Ruggles Township is one of the fifteen 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 Ashland County

Ashland County, Ohio

Ashland County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States, and was formed in 1846 from parts of Huron, Lorain, Richland and Wayne Counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,139. Its county seat is Ashland...

, 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 857 people in the township.

Geography

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

• New London Township, Huron County
  New London Township, Huron County, Ohio
  New London Township is one of the nineteen townships of Huron County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,440 people in the township, 744 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Rochester Township, Lorain County
  Rochester Township, Lorain County, Ohio
  Rochester Township is one of the eighteen townships of Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 752 people in the township, 562 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast corner
• Troy Township
  Troy Township, Ashland County, Ohio
  Troy Township is one of the fifteen townships of Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,051 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - east
• Orange Township
  Orange Township, Ashland County, Ohio
  Orange Township is one of the fifteen townships of Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,276 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the north central part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Troy Township - north...
  
   - southeast
• Clear Creek Township
  Clear Creek Township, Ashland County, Ohio
  Clear Creek Township is one of the fifteen townships of Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,069 people in the township, 1,300 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Butler Township, Richland County
  Butler Township, Richland County, Ohio
  Butler Township is one of the eighteen townships of Richland County, Ohio, United States. It is a part of the Mansfield Metropolitan Statistical Area...
  
   - southwest
• Greenwich Township, Huron County
  Greenwich Township, Huron County, Ohio
  Greenwich Township is one of the nineteen townships of Huron County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 954 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the southern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - west
• Fitchville Township, Huron County
  Fitchville Township, Huron County, Ohio
  Fitchville Township is one of the nineteen townships of Huron County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,012 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the eastern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - northwest corner

No municipalities are located in Ruggles Township.

Name and history

It is the only Ruggles Township statewide.

This township is included in the region known as the Firelands

Firelands

The Firelands or Sufferers' Lands tract was located at the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio...

 and was originally a part of adjacent Huron County

Huron County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 59,487 people, 22,307 households, and 16,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 121 people per square mile . There were 23,594 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile...

. It is named for Almon Ruggles, a surveyor

Surveying

See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...

 retained by the Connecticut Land Company

Connecticut Land Company

The Connecticut Land Company was formed in the late eighteenth century to survey and encourage settlement in the Connecticut Western Reserve, part of the Old Northwest Territory. The Western Reserve is located in Northeast Ohio with its hub being Cleveland. In 1795, the Connecticut Land Company...

 in 1808 and the first county recorder

Recorder of deeds

Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...

 of Huron County.

Huron County was established by the Ohio General Assembly

Ohio General Assembly

The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...

 on February 7, 1809 and, at the time, comprised present-day Erie County

Erie County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,551 people, 31,727 households, and 21,764 families residing in the county. The population density was 312 people per square mile . There were 35,909 housing units at an average density of 141 per square mile...

 (except a small part in the northwest); Huron County, Ruggles Township in Ashland County, Danbury Township in Ottawa County

Danbury Township, Ottawa County, Ohio

Danbury Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,631 people in the township, 3,869 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...

, and part of Catawba Island Township

Catawba Island Township, Ottawa County, Ohio

Catawba Island Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,157 people in the township...

 in said county

Ottawa County, Ohio

Ottawa County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,428. Its county seat is Port Clinton and is named either for the Ottawa Indians who lived there, or for an Indian word meaning "trader"....

- in short, the entire Firelands.

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.