Gasper Township is one of the twelve 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 Preble County

Preble County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,337 people, 16,001 households, and 12,144 families residing in the county. The population density was 100 people per square mile . There were 17,186 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...

, 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 3,229 people in the township.

Geography

Located in the south central part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Washington Township
  Washington Township, Preble County, Ohio
  Washington Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,104 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the north central part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - north
• Lanier Township
  Lanier Township, Preble County, Ohio
  Lanier Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,931 people in the township, 3,052 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - east
• Gratis Township
  Gratis Township, Preble County, Ohio
  Gratis Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,471 people in the township, 3,343 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southeast corner
• Somers Township
  Somers Township, Preble County, Ohio
  Somers Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,245 people in the township, 1,943 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Israel Township
  Israel Township, Preble County, Ohio
  Israel Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,273 people in the township, 1,031 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest corner
• Dixon Township
  Dixon Township, Preble County, Ohio
  Dixon Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 557 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Jackson Township - north...
  
   - west

No municipalities are located in Gasper Township.

Name and history

It is the only Gasper Township statewide.
It was named after John Casper Potterf (or Batdorf) (1758-1836), a Pennsylvanian of German descent who became an early and wealthy settler of Preble County. Gasper Township was originally part of Washington Township

Washington Township, Preble County, Ohio

Washington Township is one of the twelve townships of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,104 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the north central part of the county, it borders the following townships:...

until Potterf convinced the Board of Commissioners to dissever the twenty-four sections of the southern part of Washington Township. One explanation for the spelling discrepancy is that, despite his name being Casper, the county auditor, in making the record of the name and establishment thereof, by mistake, recorded it Gasper. Alternately, it could just be a case that Potterf was also known as Gasper.

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.