treaty of Greenville.[2]

The township gradually shrank as Hamilton County's population grew. In 1795, upon the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, the court of general quarter sessions of the peace created Deerfield and Dayton townships out of the northern reaches of Columbia Township.[8] In 1803, the county commissioners created Sycamore Township from the northern half of Columbia Township[9] and, in turn, created Symmes Township from Sycamore Township's eastern half between 1820 and 1826.[10] In the early 1840s, Spencer Township was carved out of the southwestern part of Columbia Township.[2]

In 1861, the United States Army built Camp Dennison on 500 acres (200 ha) in the northeastern corner of the township.[11]

In 1876, Madisonville became the first village to incorporate within the township, followed by Norwood in 1881, Pleasant Ridge in 1891, and Terrace Park in 1893. The township's population grew further as the Cincinnati Street Railway extended lines further into the suburbs between 1890 and 1910. Cincinnati annexed Madisonville, Pleasant Ridge, Oakley, and Kennedy Heights between 1911 and 1914.[11]

From the 1920s, car ownership spurred additional growth in the southwestern corner of the township. Mariemont was developed as a car-centric community in 1922. The completion of Columbia Parkway in 1938 caused Cincinnati to annex surrounding unincorporated land, leading Indian Hill and Mariemont to incorporate as villages in 1941, followed by Fairfax in 1951. Unlike in other parts of Ohio, most villages in southwestern Ohio withdrew from their surrounding townships via paper townships, reducing the township to one of the smallest in Ohio by the early 1950s.[11][6] One exception was Fairfax, which only withdrew on January 1, 2010, due in part to city residents' low tax contribution compared to their influence on township elections.[12][13]

Columbia Township invested $75,000 through its partnership to support Mariemont’s development of the next segment of the Murray Path extension. In 2021 the path will be extended from Settle Rd. east to Plainville Rd. at the southern gateway to Columbia’s Plainville Business District and historic Madison Place neighborhood.

Geography[]

Located in the eastern part of Hamilton County, Ohio, the township divides into several "islands" by annexations. The principal ones have the following borders:

The former extent of Columbia Township is now largely occupied by the following municipalities:

  • The city of Cincinnati (the county seat of Hamilton County), in the west
  • The village of Fairfax, in the center
  • The village of Indian Hill in the eastern half of the township

Some of the remaining township (only about 2.5 sq mi (6 km2) in area) is land that is unsuitable for development, especially the banks of the Little Miami River.

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,[14] 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.

Joint Economic Development Zone (JEDZ)[]

On November 5, 2013, the residents of Columbia Township voted to establish a Joint Economic Development Zone (JEDZ) and to implement an earnings tax on individuals working in the Zone and on net profits from businesses in the Zone, in partnership with the Village of Fairfax.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Nelson & Runk 1894, p. 387.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Ford & Ford 1881, p. 347.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  4. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Columbia township, Hamilton County, Ohio". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "About Columbia Township". Columbia Township. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  7. ^ Nelson & Runk 1894, p. 40, 387.
  8. ^ "The History of Montgomery County, Ohio, Containing a History of the County". W. H. Beers & Company. 1882. pp. 278–279 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Ford & Ford 1881, p. 388.
  10. ^ Ford & Ford 1881, p. 396.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c "History of the Township". Columbia Township. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Kemme, Steve (June 22, 2009). "Fairfax may be its own township". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. B3.
  13. ^ Kemme, Steve; Wilkinson, Howard (November 4, 2009). "Township vote causes confusion in Fairfax". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. B2.
  14. ^ §503.24, §505.01, and §507.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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