53 topographic sheets and 15 fire insurance atlases across 2 places.
This curated hub for Morrow County, Ohio brings together the page's documented record links, visible map or image evidence where published, and routes to related local records.
Use the page's provenance and linked records to distinguish the source material from the site's navigation and summaries.
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15 National Register listings · 23 businesses named in the fire insurance atlases from 1892 to 1912 · the 1911 county history tells 0 stories and names 0 people.
Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the National Register database, National Park Service
Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.
| Photograph | Property | Type | Listed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Benedict, Reuben, House | building | 2000 | 00000419 |
 | Brown, Samuel, P., House | building | 1982 | 82003619 |
 | Chester Town Hall | building | 1979 | 79002752 |
 | Chesterville Methodist Church | building | 1979 | 79002754 |
 | Floral Hall | building | 1976 | 76001503 |
 | Jarvis House | building | 1979 | 79002756 |
 | Levering Hall | building | 1980 | 80003180 |
 | Miles, Enos, House | building | 1979 | 79002758 |
 | Morrow County Courthouse And Jail | building | 1974 | 74001586 |
 | Old Bartlett and Goble Store | building | 1979 | 79002748 |
 | Old Union School | building | 1979 | 79002743 |
 | Sears, A. B., House | building | 1979 | 79002745 |
 | Trimble, James S., House | building | 1982 | 82001481 |
 | U.S. Post Office | building | 1979 | 79002750 |
 | Wood Commercial Building | building | 1979 | 79002747 |
Morrow County holds 0 covered bridges on the National Register, more than any other property type here. Each is a listed structure with a federal nomination on file.
Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.
Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. 494 frames touch this county; the selection below spreads across the decades of flights (at most four per year), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.
The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that watched its rivers, as the federal records hold them. The extremes below are measured values from those records, not estimates.
Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.
Every Sanborn volume opens with a printed index naming the town's mills, tanneries, hotels and works by proprietor. Those indexes were read off the scanned sheets by machine and then matched to each other, so a business surveyed four times appears here once, with the years it survived. 7 of these 23 were named in more than one atlas. Each carries a crop of the line it was read from: the spelling is the recogniser's and the 1880s lithographer's, and the scan behind it is the proof.
Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 2 of them, burning about 6 acres. 0 started naturally and 0 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.5 acres | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 16 July 2012 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Ohio Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.
The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 285 reports for this county, causing 4 deaths, 94 injuries and about $41,457,480 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.
| Kind of event | Reports |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 158 |
| Hail | 79 |
| Tornado | 19 |
| Flash Flood | 16 |
| Flood | 8 |
| Lightning | 3 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 |
| Winter Weather | 1 |
The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1981 | Tornado (F3) | not stated | 4 killed, 56 hurt, $25,000,000 | no account filed |
| April 1965 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 22 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| May 1970 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 7 hurt, $250,000 | no account filed |
| May 1970 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 5 hurt, $2,500 | no account filed |
| June 1990 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 1 hurt, $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| May 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Unionville and | 1 hurt, $40,000 | Mt. Gilead,Trees were downed on the north side of town between state route 61 and City Road 102. |
| July 1980 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | 1 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Lightning | Johnsville | 1 hurt | Lightning struck a 40 year old woman near the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course or about fives miles north of Johnsville. The woman was outside standing near a metal fence when the lightning struck. The woman sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized. |
| November 1989 | Tornado (F2) | not stated | $2,500,000 | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Climax | $2,000,000 | An intense line of thunderstorms or Derecho moved across Marion County during the afternoon of June 29th causing extensive damage. Winds were estimated to be as much as 80 mph. Over 75 percent of residents lost power during this event. Power was not completely restored for almost a week. Hundreds, if not thousands of trees were downed across the county along with many utility poles forcing the closure of dozens of roads and streets. Damage to homes and buildings was also extensive. Hundreds of homes and buildings lost roofing or siding with many other homes damaged by fallen trees. Clean up costs were extensive. The clean up was hampered by an ongoing heat wave with afternoon temperatures in the upper 90s. Significant crop losses are also expected. Damage from this storm was comparable to the remnants of Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Damage to public property alone was over $700 thousand. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $1,500,000 | Another round of torrential thunderstorm rains brought new flooding and exacerbated existing flooding. Numerous roads were closed or remained closed. 140 people had to be evacuated from rising water. A woman had to be rescued clinging from a tree branch after she escaped from her truck just before it was swept under a bridge. In some areas, flooding persisted for several days and total rainfall since early morning was 8 to 10 inches in some areas. The county was declared a state and federal disaster area. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $1,500,000 | Heavy rain and rapidly rising streams forced the closing of several roads throughout the county by 0430 AM Saturday. Major flooding continued until almost midnight on Sunday. Several people were trapped by the rising flood water and had to be rescued. More than 140 people were evacuated. Homes, other buildings and crops were damaged or destroyed. |
| May 1995 | Tornado | Mantua and | $600,000 | Mt. Gilead,Trees were downed on the north side of town between state route 61 and City Road 102. |
| July 2013 | Flood | Gist Elevator Arpt | $300,000 | Several roads in Morrow County were closed due to high water. A swath of 2 to upwards of 3.5 inches of rain fell over portions of central Morrow County the night of the 8th. The rain fell over already saturated soil and the rivers and creeks were running high prior to the onset of new rain. By daybreak in Mt. Gilead 75 people were evacuated from apartments and 3 from trailers as flood waters inundated their property. In total 20 properties saw water inundate the first floor with a few inches of water. The fairgrounds flooded. |
| February 2011 | Flood | Iberia | $300,000 | Heavy rain and rapid snow melt led to widespread flooding across Morrow County. Rainfall totals across the county ranged from one to three inches on February 27th and 28th. Up to ten inches of heavy snow was on the ground at the onset of the rain. This snow rapidly melted as temperatures warmed into the 50s on the 28th. Up to an additional inch of water equivalent rainfall was released from the melted snow. Several people had be rescued from stranded vehicles. Hundreds of homes in the county sustained damage, mainly from basement flooding. Many roads had to be closed because of the flooding. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | South Portion | $200,000 | Thunderstorms producing very heavy rains persisted over Morrow County during the early morning hours of the 28th. Two to four inches of rain fell on the southern third of the county. Extensive lowland flooding was reported as several streams and creeks quickly went into flood. A nursing home in Marengo had to be evacuated because of flooding. A bridge on County Road 206 to the west of Sparta was washed out. Several roads had to be closed because of flooding. At least two dozen homes sustained damage from the flooding. |
| May 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Fargo | $100,000 | An EF0 tornado touched down in rural Morrow County just to the southeast of Marengo. The initial touchdown was near the intersection of County Road 212 and Webb Road. The tornado continued east northeast for around two miles before lifting near the intersection of Township Roads 208 and 211. Five homes were damaged and dozens of trees downed along the damage path which was no more than 50 yards in width. Four of the five homes sustained minor damage, mostly from lost shingles or siding. The fifth, a manufactured home, lost most of it's roof and large sections of siding. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $100,000 | A line of severe thunderstorms moved across Morrow County and downed dozens of trees. Scattered power outages were also reported. A few homes and vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $100,000 | More heavy thunderstorm rains enhanced existing flooding and created new flooding. Ten head of cattle reportedly drowned and additional roads and bridges were damaged or washed in addition to damage from flooding on the 27th. Flooding persisted for several days in many areas. |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $75,000 | Thunderstorm winds damaged two homes 8 miles northeast of Mt. Gilead. One of the homes lost a roof and had a porch destroyed. The second house sustained minor roof damage. Many trees were downed in the northeastern corner of the county and two cars were crushed by fallen trees. |
| June 2017 | Flash Flood | Edison | $70,000 | Showers and embedded thunderstorms began to move into the county around 1130 AM. Training of heavy rainfall led to flash flooding just after 2 PM. Numerous roads were closed as a result including State Routes 42 and 61. In addition, one rural roadway was washed out from flood waters. By 2 PM, the intensity of the rainfall decreased and flash flooding subsided by 5:30 PM. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed many trees across the southern half of Morrow County. Scattered power outages were also reported. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs. A motor home was crushed by a fallen tree. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $50,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed trees and large limbs across the county. |
| June 2001 | Hail | Sparta | $50,000 | Quarter size hail was reported. Several cars parked near a school were damaged by the hail. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $50,000 | Trees were downed and some buildings sustained minor damage mostly in the southern portion of the county. |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $50,000 | Heavy thunderstorm rains flooded streams, roads, low lying areas, and basements. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $50,000 | A barn was blown over just northwest of Mt. Gilead. |
| June 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $50,000 | Trees were downed in a number of locations, some on buildings and power lines. A large tree fell on the Edison on Office causing considerable damage. |
| September 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sparta | $50,000 | Trees and limbs were downed, some on power lines. Some damage occurred to roofs and siding. Signs and bleachers were damaged at Highland High School (Sparta area). |
| June 1997 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | Williamsport | $45,000 | This tornado began along Township Road 46 in Mount Gilead and damaged multiple farm buildings. The structural damage included complete loss of a roof and compromised exterior walls. A trailer was tossed approximately 30 yards. As the tornado moved southeastward, numerous trees were uprooted or snapped. When the tornado crossed Township Road 87, numerous 2x4 planks impaled the sides and roofs of structures. The tornado dissipated as it approached the intersection of Township Roads 86 and 91. Estimated peak tornadic winds were 97 mph. |
| July 2013 | Flood | Chesterville | $45,000 | In Morrow County, The Whetstone Creek flooded its banks in Mt. Gilead. The Lee Street apartments in Mt. Gilead were flooded. Seventy-five people in 20 units were affected by the flood waters. Flooding problems were reported along State Routes 95 and 314 in Morrow County, high water on another part of State Route 95 at the Knox-Morrow County line and the Richland-Morrow County line. A farm north of Mt. Gilead had over a dozen horses forced to swim to dry land as the property was inundated. |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | Northwest Portion | $40,000 | An area of heavy rain moved across Morrow County during the late afternoon and evening hours of July 12th. The heavy rains caused flash flooding, especially across northwestern Morrow County. Rainfall reports in the area indicated that over an inch and a half of rain fell between 6:45 and 7:45 p.m. Numerous roads, including State Routes 61 and 19 in northwestern Morrow County were closed. A vehicle rescue was performed when a car was swept off the road by flash flooding on County Road 38. The driver of the vehicle was successfully rescued, but the vehicle was washed away towards the Galion resevoir. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $40,000 | A barn was blown down on Route 61 north of Mt. Gilead. |
| March 2026 | Tornado (EF1) | Mt Gilead | $35,000 | This tornado had peak intensity of EF1, with estimated peak winds of 95-mph, and impacted the northeastern and eastern outskirts of Mount Gilead. The tornado began along U.S. Route 42, near Home Road, and caused extensive tree damage, which included multiple snapped and uprooted trees. The tornado continued southeastward, crossed Township Road 103, and caused sporadic tree damage. The tornado then crossed OH Route 95, near Township Road 110, and destroyed a 60 foot by 100 foot outbuilding. Debris from this outbuilding were displaced about 100 to 200 yards to the south-southeast by the tornado before the tornado ended. Scattered tree damage and some structural damage associated with straight line convective wind gusts up to 75-mph were found both north and south of the tornado track. Radar data suggest this tornado was associated with a cyclonic mesovortex along the poleward side of the descending rear-inflow jet of a bow echo and the bow echo was embedded within the flanking line of a cyclonic supercell. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chesterville | $30,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused a portion of a barn to collapse. Five cows inside of the barn were killed. |
| November 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $30,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several power poles six miles south of Mount Gilead. |
| November 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $30,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and a few power poles five miles north of Mount Gilead. |
| June 1997 | Flash Flood | Countywide | $30,000 | no account filed |
| May 2014 | Hail | Cardington | $25,000 | Golf ball sized hail was reported. A few vehicles were damaged. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed many trees across the county. |
| August 2007 | Tornado (EF1) | Shauck | $25,000 | An EF1 tornado touched down in northeastern Morrow County north of Shauck (Johnsville) shortly before 3 pm. The tornado quickly moved southeast into Richland County. In Morrow County, a distinct damage path of downed trees was observed. The tornado was on the ground in Morrow County for perhaps one half mile and had a path no more than 50 yards in width. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees near Mount Gilead and Chesterville. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $25,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed many trees near Mount Gilead. Several tents were blown down at the county fairgrounds. A concession trailer at the fair was crushed by a tree. |
| April 2002 | Hail | Johnsville | $25,000 | Golf ball size hail was reported just northeast of Johnsville. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $25,000 | Numerous trees and power lines were downed. |
| July 1992 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1981 | Tornado (F1) | not stated | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Williamsport | $20,000 | A thunderstorm downburst damaged a home and a barn. Several trees in the area were also toppled. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $20,000 | Numerous trees were reported down, especially across northern and eastern portions of the county. |
| August 1998 | Lightning | Marengo | $20,000 | A lightning strike blew the tops off two 6000 gallon oil tanks. Only 150 gallons spilled out and a small fire was quickly extinguished. |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chesterville | $20,000 | no account filed |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Countywide | $20,000 | no account filed |
| April 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Fulton | $18,000 | Numerous trees down across the southern half of the county, including Mt. Gilead. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cardington | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines in the Cardington area. |
| November 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Fulton | $15,000 | The Sheriffs Office reported trees and power lines down from Fulton to Chesterville. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Mt Gilead | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees near Mt. Gilead. |
| July 2005 | Lightning | Iberia | $15,000 | Lightning struck and exploded an oil tank. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Blooming Grove | $15,000 | Thunderstorm winds downed several trees. |
The Survey's mineral resources record lists 3 workings inside this county. 3 still produce and 0 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.
| Commodity | Workings |
|---|---|
| Sand and Gravel, Construction | 2 |
| Phosphorus-Phosphates | 1 |
The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Gilead Plant | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Producer | ||
| Chesterville Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Chesterville Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Museum specimens collected inside this county and catalogued with a date and a place: 646 of them, by kingdom 509 animalia, 95 fungi, 31 plantae, 4 chromista, 4 protozoa. Each is a physical object in a named collection, not a sighting. Held by Ohio State University - Fish Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), Ohio State University - Bird Division, Columbus, OH (OSUM), ILL, WIS, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, OH (CLEV), PH among others, and each settlement page carries the specimens collected near it.
The oldest of them. A specimen proves something was collected on that day; its absence proves nothing.
| Photograph | Year | Species | Kingdom | Where | Collector | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1835 | Polystichum acrostichoides (Michx.) Schott | Plantae | Ohio, s.loc. | Joseph C. Frank | ETHZ ZT-00264106 |
 | 1837 | Agaricus velutipes Curtis | Fungi | not stated | J.R. Paddock | ILL ILL00054883 |
 | 1837 | Sagittaria latifolia Willd. | Plantae | not stated | Frank B | L.1202285 |
 | 1837 | Sicyos angulatus P.J.Bergius | Plantae | in civitatate Ohio | Frank B | L.2988085 |
 | 1837 | Usnea florida (L.) F.H.Wigg. | Fungi | not stated | not recorded | ILL ILL00039564 |
 | 1838 | Polyporus versicolor (L.) Fr. | Fungi | not stated | not recorded | ILL ILL00063606 |
 | 1870 | Equisetum arvense L. | Plantae | Moist soil. | Beardslee, H.C. | MU 000107029 |
 | 1880 | Sphaeria ulmea Fr. | Fungi | Ohio | W. A. Kellermann | PH PH00304028 |
History of Morrow County, Ohio; a Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People, and Its Principal Interests devotes a chapter to each township: its boundaries and streams, who settled it and when, the mills, the schools and the churches. All 2 are reproduced here in full. Each row shows the township's own shape and where it lies in the county, drawn from the Census Bureau's boundary. Which settlements belong to which township is computed from that same boundary, not taken from the book.
| Shape and position in the county | Township | Settlements in it | Length | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardington Township | Cardington | 408,388 words | 15 | |
| Lincoln Township | Fulton | 2,086 words | 5 |
Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the watercourse or landform it stands on and the survey quadrangle it falls on. The 2 places that were also surveyed for fire insurance come first, with the number of atlases and photographs held for them.
Cardington township · 43315 · On Big Run · Denmark quadrangle
13 sheets, 1913 to 1994
Fire insurance: 7 atlases
Gilead township · 43338 · On Sams Creek · Mount Gilead quadrangle
13 sheets, 1913 to 1994
Fire insurance: 8 atlases
South Bloomfield township · 43334 · On Hulse Hill · Chesterville quadrangle
9 sheets, 1915 to 1966
No longer a settlement
Bennington township · 43334 · On Mill Creek · Marengo quadrangle
9 sheets, 1915 to 1966
North Bloomfield township · 44833 · Blooming Grove quadrangle
13 sheets, 1915 to 1994
Chester township · 43317 · On South Branch Kokosing River · Chesterville quadrangle
9 sheets, 1915 to 1966
Bennington township · 43334 · On Reynolds Run · Olive Green quadrangle
10 sheets, 1915 to 1966
Congress township · 43338 · Shauck quadrangle
13 sheets, 1915 to 1994
No longer a settlement
Bennington township · 43334 · On Reynolds Run · Olive Green quadrangle
10 sheets, 1915 to 1966
South Bloomfield township · 43350 · On Hulse Hill · Chesterville quadrangle
9 sheets, 1915 to 1966
Washington township · 43338 · Mount Gilead quadrangle
13 sheets, 1913 to 1994
No longer a settlement
13 topographic sheets and 8 fire insurance atlases, 1885 to 1946
13 topographic sheets and 7 fire insurance atlases, 1885 to 1923
The complete index, with nothing left out. Each of these is a separate record with its own page: a federal survey report, or the case file that argued a property on to the National Register. Both are public domain and reproduced word for word.
The vanished settlements of Morrow County, the places these records name that are no longer on the map.
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