Licking Township

Licking Township is situated in the south-central section of the county. It is bordered on the north by Newark and Newark Township, to the east by Franklin Township and Bowling Green Township and to the south by Perry County. Union Township lies to its west. Licking Township differs from other county townships in that its border with Union is formed by a natural boundary—the Licking River—rather than an arbitrary, straight line. Its southern border has another natural boundary point in Buckeye Lake Reservoir.

The original township had several small villages, including Fleatown, Avondale, and Jacksontown, but the area was grown in population in the second half of the twentieth century with the establishment of Heath in 1952 and the expansion of developments along Buckeye Lake. The township lies across the National Road and is home to Dawes Arboretum and Legend Valley. The southernmost strip of land in Licking Township was part of the Refugee Tracts.

Moundbuilders and other Native American Presence

There was a strong presence of Native American structure in Licking Township at the time of European settlement/ Some of those structure remain visible today, but a great deal has been lost. Seventeen structures were identified in the township in the 1914 Archaeological Atlas of Ohio The largest site, that has since been lost, was a stone mound located south of the village of Jacksontown. Originally over thirty feet in height and over one hundred and eighty feet in diameter, the large stone mound was deconstructed by early European settlers. Local inhabitants quarried the site for stone to use in the construction of the Reservoir, but also for use in residences and cellars in nearby villages and farms. As the site was ransacked, a skeleton and burial offerings were discovered. Also "discovered" at this stone structure was a "decalogue stone," included among the "Holy Stones" of David Wyrick. An archaeological excavation under the direction of Professors O.C. Marsh of Yale and George Russell of Harvard took place at another Licking Township mound in the 1860s; Marsh, a well-known, nineteenth-century scholar of paleontology, left a detailed account of the excavation in an article in the American Journal of Science The most striking, extant mound in Licking Township is the Fairmount Mound at the Fairmount Church and cemetery near the National Road. Situated between Jacksontown and Amsterdam and with a diameter of one-hundred and fifteen feet and around twenty-five feet high, the ancient mound rests prominently among the more recent burials of Fairmount cemetery.

Native American camps were common in the area at the time of European arrival; several encampments were recorded in Hill's History of Licking County and attributed to the importance of fishing access at the swampy lake that would become the Reservoir. Local sugar maples, needed in sugar production, were also believed to have drawn Native Americans to the area. Hill speculated that more permanent settlements of Wyandotte, Delaware, and Shawnee tribes may have existed in the region.

Early European Settlers

Christopher Gist was the first European explorer in Licking Township in the 1750s, following paths and trails established by Native Americans. He was followed by an influx of settlers in 1801, leading to the establishment of Licking Township in the same year as a part of Fairfield County. When Licking Township was formed in 1801, it included most of the area that now encompasses Licking County. After Licking County was partitioned from Fairfield, Licking Township was subdivided as well. One of the defining events in the township during the first years of the nineteenth century, was the running of the John Ward's drove of pigs in 1804. The presence and quick reproduction of Ward's pigs in the area, which favored one creek of the township in particular, led to the naming of the stream as "Hog Run." Some accounts list the pigs' owner as Isaac Stadden of Newark, yet the accounts agree on the association of escaped hogs and the naming of the stream. The name "Hog Run" would also be given to a small village in the same location.

Several families would gain prominence in the growing community, including Benjamin Green and his large family, Colonel John Stadden, Major Anthony Pitzer, and Rev. Asa Shinn, all of whom settled along or near Hog Run.

Early Settlements

Avondale, or Avondale Station, sat on the north shore of the Reservoir. It served as a popular resort and fishing destination in the nineteenth century that even had its own rail extension. The rail stop and Elias Padgett's Avondale House were the centers of this community. Fleatown, also known as Hog Run and Van Burentown, lay about four miles south of Newark along Route 13. The village was near the creek of Hog Run and already had an association with swine, but the tale of a traveler's statement that the village should be called "Fleatown," thanks to the abundance of the pests he observed during his stay, supposedly gave the village its alternate name. Nothing remains of the village beyond a Baptist Cemetery. Jacksontown grew in the southern section of Licking Township along the National Road. The village, originally named "Jackson" after Andrew Jackson, was founded in 1829 by Thomas Harris. The name was changed to Jacksontown when a post office was added in order to avoid confusion with another Ohio village. Situated on the National Road, Jacksontown grew to become the fifth largest municipality in the county by 1860, but its growth stagnated by end of the century. Like many National Road towns, its economy centered on the needs of travelers. A number of other hamlets—Atherton, Lloyd's Corners, and Melgren among others—once stood in the township, but have since receded into obscurity.

Heath

The establishment and growth of Heath as a city has cut into Licking Township's administrative area, and the areas of other surrounding townships, for the last half century, making it the largest municipality in the old township lines. Heath had an industrial past long before it was an incorporated municipality; the Pure Oil refinery, Kaiser Aluminum, and Rockwell-Standard Company all developed in the area and predate the founding of Heath. Incorporated as a village in 1952 and attaining the rank of city by 1965, Heath grew quickly as a suburb of Newark. In addition to industry, Heath also benefited from the presence of the Newark Air Force Base, as well increased commercial development associated with the opening of Indian Mound Mall in 1986. The northwestern section of Licking Township—East of the Licking River and North of the confluence of the Licking with the Dutch Fork and west of Franklin Avenue—is now part of the city of Heath.

Legend Valley

The southeastern corner of Licking Township is home to one of Ohio's large outdoor music venues—Legend Valley. Formal music shows at Legend Valley began in 1978 and , with a few slow periods, have continued into the 2020s. Among the more notable acts to perform at Legend Valley have been: Charlies Daniels, Alabama, Willie Nelson, Journey, Bryan Adams, Bon Jovi, and the Grateful Dead

Dawes Arboretum

Also included in the confines of Licking Township is the two-thousand acre Dawes Arboretum. Founded by Beman Dawes in 1929, the Arboretum is a private institution devoted to research, education, and recreation. Its many attractions and mile of trails offer a peaceful and educational respite to the visitor.

For more information see also:

O.C. Marsh, "Description of an Ancient Sepulchral Mound near Newark, Ohio," American Journal of Science, July, 1866.

City of Heath website - https://www.heathohio.gov/

Janice Wilkin. Heath, Ohio: Hometown Memories. A&D Advertising: Newark, Ohio, 2001.

Licking County Township website - https://www.lickingtwp.com/

Legend Valley website - https://legendvalleymusic.com

J.G.

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