Ashtabula Township is one of the twenty-seven townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Ashtabula County

Ashtabula County, Ohio

Ashtabula County is the northeasternmost county in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 101,497, its county seat is Jefferson. The county is named for a Native American word meaning "river of many fish"....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 23,239 people in the township, 6,371 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the northern part of the county along Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...

, it borders the following townships:

• Kingsville Township
  Kingsville Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Kingsville Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,847 people in the township.-Geography:...
  
   - east
• Plymouth Township
  Plymouth Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Plymouth Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,081 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - south
• Saybrook Township
  Saybrook Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio
  Saybrook Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 10,051 people in the township, 5,957 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - west

The Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 lies across Lake Erie to the north.

Most of the city of Ashtabula

Ashtabula, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,962 people, 8,435 households, and 5,423 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,775.9 people per square mile . There were 9,151 housing units at an average density of 1,211.8 per square mile...

 is located in western Ashtabula Township, and the census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 of Edgewood

Edgewood, Ohio

Edgewood is a census-designated place in Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,762 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Edgewood is located at ....

 is located in the township's southeast.

Name and history

It is the only Ashtabula Township statewide.

The first white settler in the township was one Matthew Hubbard, who arrived in Ashtabula County from Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

in 1804.

Government

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 fiscal officer, 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 fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees. Currently, the board is composed of chairman Stephen McClure and members Sam Bucci and Joseph Pete, Sr.