Liberty Township is one of the twenty 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 Darke County

Darke County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 53,309 people, 20,419 households, and 14,905 families residing in the county. The population density was 89 people per square mile . There were 21,583 housing units at an average density of 36 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 1,132 people in the township, 962 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

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

• Washington Township
  Washington Township, Darke County, Ohio
  Washington Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,382 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Jackson Township - north...
  
   - north
• Greenville Township
  Greenville Township, Darke County, Ohio
  Greenville Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 18,125 people in the township, 4,831 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast
• Neave Township
  Neave Township, Darke County, Ohio
  Neave Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,986 people in the township, 1,302 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - east
• Butler Township
  Butler Township, Darke County, Ohio
  Butler Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,616 people in the township, 1,301 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southeast corner
• Harrison Township
  Harrison Township, Darke County, Ohio
  Harrison Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,145 people in the township, 1,300 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Franklin Township, Wayne County, Indiana
  Franklin Township, Wayne County, Indiana
  Franklin Township is one of fifteen townships in Wayne County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,291.-Geography:Franklin Township covers an area of...
  
   - southwest
• Greensfork Township, Randolph County, Indiana
  Greensfork Township, Randolph County, Indiana
  Greensfork Township is one of eleven townships in Randolph County, Indiana. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,201.-External links:* *...
  
   - west

The village of Palestine

Palestine, Ohio

Palestine is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 170 at the 2000 census.-History:Palestine was platted by Samuel Loring in 1833...

 is located in central Liberty Township.

Name and history

One of twenty-five Liberty Townships statewide

Liberty Township, Ohio

Liberty Township, Ohio may refer to:*Liberty Township, Adams County, Ohio*Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio*Liberty Township, Clinton County, Ohio*Liberty Township, Crawford County, Ohio*Liberty Township, Darke County, Ohio...

, it was originally named German Township, but its name was changed to Liberty Township in the 1910s.

German Township was formed from parts of Harrison

Harrison Township, Darke County, Ohio

Harrison Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,145 people in the township, 1,300 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...

 and Washington

Washington Township, Darke County, Ohio

Washington Township is one of the twenty townships of Darke County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,382 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships:*Jackson Township - north...

 counties in 1820. The first settler within its bounds was James Cloyd, who arrived six years before the township's organization. The first school in the township was established near Palestine in 1820, while the first church (a Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 congregation) was built in 1826.

One of German Township's most distinctive features was Tampico, an African-American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 settlement founded in 1822 and plat

Plat

A plat in the U.S. is a map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. Other English-speaking countries generally call such documents a cadastral map or plan....

ted in 1850. Located in the northwestern part of the township, its earliest residents were freeborn

Freeborn

"Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne , a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means to be born free, rather than to be born in slavery or bondage or vassalage...

 African Americans from Rockingham County, Virginia

Rockingham County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 67,725 people, 25,355 households, and 18,889 families residing in the county. The population density was 80 people per square mile . There were 27,328 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...

who moved to Ohio after the county evicted all freeborn African Americans. In 1914, Tampico and the surrounding rural areas supported four schools and two churches.

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. The current trustees are Larry Helmer, Cutis Hiatt, and Raymond Mendenhall, and the clerk is Mary Alice Brewer.