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History · Washington Township

26% of Washington Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1913 on.

0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain

What stands out about Washington Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Washington Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Washington Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19133 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1961. Watch Washington Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Washington Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Washington Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Byhalia
1852–1906
Arbela
1887–1907
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ArbelaByhaliaHaynesville
Gone or out of use
Bethany SchoolschoolByhalia Post Officepost officeFouts SchoolschoolGrace Temple SchoolschoolHoward SchoolschoolSherwood SchoolschoolWilderness Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Washington Township
BurnsideByhaliaQuaker

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Washington Township on the map, 1913 to 1961

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Washington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Washington Township on the 1913 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1944 USGS mapWashington Township on the 1961 USGS map1913Richwood sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Washington Township.

The story so far

Washington Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Washington Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Washington Township is one of the fourteen townships of Union County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 812 people in the township.

Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 824 in 2010, 812 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Washington Township, 1852 to 1913

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1852Post officeThe Byhalia post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Arbela post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906Post officeThe Byhalia post office closes
  6. 1907Post officeThe Arbela post office closes
  7. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Washington Township, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Rush Creek bridge in2015Rush Creek bridge inByhalia Friends Church2015Byhalia Friends ChurchMap of Union County Ohio Highlighting2015Map of Union County Ohio HighlightingMap
Famous people

Famous people close to Washington Township

Nobody well known was born in Washington Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
W
Wallace Clement SabineAmerican physicist · b. 1868
Bob ShawAmerican and Canadian football player, coach, a… · b. 1921
Aaron S. WatkinsAmerican politician · b. 1863
Robert H. MarriottAmerican engineer · b. 1879
C
Chim LingrelAmerican football player · b. 1899
J
John W. GrabielOhio and Arkansas lawyer; Republican politician · b. 1867
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Jackson TownshipIts storyB−York TownshipIts storyB−Bokescreek TownshipIts storyB+Hale Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Washington Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.