Thompson Township, Geauga County, Ohio
Encyclopedia
Thompson Township is one of the sixteen townships
of Geauga County
, Ohio
, United States
. The 2000 census
found 2,383 people in the township.
No municipalities are located in Thompson Township. The township contains the unincorporated community of Thompson.
Thompson Township is the location of the Thompson Ledges landform.
and Seneca
Counties.
"Situated in the northeast corner of Geauga county, an average of eight miles from its north line to the southern short of Lake Erie, and its highest point is said to be seven hundred and one feet above the waters of Lake Erie, and one thousand two hundred and seventy-five feet above meantide water of the Atlantic. It is divided into forty-two lots, of some three hundred and eight-five acres each — was surveyed by one Chester Elliot, of Hambden, in this county, in the year 1809.
From authority at hand, its name was by and for one Matthew Thompson, of Suffield, Connecticut, and as the Reserve was mapped out into ranges and tracts, this was designated as lying in range six, tract ten, of the Connecticut Western Reserve, for Ohio was not known as a State till after settlement was commenced in this township. It was incorporated in 1801.
In its geological formation the conglomerate or pebbly sandstone forms the underlying of the township. The well-known ledge at this place furnishes a fine exposure of rock, and gives a rugged and very romantic character to the place, and many visitors are attracted to the place, especially during the summer season. A hotel, with small accommodations, was started as early as 1868, by one William Gilbreath, and the failure to be remunerative arose from want of sufficient funds to prepare suitable accommodations for boarding on a large scale and was abandoned in 1876, and yet there is an opening for a paying business, with the right man in the right place.
Read in his report to Professor Newberry, State geologist says the dip of the ledge here is from four to five degrees to the southwest. Of course a great amount of sandstone is quarried here, and taken a great distance for bridge and building purposes. The Berea grit is shown some in the northwest part of the township, but crops out more abundantly at Footville, southeast from us, where it enters Ashtabula county.
The forests, of course, partake of and mark the geological features along the line, and probably more of the oak and chestnut abound in this than any other of the townships of the county, and the high lands seem, when cleared, to furnish good pasturage, and are good for all purposes of tillage. The clay grounds are not as stiff as those of the more clay townships.
The first public road of which we have any record, was laid and reported by a committee appointed by the Connecticut Land Company
, January 30, 1798, running from Conneaut to Cleveland, through Sheffield, Plymouth, and Austinburg, here crossing a fordable place on the bend of Grand river, near where Mechanicsville now stands, and was marked by an Indian trail, thence through Harpersfield, striking Thompson near the northwest corner of lot forty-two, across thirty-one, southeast part of lot number thirty, the northwest part of lot twenty-nine, rising the ledge on lot twenty, on lands owned by Reuben B. Chaffee, where as late as 1870, he is able to show scarred trees, thence south, crossing east and west center road fifty rods (251 m) east of the village, on to lot number twenty-one, and crossing the road running south, near Roger R. Warner's and Richard Matthew's, across the old farm of Otis Howe, where the trace of the girdling is nearly lost, but scars are to be found on this lot (twenty-one) at the late date of 1876, and both Otis and Rufus Howe report it as a good place for gathering hoop-poles in an early day along this trace. Continuing, it touched the northwest corner of lot twenty-two, through lot fifteen, corner of fourteen, where the trace is still visible — as reported by Ovando Pomeroy — across the entire lots eleven and two into Leroy, thence along what is now termed the Plan Road, built from Fairport to Warren more than twenty years or more ago, leaving that and crossing Big Creek into Concord
, and passing westward to Judd's corners, and still on by the old Perkins camp, so called, to Little Mountain
.
In 1800 we find them in Thompson, on lot eleven, decoyed thither by the pledge of one King of Connecticut, a landholder, that he should have the agency of all lands in his name. He chopped and cleared some sixteen acres, but, being dissatisfied with his treatment at the hands of the King, "pulled up stakes," and moved to Concord, Ohio, to what was known as "Perkin's Camp," near the south line of the township, where he remained a year or so, and then moved within two miles of Painesville, on the north line of Concord township, where he lived till 1840, when he died, possessed of some four hundred acres of land, and two or more thousand dollars worth of personal property, the accumulation of his forty years of toil.
While in Thompson, in 1802, a son was born to them, which was, of course, the first child born in the township. He was named Isaac, and now (1876) is living in the northwest corner of Concord, with a family of two sons and four daughters living in the vicinity.
The doctor sailed his own boat from Buffalo to Fairport, and up Grand River opposite Thompson, having for company his wife, child, and a man named Sackett. In those days Grand River was at full banks, and, as they were going up the stream, having some fruit trees that he brought with him from the east, stopped and planted them on what is known as the General Paine farm, in Painesville, where they are still growing. In two years, say in 1802, Dr. Palmer returned to Connecticut, settled up Sackett's affairs, and brought on his family. Sackett afterwards went to Windor, Ashtabula county.
Dr. Palmer purchased several hundred dollars worth of provisions, and other necessaries, at Buffalo; so, it would seem, he had some money at this time, and started with his boat; but, part way up the lake, a storm coming up, they went ashore and unloaded the boat, taking everything back on the beach, except a sow and pigs, which were left on board, and made the boat fast to a tree. They camped back in the woods. On arising in the morning, to their astonishment, all their cargo was washed away, the boat tossing on the furious waves, and the sow and pigs were squealing, and subsequently lost. This took the doctor's funds, and additionally, after he had succeeded in reaching home, he was prostrated with fever, which well nigh took his life, and conspired to reduce his revenue, so that he had little left when, in 1803, he resolved to abandon Thompson... He was struck in the abdomen by a plow handle while cultivating corn, which caused his death within forty-eight hours. He died in June, 1840.
Colonel Davenport was here about the same time, with Palmer. Davenport came from near New Haven, Connecticut, and owned one thousand one hundred and fifty-eight acres in lots twenty-two, twenty-three, and forty... Subsequently Adenijah Tillotson bought nine hundred and fifty-eight acres of this land for one dollar per acre, and this land was afterward divided between his boys, Loyal, Marcus, Darius, Augustus, and Ashbel. Ashbel in the only one of the brothers now living (1876), though the lands all remain in the hands of descendants, except the two hundred acres to Augustus. Loyal came in 1819... and lived on the farm here till 1875, when he died. Darius came as late as 1823, and during the first five years cleared over twenty acres. He married a daughter of Noah Moseley.
These boys all improved and cleared before settling on them. I think it was as late as 1841 before the last one, Ashbel, became permanently settled, and is still on his place (1876).
One thing that was a serious trouble to these pioneers, as of others of the Reserve, was the want of mills. The first years these had to go to Parkman, twenty miles, to get grinding.
Set Hulburt Sr. and Seth Jr. came in 1808, performing the journey — the father on horseback and the son on foot...
In 1809, one Daniel Pomeroy came with his family, consisting of four or five daughters and one or more sons, and settled east of the others, not more than one mile west of the present center, and father and mother were both buried on a little knoll on the farm, and the place, though desolate from neglect, is still marked by poor marble.
No means are at hand to tell how fast settlers came in after this, until some six or seven years later; but we find reported as soldiers of the war of 1812: Joseph Bartlett, Jr., Abner Stockwell, Seth Hulbert, Retire Trask, Wm. Gee, and Eleazer Pomeroy, who made knapsacks for themselves and went on the call as far as Fairport, but returned without getting a sniff of war.
In 1816 there were but nine families in the township: Wm. Gee, Joseph Bartlett, Joseph Bartlett Jr., Seth Hulbert, Martin Williams, Daniel Pomeroy, Eleazer Sumner, and Mark Barnes. These few settlers were anxious for school privileges and set about securing them by opening a school in the house of Trask, and Miss Lovina Hulbert was the first one to act the part of school ma'am in this wild place, Miss Sylvia Barnes was the second, and by this time a building was given for the use of this work.
1817 — During this year there was a large accession of numbers in the township. In February 1817, Elias Strong, Sr., came on foot from Southampton, Massachusetts.
Noah Moseley came this year, with three boys and five girls; lived till 1860; died at the age of ninety-three years six months.
Emergy Lane came in the fall of 1818, from Montgomery county, New York, having purchased, before he ever saw it, the whole of lot twenty-nine.
During the 1830s, a branch of the early Latter Day Saint movement
, headquartered in nearby Kirtland
, was located in Thompson. Section 51 of the Doctrine and Covenants
, which explains the duties and performance of the office of Bishop, was written in Thompson in 1831 by Joseph Smith
.
transmitter for the WKSU
public radio station based in Kent
.
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 Geauga County
Geauga County, Ohio
Geauga County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 93,389. It is named for a Native American word meaning "raccoon". The county seat is Chardon...
, 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 2,383 people in the township.
Geography
Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:- Madison Township, Lake CountyMadison Township, Lake County, OhioMadison Township is one of the five townships of Lake County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 18,428 people in the township, 15,494 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
- north - Harpersfield Township, Ashtabula CountyHarpersfield Township, Ashtabula County, OhioHarpersfield Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,603 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the northwestern edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
- northeast corner - Trumbull Township, Ashtabula CountyTrumbull Township, Ashtabula County, OhioTrumbull Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,461 people in the township.-Geography:Located on the western edge of the county, it borders the following townships:...
- east - Hartsgrove Township, Ashtabula CountyHartsgrove Township, Ashtabula County, OhioHartsgrove 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:...
- southeast corner - Montville TownshipMontville Township, Geauga County, OhioMontville Township is one of the sixteen townships of Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,984 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northeastern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
- south - Hambden TownshipHambden Township, Geauga County, OhioHambden Township is one of the sixteen townships of Geauga County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,024 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
- southwest corner - LeRoy Township, Lake CountyLeRoy Township, Lake County, OhioLeRoy Township is one of the five townships of Lake County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,122 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the eastern part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Perry Township - north...
- west
No municipalities are located in Thompson Township. The township contains the unincorporated community of Thompson.
Thompson Township is the location of the Thompson Ledges landform.
Name
Statewide, other Thompson Townships are located in DelawareThompson Township, Delaware County, Ohio
Thompson Township is one of the eighteen townships of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 558 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
and Seneca
Thompson Township, Seneca County, Ohio
Thompson Township is one of the fifteen townships of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,422 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
Counties.
History
The following are excerpts from the General History of Geauga County, with Sketches of some of the Pioneers and Prominent Men published in 1880 by The Historical Society of Geauga Country. The preface indicates that the book was written "by different men in each of the townships" and warns "there may be errors of names and dates.""Situated in the northeast corner of Geauga county, an average of eight miles from its north line to the southern short of Lake Erie, and its highest point is said to be seven hundred and one feet above the waters of Lake Erie, and one thousand two hundred and seventy-five feet above meantide water of the Atlantic. It is divided into forty-two lots, of some three hundred and eight-five acres each — was surveyed by one Chester Elliot, of Hambden, in this county, in the year 1809.
From authority at hand, its name was by and for one Matthew Thompson, of Suffield, Connecticut, and as the Reserve was mapped out into ranges and tracts, this was designated as lying in range six, tract ten, of the Connecticut Western Reserve, for Ohio was not known as a State till after settlement was commenced in this township. It was incorporated in 1801.
In its geological formation the conglomerate or pebbly sandstone forms the underlying of the township. The well-known ledge at this place furnishes a fine exposure of rock, and gives a rugged and very romantic character to the place, and many visitors are attracted to the place, especially during the summer season. A hotel, with small accommodations, was started as early as 1868, by one William Gilbreath, and the failure to be remunerative arose from want of sufficient funds to prepare suitable accommodations for boarding on a large scale and was abandoned in 1876, and yet there is an opening for a paying business, with the right man in the right place.
Read in his report to Professor Newberry, State geologist says the dip of the ledge here is from four to five degrees to the southwest. Of course a great amount of sandstone is quarried here, and taken a great distance for bridge and building purposes. The Berea grit is shown some in the northwest part of the township, but crops out more abundantly at Footville, southeast from us, where it enters Ashtabula county.
The forests, of course, partake of and mark the geological features along the line, and probably more of the oak and chestnut abound in this than any other of the townships of the county, and the high lands seem, when cleared, to furnish good pasturage, and are good for all purposes of tillage. The clay grounds are not as stiff as those of the more clay townships.
The first public road of which we have any record, was laid and reported by a committee appointed 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...
, January 30, 1798, running from Conneaut to Cleveland, through Sheffield, Plymouth, and Austinburg, here crossing a fordable place on the bend of Grand river, near where Mechanicsville now stands, and was marked by an Indian trail, thence through Harpersfield, striking Thompson near the northwest corner of lot forty-two, across thirty-one, southeast part of lot number thirty, the northwest part of lot twenty-nine, rising the ledge on lot twenty, on lands owned by Reuben B. Chaffee, where as late as 1870, he is able to show scarred trees, thence south, crossing east and west center road fifty rods (251 m) east of the village, on to lot number twenty-one, and crossing the road running south, near Roger R. Warner's and Richard Matthew's, across the old farm of Otis Howe, where the trace of the girdling is nearly lost, but scars are to be found on this lot (twenty-one) at the late date of 1876, and both Otis and Rufus Howe report it as a good place for gathering hoop-poles in an early day along this trace. Continuing, it touched the northwest corner of lot twenty-two, through lot fifteen, corner of fourteen, where the trace is still visible — as reported by Ovando Pomeroy — across the entire lots eleven and two into Leroy, thence along what is now termed the Plan Road, built from Fairport to Warren more than twenty years or more ago, leaving that and crossing Big Creek into Concord
Concord Township, Lake County, Ohio
Concord Township is one of the five townships of Lake County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 15,828 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the center of the county, it borders the following townships and municipalities:...
, and passing westward to Judd's corners, and still on by the old Perkins camp, so called, to Little Mountain
Little Mountain (Ohio)
Little Mountain is a hill on the border of Lake and Geauga Counties in Ohio, with an elevation of . It sits along the border of Concord Township, Lake County, Ohio and Chardon Township, Geauga County, Ohio...
.
First Settlement
The first settler of this township was Dr. Isaac Palmer, who was born in Plainfield, Windham county, Connecticut, in 1770, and studied for, and commenced the practice of medicine, before he was twenty-five years old. His practice was confined to the region where he was born, as he did not practice much after he came to Ohio. He married Lois Maltby, of Goshenk Conn. — some two years younger than himself — the exact date of which event we are not possessed of, but a daughter they called Anna, was born to them in 1796, who died at Concord, Ohio, in 1875, a widow with several children. In 1799 they were at Buffalo, New York, and lost a child, nine days old.In 1800 we find them in Thompson, on lot eleven, decoyed thither by the pledge of one King of Connecticut, a landholder, that he should have the agency of all lands in his name. He chopped and cleared some sixteen acres, but, being dissatisfied with his treatment at the hands of the King, "pulled up stakes," and moved to Concord, Ohio, to what was known as "Perkin's Camp," near the south line of the township, where he remained a year or so, and then moved within two miles of Painesville, on the north line of Concord township, where he lived till 1840, when he died, possessed of some four hundred acres of land, and two or more thousand dollars worth of personal property, the accumulation of his forty years of toil.
While in Thompson, in 1802, a son was born to them, which was, of course, the first child born in the township. He was named Isaac, and now (1876) is living in the northwest corner of Concord, with a family of two sons and four daughters living in the vicinity.
The doctor sailed his own boat from Buffalo to Fairport, and up Grand River opposite Thompson, having for company his wife, child, and a man named Sackett. In those days Grand River was at full banks, and, as they were going up the stream, having some fruit trees that he brought with him from the east, stopped and planted them on what is known as the General Paine farm, in Painesville, where they are still growing. In two years, say in 1802, Dr. Palmer returned to Connecticut, settled up Sackett's affairs, and brought on his family. Sackett afterwards went to Windor, Ashtabula county.
Dr. Palmer purchased several hundred dollars worth of provisions, and other necessaries, at Buffalo; so, it would seem, he had some money at this time, and started with his boat; but, part way up the lake, a storm coming up, they went ashore and unloaded the boat, taking everything back on the beach, except a sow and pigs, which were left on board, and made the boat fast to a tree. They camped back in the woods. On arising in the morning, to their astonishment, all their cargo was washed away, the boat tossing on the furious waves, and the sow and pigs were squealing, and subsequently lost. This took the doctor's funds, and additionally, after he had succeeded in reaching home, he was prostrated with fever, which well nigh took his life, and conspired to reduce his revenue, so that he had little left when, in 1803, he resolved to abandon Thompson... He was struck in the abdomen by a plow handle while cultivating corn, which caused his death within forty-eight hours. He died in June, 1840.
Colonel Davenport was here about the same time, with Palmer. Davenport came from near New Haven, Connecticut, and owned one thousand one hundred and fifty-eight acres in lots twenty-two, twenty-three, and forty... Subsequently Adenijah Tillotson bought nine hundred and fifty-eight acres of this land for one dollar per acre, and this land was afterward divided between his boys, Loyal, Marcus, Darius, Augustus, and Ashbel. Ashbel in the only one of the brothers now living (1876), though the lands all remain in the hands of descendants, except the two hundred acres to Augustus. Loyal came in 1819... and lived on the farm here till 1875, when he died. Darius came as late as 1823, and during the first five years cleared over twenty acres. He married a daughter of Noah Moseley.
These boys all improved and cleared before settling on them. I think it was as late as 1841 before the last one, Ashbel, became permanently settled, and is still on his place (1876).
One thing that was a serious trouble to these pioneers, as of others of the Reserve, was the want of mills. The first years these had to go to Parkman, twenty miles, to get grinding.
Set Hulburt Sr. and Seth Jr. came in 1808, performing the journey — the father on horseback and the son on foot...
In 1809, one Daniel Pomeroy came with his family, consisting of four or five daughters and one or more sons, and settled east of the others, not more than one mile west of the present center, and father and mother were both buried on a little knoll on the farm, and the place, though desolate from neglect, is still marked by poor marble.
No means are at hand to tell how fast settlers came in after this, until some six or seven years later; but we find reported as soldiers of the war of 1812: Joseph Bartlett, Jr., Abner Stockwell, Seth Hulbert, Retire Trask, Wm. Gee, and Eleazer Pomeroy, who made knapsacks for themselves and went on the call as far as Fairport, but returned without getting a sniff of war.
In 1816 there were but nine families in the township: Wm. Gee, Joseph Bartlett, Joseph Bartlett Jr., Seth Hulbert, Martin Williams, Daniel Pomeroy, Eleazer Sumner, and Mark Barnes. These few settlers were anxious for school privileges and set about securing them by opening a school in the house of Trask, and Miss Lovina Hulbert was the first one to act the part of school ma'am in this wild place, Miss Sylvia Barnes was the second, and by this time a building was given for the use of this work.
1817 — During this year there was a large accession of numbers in the township. In February 1817, Elias Strong, Sr., came on foot from Southampton, Massachusetts.
Noah Moseley came this year, with three boys and five girls; lived till 1860; died at the age of ninety-three years six months.
Emergy Lane came in the fall of 1818, from Montgomery county, New York, having purchased, before he ever saw it, the whole of lot twenty-nine.
During the 1830s, a branch of the early Latter Day Saint movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
, headquartered in nearby Kirtland
Kirtland, Ohio
Kirtland is a city in Lake County, Ohio, USA. The population was 6,670 at the 2000 census. Kirtland is famous for being the early headquarters of the Latter Day Saint movement.-Origins of Kirtland:...
, was located in Thompson. Section 51 of the Doctrine and Covenants
Doctrine and Covenants
The Doctrine and Covenants is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement...
, which explains the duties and performance of the office of Bishop, was written in Thompson in 1831 by Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith was founder of what later became known as the Latter Day Saint movement or Mormons.Joseph Smith may also refer to:-Latter Day Saints:* Joseph Smith, Sr. , father of Joseph Smith...
.
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.Communication
Thompson Township is the site of WKSV 89.1 FM, a repeaterRadio repeater
A radio repeater is a combination of a radio receiver and a radio transmitter that receives a weak or low-level signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation. This article refers to professional, commercial, and...
transmitter for the WKSU
WKSU-FM
WKSU-FM — branded 89.7 WKSU — is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Kent, Ohio and owned by Kent State University. The station features NPR, APM and PRI programming, classical music, regional news and, on weekends, folk music....
public radio station based in Kent
Kent, Ohio
Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeastern Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 27,906 at the 2000 United States Census and 28,904 in the 2010 Census...
.
Further reading
- "General History of Geauga County, with Sketches of some of the Pioneers and Prominent Men" published in 1880 by The Historical Society of Geauga Country.