West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio

West Chester Township, formerly known as Union Township, is a township located in the southeast corner of Butler County in southwest Ohio, one of thirteen townships in the county. It is situated between Sharonville and Monroe, about 18 miles north of Cincinnati. Exits 19, 21 and 22 off Interstate 75 serve West Chester. As of 2000 the population is 42,764 which includes the population of the unincorporated places of Beckett Ridge, Olde West Chester, and Wetherington.

The thirteenth and last in order of creation, it was erected from Liberty Township by the Butler County Commissioners on June 2, 1823, upon petitions from residents of the township. No boundaries were given in the resolution passed by the commissioners, but it originally contained 35 square miles (91 km²), just short of a full survey township. The new district was given the name "Union." Because Union Township was familiarly known as West Chester, plus the abundance of other townships in Ohio called Union, the name was changed to West Chester Township effective June 28, 2000, after being ratified by the township's voters at the March 9 primary election. Many census and government records, including the 2000 census, refer to Union Township.

It is bordered on the east by the Warren County township of Deerfield and the city of Mason; on the south by the Hamilton County cities of Sharonville and Springdale; on the west by Fairfield Township and the City of Fairfield; and on the north by Liberty Township.

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. Vacancies in the clerkship or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Three times voters have rejected the incorporation of the township as a city. On February 2, 1988, the vote was 4,097 to 3,956 against incorporation; 5,816 to 4,972 against on August 8, 1989, and 5,054 to 4,679 against on August 3, 1993.

The southeastern corner of the township has been annexed by the city of Sharonville and a small portion in the west has been annexed by Fairfield.

Most of the township is in the Lakota Local School District, but portions are also in the Princeton City School District and a tiny part on the eastern border is in the Mason City School District.

The township was home to the Voice of America's Bethany Relay Station, a facility covering 625 acres (2.5 km²) in the northwest corner of the township that broadcast American propaganda overseas from 1943 to 1994. Most of the township is in the West Chester post office (45069) but the southeastern corner is served by the Sharonville office (45241).

Historic population figures

• 1900--1,743
• 1910--1,534
• 1920--1,583
• 1930--1,988
• 1940--2,109
• 1950--2,545
• 1960--6,236
• 1970--12,795
• 1980--23,553
• 1990--37,894

External link

• West Chester Township web site (http://www.westchesteroh.org/index.html)

References

• Bert S. Barlow, W.H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, and Frederick Schneider, eds. Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio. Hamilton, Ohio: B.F. Bowen, 1905.
• Jim Blount. The 1900's: 100 Years In the History of Butler County, Ohio. Hamilton, Ohio: Past Present Press, 2000.
• Butler County Engineer's Office. Butler County Official Transportation Map, 2003. Fairfield Township, Butler County, Ohio: The Office, 2003.
• A History and Biographical Cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers. Cincinnati, Ohio: Western Biographical Publishing Company, 1882. [1] (http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohbutler/cyc/index.html)
• Ohio. Secretary of State. The Ohio municipal and township roster, 2002-2003. Columbus, Ohio: The Secretary, 2003.
• Virginia I. Shewalter. A History of Union Township, Butler County, Ohio. [West Chester, Ohio?]: The Author, 1979.