Margaretta Township is one of the nine 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 Erie County

Erie County, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,551 people, 31,727 households, and 21,764 families residing in the county. The population density was 312 people per square mile . There were 35,909 housing units at an average density of 141 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...

. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky, Ohio

Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....

 metropolitan statistical area. 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 6,289 people in the township, 4,662 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the northwestern corner of the county, it borders the following townships and city:

• Portage Township, Ottawa County
  Portage Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Portage Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,634 people in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north across Sandusky Bay
  Sandusky Bay
  Sandusky Bay is a body of water situated in between Erie, Ottawa, and Sandusky counties in the U.S. state of Ohio and just to the south of Lake Erie. Sandusky Bay runs from Muddy Creek Bay to Cedar Point, which is part of Sandusky....
  
  , west of Danbury Township
• Danbury Township, Ottawa County
  Danbury Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Danbury Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,631 people in the township, 3,869 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north across Sandusky Bay, east of Portage Township
• Sandusky
  Sandusky, Ohio
  Sandusky is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Erie County. It is located in northern Ohio and is situated on the shores of Lake Erie, almost exactly half-way between Toledo to the west and Cleveland to the east....
  
   - northeast
• Perkins Township
  Perkins Township, Erie County, Ohio
  Perkins Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
  
   - east
• Oxford Township
  Oxford Township, Erie County, Ohio
  Oxford Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
  
   - southeast corner
• Groton Township
  Groton Township, Erie County, Ohio
  Groton Township is one of the nine townships of Erie County, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio metropolitan statistical area...
  
   - south
• Townsend Township, Sandusky County
  Townsend Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Townsend Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 1,670 people lived in the township.-Geography:Located in the northeastern corner of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - southwest
• Riley Township, Sandusky County
  Riley Township, Sandusky County, Ohio
  Riley Township is one of the twelve townships of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, 1,302 people lived in the township.-Geography:...
  
   - west across Sandusky Bay
• Bay Township, Ottawa County
  Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio
  Bay Township is one of the twelve townships of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,294 people in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northwest across Sandusky Bay

The farthest north and west township in Erie County, Margaretta Township is the only county township with any border on Ottawa County.

Two villages are located in Margaretta Township: Bay View

Bay View, Ohio

Bay View is a village in Erie County, Ohio, United States. The population was 692 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....

 on the Sandusky Bay shoreline, and Castalia

Castalia, Ohio

Castalia is a village in Erie County, Ohio, United States. The population was 935 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Sandusky, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Castalia is located at ....

 in the center of the township.

A section in the northwest is the only part of Erie County to lie outside the Western Reserve.

Economy

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 operates a manufacturing facility in Margaretta, under its Automotive Components Holdings

Automotive Components Holdings

Automotive Components Holdings, LLC is a Ford Motor Company-managed temporary business formed by the 2005 transfer of 17 automotive components factories and 6 research, testing, and other facilities from Visteon Corporation to Ford...

 banner. The plant formerly operated under the Visteon

Visteon

Visteon is one of the world's largest suppliers of automotive parts. The company formed in 1997 and spun off from the Ford Motor Company in 2000. In 2005, Visteon moved to new headquarters in Van Buren Township, Michigan...

name, but changed in 2005.

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.