Ruggles Township, Ashland County, Ohio

Ruggles Township is one of the fifteen townships of Ashland County, Ohio, United States. The population was 955 at the 2020 census.[3]

Ruggles Township, Ashland County, Ohio
The Crittenden Farmhouse, a historic site in the township
The Crittenden Farmhouse, a historic site in the township
Location of Ruggles Township in Ashland County
Location of Ruggles Township in Ashland County
Coordinates: 41°2′23″N 82°23′2″W / 41.03972°N 82.38389°W / 41.03972; -82.38389
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyAshland
Area
 • Total
26.0 sq mi (67.4 km2)
 • Land25.8 sq mi (66.9 km2)
 • Water0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation1,086 ft (331 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
955
 • Density35/sq mi (13.5/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code39-68966[2]
GNIS feature ID1085714[1]

Geography

edit

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

No municipalities are located in Ruggles Township.

Name and history

edit

It is the only Ruggles Township statewide.[4]

This township is included in the region known as the Firelands and was originally a part of adjacent Huron County. It is named for Almon Ruggles, a surveyor retained by the Connecticut Land Company in 1808 and the first county recorder of Huron County.[5][6][7]

Huron County was established by the Ohio General Assembly on February 7, 1809, and at the time comprised present-day Erie County (except a small part in the northwest), Huron County, Ruggles Township in Ashland County, Danbury Township in Ottawa County, and part of Catawba Island Township in Ottawa County[8] - in short, the entire Firelands.

Ruggles Township was added to Ashland County when it was formed on February 24, 1846 from portions of Huron, Lorain, Richland, and Wayne counties.[9]

Ruggles Township is home to Crittenden Farmhouse, a historic farmstead listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10]

Government

edit

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,[11] 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.

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ "Ruggles township, Ashland County, Ohio - Census Bureau Profile". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ^ "Detailed map of Ohio" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
  5. ^ Milan and the Milan Canal, by Charles E. Frohman, c.1976, pp. 26-28.
  6. ^ Baughman, Abraham J. (1909). History of Huron County, Ohio: Its Progress and Development, with Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens of the County, Volume 1. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 166.
  7. ^ Williams, William W. (1879). History of the Fire Lands, Comprising Huron and Erie Counties, Ohio. Press of Leader Printing Company. pp. 501.
  8. ^ Ohio Lands, A Short History, a publication of the Ohio Auditor of State, c. 1994, p. 10.
  9. ^ "Ashland County". Ohio History Central. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  10. ^ Baughman, Abraham J. (1909). History of Ashland County, Ohio: With Biographical Sketches of Prominent Citizens of the County. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 457–459.
  11. ^ §503.24, §505.01, and §507.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009.
edit