Orwell Township is one of the twenty-seven townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Ashtabula County

Ashtabula County, Ohio

Ashtabula County is the northeasternmost county in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 101,497, its county seat is Jefferson. The county is named for a Native American word meaning "river of many fish"....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 2,830 people in the township, 1,311 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located on the southwestern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Rome Township
  Rome Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Rome Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,568 people in the township, 919 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• New Lyme Township
  New Lyme Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  New Lyme Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,072 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - northeast corner
• Colebrook Township
  Colebrook Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Colebrook Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 887 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the southern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - east
• Greene Township, Trumbull County
  Greene Township, Trumbull County, Ohio
  Greene Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 986 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southeast corner
• Bloomfield Township, Trumbull County
  Bloomfield Township, Trumbull County, Ohio
  Bloomfield Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,097 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Mesopotamia Township, Trumbull County
  Mesopotamia Township, Trumbull County, Ohio
  Mesopotamia Township is one of the twenty-four townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,051 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southwest corner
• Windsor Township
  Windsor Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Windsor Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,932 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - west
• Hartsgrove Township
  Hartsgrove Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Hartsgrove Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,395 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the southwestern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - northwest corner

The village of Orwell

Orwell, Ohio

Orwell is a village in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,519 at the 2000 census. It is the birthplace of General Adna Chaffee, and of Russell Allen, as of 2006 the oldest living American Olympic cyclist....

 is located in central Orwell Township.

Name and history

It is the only Orwell Township statewide.

The first settler in Orwell Township was former New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

resident A. H. Paine, who arrived in 1815.

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, 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. Currently, the board is composed of chairman Thomas Prusinski and members Mark Hart and Mark Stackhouse.