Lemon Township, Butler County, Ohio

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Lemon Township is one of thirteen civil townships in Butler County. Located in the northeastern part of the county, it includes most of the city of Monroe and now exists as six disconnected pieces because of annexations by Monroe and Middletown. It has a population of 8,607 in 2000, down from 12,172 in 1990 because of annexations by Middletown, and of those 8,607, only 2,335 live in the unincorporated portion of the township. One of these places is the census designated place of South Middletown.

The township as originally created was approximately thirty-six square miles and included all of the Butler County portions of what is Middletown and most of the Butler County part of Monroe, the remainder being in Liberty Township. The southern part of the township was within the limits of the Symmes Purchase, the northern boundary today being marked by Todhunter Road, two and one quarter miles north of the southern boundary. It was bounded on the east by the Warren County line and on the west and north by the Great Miami River.

Lemon Township was erected by the Butler County Court of Quarter Sessions on May 10, 1803, with these boundaries:

Beginning on the west bank of the Great Miami, at the southwest corner of fractional township No. 1 in the fourth range west of the Miami; thence north to the northern boundary of the county; thence east with the northern boundary line of the county to the northeast corner thereof; thence southwestwardly and south with the eastern boundary of the county to the southeast corner of section No. 11, township 3, in the third entire range; thence west ot the Miami; thence southwestwardly down the Miami to the beginning.

The original boundaries included all of what is now Madison Township, Madison being divided from Lemon on May 7, 1810.

The townships that border it are Liberty on the south, Madison on the west and north, the Warren County townships of Franklin on the north and east, and Turtlecreek on the east.

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.

The Miami and Erie Canal passed through the township, parallelling the eastern shore of the Great Miami and linking Hamilton to Middletown. Remains of the canal, including the lock at Excello, are preserved as parks in the township. The Norfolk Southern Railroad has a main line through the center of the township. Major roads include I-75 and State Routes 4, 63, 73, and 122. The old Dixie Highway, later United States Highway 25, passed through the township. The community of Blue Ball was on the Dixie Highway where it crossed the Warren County line.

The township is served by the Monroe and Middletown post offices and lies in the Monroe and Middletown telephone exchanges. The newly created Monroe Local School District serves the southern portion of the township and the Middletown City School District the remainder. The Cincinnati Gas and Electric Company provides power and natural gas service.

[edit] 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--13,553
• 1990--6,056

[edit] 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.
• John W. Hauck. Narrow Gauge in Ohio. Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Publishing, 1986. ISBN 0-87108-629-8
• 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]
• Ohio. Secretary of State. The Ohio municipal and township roster, 2002-2003. Columbus, Ohio: The Secretary, 2003.

	Butler County, Ohio Hamilton, county seat
Municipalities	College Corner | Fairfield | Hamilton | Jacksonburg | Middletown | Millville | Monroe | New Miami | Oxford | Seven Mile | Sharonville | Somerville | Trenton
Townships	Fairfield | Hanover | Lemon | Liberty | Madison | Milford | Morgan | Oxford | Reily | Ross | St. Clair | Wayne | West Chester
Census-designated places	Beckett Ridge | Olde West Chester | Ross | South Middletown | Wetherington
Other places	Alert | Bethany | Blue Ball | Collinsville | Heno | Mauds | McGonigle | Okeana | Overpeck | Poasttown | Port Union | Scipio | Shandon | Woodsdale