Wikipedia:WikiProject Ohio/Townships taskforce

Welcome to the Ohio townships taskforce of WikiProject Ohio, used to better organize information in articles related to Ohio townships. It is hoped that this taskforce will help to focus the efforts of other Wikipedians. If you would like to help, please sign up below!

Scope
This taskforce aims to create articles on all of Ohio's civil townships, which are listed here.

Inactive participants

 * 18:01, Apr 20, 2005 (UTC) (Founder) - No edits since November 2010
 * 11:33, 22 May 2005 (UTC) - No edits since February 2008
 * 22:38, May 22, 2005 (UTC) - No edits since December 2010
 * 02:06, 14 January 2006 (UTC) - No edits since March 2010
 * 18:30, 1 August 2007 (UTC) - No edits since January 2010

Goals
To improve the depth and content of Ohio township articles and to maintain their stability and accuracy.

Templates
To add this taskforce's banner to a talkpage use the following code: (When township=yes, the edit guidelines include a link to the model format)

Title
Articles shall have a title in the form "TOWNSHIP NAME Township, COUNTY NAME County, Ohio", e.g. Oxford Township, Butler County, Ohio. Names should be checked against the list at List of Ohio townships. If a township has a unique name and is not similar to any others, then a redirect at "TOWNSHIP NAME Township, Ohio" should be created. Where there are more than one of the same or similar names, a disambiguation page should be created that lists all the variants, e.g. Union Township, Ohio. The DAB page should be entered into the townships category (see below).

Articles on paper townships should be made as redirects unless there is historical value, e.g. Millcreek Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. Townships that incorporated as a city, e.g. Van Buren Township, Montgomery County, Ohio or which merged with a city should be redirects to the city article and the former township status noted in the lead.

Townships that no longer exist and were not incorporated into a city, e.g. Deerfield Township, Hamilton County, Ohio should have articles explaining their status. These should be placed under Category:Defunct townships in Ohio.

Basic Empty Syntax
As much information as possible should be included. If information is not available, remove that line. Some details have been filled in for you. See Template:Infobox Settlement for additional fields that are available and the table at there for all fields and descriptions of usage.

Lead paragraph
This is the lead from the article on Oxford Township:


 * Oxford Township, also known as the College Township, is one of thirteen civil townships in the county and is located in the northwestern corner of Butler County, where it meets Preble County, Ohio, and Union County, Indiana. The city of Oxford and Miami University are located here. The Census Bureau counted 24,133 inhabitants in 2000, up from 23,092 in 1990. Excluding the city of Oxford and the village of College Corner there are 2,088 residents of the unincorporated portion of Oxford Township. It comprises one full survey township (R1E T5) in the Congress Lands and is thirty-six square miles in area.

Lead paragraphs should contain:
 * 1) The name of the township
 * 2) How many townships are in the county
 * 3) Its position in the county
 * 4) If it is one of the corners of the county or borders others, this should be stated
 * 5) Incorporated places within the township should be noted
 * 6) The population in 2000 and 1990 should be given and if there is a dramatic change (e.g. Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio) an explanation should be given. The population outside the corporate limits of municipalities should also be noted
 * 7) If it is one of the largest or smallest in area or population, this should be noted
 * 8) The survey that it is in, e.g. Symmes Purchase, Virginia Military District, should be noted. If it corresponds to a survey township, the range and town numbers should be given.
 * 9) The area
 * 10) The derivation of the name
 * 11) Any special things about the township, e.g. Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio is the home of Jeffrey Dahmer or the Ohio Renaissance Festival is in Massie Township, Warren County, Ohio.

This information does not need to be presented in strict order given because that could result in awkward phrasing, but it is given a guide.

Maps


For every municipality and census designated place in Ohio, maps have been created. If the township contains one of these, just copy the map to the appropriate place. (See note in next paragraph.) If there are no maps available, insert a thumbnail of the county map or request one be made at the Graphic Lab. Examples of the maps on Oxford Township and Adams Township, Clinton County, Ohio are depicted.

If you do decide to create maps of the townships, a source to do so exists here:. This PDF file from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources contains a map showing all of Ohio's townships, along with the location of each of Ohio's 88 county seats. From this source, and using a good image editor, you may create a countywide map of that county's townships, as has been done for Logan County, Ohio. A county map in a somehwat different format, based on U.S. Census maps, has been done for Hancock County, Ohio. SVG would be the file format of choice for these created maps, which can then be uploaded to Wikipedia or Wikimedia Commons.

To provide links to more maps, it's helpful to include coordinates in the articles. Use the corresponding template, such as coord in the article (see WP:GEO for more details). See also Obtaining geographic coordinates.

Demographics
Detailed population data from the U.S. Census Bureau exists for all townships. See the information here. Where it says "United States" pull down to "County subdivision" and select Ohio. A list of counties will come up; choose one and the townships will be identified.

Another source is provided by the Ohio State University, here. Click on a county on the map and data can be obtained, including the population figures in each city and township. Clicking on the line "Subcounty data" under demographics, allows one to obtain an array of data on each township.

Historic population figures
If they can be obtained, previous Census data should be listed. If there is data for the township and municipalities within it, create a table to list the data, otherwise it should be displayed in a bulleted list. See Marion Township, Clinton County, Ohio for an example of a table and Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio for an example of a list.

Creation
The date the township was created should be noted along with who established it. In nearly all cases it will be the county commissioners. If the township was one of the original ones of the county, this should be noted. The original and subsequent boundaries should be noted. St. Clair Township, Butler County, Ohio's article contains these paragraphs:


 * One of the original five townships of Butler County, it was erected by the Butler County Court of Quarter Sessions on May 10, 1803, with these boundaries:


 * Beginning on the west bank of the Miami at the southwest corner of the fractional township No. 1 of the fourth range west of the Miami; thence north to the northern boundary of the county; thence west to the northwest corner of the county; thence south to the southwest corner of the township No. 4 of the first range west of the Miami; thence east to the Miami; thence northeasterly and northwestwardly up the Miami to the place of beginning.


 * If the township was originally included within another or was divided to form more townships, these facts should also be noted. Again, St. Clair Township says:


 * The area of the township has been significantly reduced from the original boundaries. Four new townships were created from it: Milford Township and Wayne Township, both on December 2, 1805; Reily Township on December 7, 1807; and Hanover Township (from parts of St. Clair and Ross Townships) on December 2, 1811. What is now Oxford Township was originally within the bounds of St. Clair Township, Oxford having been erected from Milford Township in 1811.


 * From these reduced borders, which consisted of nineteen whole and nine fractional sections, a substantial area has been withdrawn from the township because of annexations by the city of Hamilton. Most of the area of Hamilton west of the Great Miami River, the township's southern boundary, was originally included in St. Clair Township. In 1857, a paper township, Hamilton, was erected from parts of St. Clair and Fairfield Townships.

Neighbors
The townships that border the subject should be noted, starting in the south and proceeding clockwise. Again, quoting St. Clair Township:


 * The southeastern border is the Great Miami River. East of it is Madison Township to the northeast and to the southeast Fairfield Township (but most of this territory has since been incorporated into the cities of Hamilton and Fairfield) and . Ross and Hanover Townships are to the west, Milford Township is to the northwest, and Wayne Township is to the north.

Government
Virtually all of Ohio's townships are governed on the basic plan described in this paragraph, which should be copied and added to all articles:
 * 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 clerk, 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. The trustees and clerk are all chosen in non-partisan elections. Vacancies in the clerkship or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Townships have recently gained the option to expand to five trustees but few if any have done so. In 2002, Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio's voters rejected this idea. Some townships have adopted "home rule" status. If this is the case this should be noted and sourced. Special features of a township's government, e.g. having a full-time administrator to run its affairs, operating police and fire departments, and handling its own zoning (many let the county do this), should also be noted.

Listing the current officers of a township should be done with a sentence that begins "As of 2008, the officers were . . . " per policy.

History
Details on the township's history should be noted. Famous people who have resided there can also be noted.

Communications
Details on what post offices and telephone exchanges serve the township should be noted, e.g. Harlan Township, Warren County, Ohio. Try to be specific, such as saying most of the township is in a certain exchange but the southwest corner of the township is in another exchange. Major roads should be noted, e.g. interstates, U.S. and state highways. If an interstate highway passes through, any exits or the lack thereof should be listed. Airports and navigable waterways should be noted too. See the PUCO's page here for detailed maps of the service territories of electric, gas, water, and telephone companies.

Schools
The school districts that cover the township should be noted. Be specific, as with the post offices and telephone exchanges.

See the excellent maps of school districts on the PUCO's site, here which are PDF files and very detailed. (However, some are outdated, e.g. the Butler and Warren maps do not include the recently created Monroe Local School District.)

Another way to learn what districts cover each township is to consult the "rates of taxation" each County Treasurer is required by law to issue. For example, here are the Warren County rates for 2004. Under the first township, Clearcreek, we see that parts of it are in the Springboro Community City, Lebanon City, Franklin City, and Wayne Local School Districts.

A list of all districts in a county should be posted on the county article.

''Note: No official position has been rendered on titling articles on school districts. See Naming conventions (Ohio school districts) for a discussion.''

Footer templates
All townships should include   before the first category and after the last external link, with one line padding. See:Bath Township, Allen County, Ohio for an example

Categories
Every township should be listed in   and    (if available). Defunct townships should be categorized under Category:Defunct townships in Ohio and disambiguous pages should be under Category:Ohio township disambiguation pages.