Perry Township is one of the eleven 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 Hocking County

Hocking County, Ohio

Hocking County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of 2010, the population was 29,380. Its county seat is Logan. Its name is from the Hocking River, the origins of which are disputed but is said to be a Delaware Indian word meaning "bottle river".-Geography:According to the...

, 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 2,554 people in the township, 2,021 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Madison Township, Fairfield County
  Madison Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Madison Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,385 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - north
• Good Hope Township
  Good Hope Township, Hocking County, Ohio
  Good Hope Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,444 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - northeast
• Laurel Township
  Laurel Township, Hocking County, Ohio
  Laurel Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,190 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Good Hope Township - north...
  
   - east
• Benton Township
  Benton Township, Hocking County, Ohio
  Benton Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 814 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Laurel Township - north...
  
   - southeast corner
• Salt Creek Township
  Salt Creek Township, Hocking County, Ohio
  Salt Creek Township is one of the eleven townships of Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,260 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Colerain Township, Ross County
  Colerain Township, Ross County, Ohio
  Colerain Township is one of the sixteen townships of Ross County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,943 people in the township, 1,572 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest corner
• Salt Creek Township, Pickaway County - west
• Clearcreek Township, Fairfield County
  Clearcreek Township, Fairfield County, Ohio
  Clearcreek Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,411 people in the township, 2,830 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northwest

The small village of Laurelville

Laurelville, Ohio

Laurelville is a village in Hocking County, Ohio, United States. The population was 533 at the 2000 census.The Hocking State Forest is located outside Laurelville.-Geography:Laurelville is located at ....

 is located in Perry Township's southwestern corner.

Name and history

It is one of twenty-six Perry Townships statewide

Perry Township, Ohio

Perry Township, Ohio may refer to:*Perry Township, Allen County, Ohio*Perry Township, Ashland County, Ohio*Perry Township, Brown County, Ohio*Perry Township, Carroll County, Ohio*Perry Township, Columbiana County, Ohio...

.

While Hocking County itself was created in 1818, it had different boundaries from those of today. Perry Township was not a part of Hocking then. It remained a part of Fairfield County until 1850. At that time, the creation of Vinton County south of Hocking County took some of Hocking County's acreage. To recompense Hocking County for its loss, Perry Township was taken from Madison Township of Fairfield and given to Hocking County. Also, the bottom tier of Madison Township, Sections 31-36, was removed from Madison Township of Fairfield County and attached to Perry Township of Hocking County. As a result, Perry Township today has 42 Sections instead of the usual 36, and it has two each of Sections 31-36, one of each at the top (north) of the township and one of each at the bottom (south).

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.