Decorative drawing: a small American settlement seen from a low hill. Not a photograph of this place.

Freeport, Ohio

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1909 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Freeport Township. It lies in ZIP code area 43973. It stands on Skull Fork. The Survey maps it on the Freeport quadrangle. 321 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 997 feet above sea level.

Freeport within Harrison County

Population over time

2 figures

Freeport fell from 369 to 321 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2010	369
2020	321	-48 (-13%)

Then and now

1909 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Freeport, surveyed 1994

Topographic sheet of Freeport, surveyed 1909

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

92,937 words on this township

Historical Collections of Harrison County, in the State of Ohio, with Lists of the First Land-owners, Early Marriages (to 1841), Will Records (to 1861), Burial Records of the Early Settlements, and Numerous Genealogies, published 1900 names this settlement in its chapter on Freeport Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

VI. Thompson. VII. John-Thornton, b. in Virginia, February 11, 1802; removed about 1834 from Belmont county to Harrison county, and settled four miles from Freeport, in Freeport township, Harrison county, where he d. March 1, 1877; m. September 14, 1824, Mary Jackson Billingsby, a native of Virginia; d. August 15, 1870; had issue: 1. Lorinda; 2. Vitura; 3. Celestine; 4. Melinda; 5. Ruth; 6. George-W., b. February 21, 1833, in Belmont county; removed to Harrison county with his parents; settled in Freeport, Harrison county. VIII. Elizabeth. ^

Passage source: Historical Collections of Harrison County, in the State of Ohio, with Lists of the First Land-owners, Early Marriages (to 1841), Will Records (to 1861), Burial Records of the Early Settlements, and Numerous Genealogies, published 1900.

America about 1812 and settled in Freeport township, Harrison county, Ohio; had issue: 1. Samuel; 2. William, b. 1798; d. April 12, 1867; m. about 1864, Anne White, b. in Ireland', 1802; d. at Freeport, Jan. 7, 1879 (had issue: i. John, m. Sarah Fulton; ii. Hannah, m. William Williams; iii. George, b. 1827; m. Eliza Vail Markee, daughter of William and Hannah Norris Vail; iv. Sarah, d. young; v. Eliza, m. William Fulton: vi. Mary, m. James Fulton; vii.

I. Jacob-V. II. James. III. Samuel, b. April 30, 1809; removed in 1829 to Carrollton. Ohio, later to Short Creek township. Harrison county, and in 1856 to Smithfield, Jefferson county; m. (1st) 1829, Frances Zollars; d. 1862; daughter of Frederick Zollars, of Harrison county; m. (2d) 1867, Mary B. Stonebraker; had issue by first wife: 1. James; 2. Franklin; 3. Z.-Z., b. July 12, 1832; settled in Freeport in 1875; m. 1858, Mary A. Crew; 4. Vail, settled in Illinois; 5. Mary-Jane, m. George D. Walcott; 6. Charles; 7. Ann-Rebecca, m. Thomas Penny; 8. John; 9. Sarah, m. William Carrick; 10. William, settled in Franklin; 11. Joseph-W., b. Jan. 6, 1847, in Short Creek township; settled in Freeport township; served in the Civil War; m. (1st) Sept. 28. 1866, Letitia Burns; d. Aug. 17, 1875; daughter of John M. Burns; m. (2d) Oct. 15, 1881, Laura Steadman, of Freeport; 12. Melissa, m. Wilson Lugar. IV. Isaac. V. William. VI. Milo. VII. Judith. VIII. Rebecca.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Freeport Township - it names this place 21 more 21 times.

Fires near this place

7 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Freeport between 2003 and 2015, burning about 11 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	3
Debris and open burning	3
Equipment and vehicle use	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
4 April 2003	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	not named
3 April 2013	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	4.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	not named
22 March 2014	Debris and open burning	1.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	not named
18 March 2015	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	504
26 November 2015	Debris and open burning	2.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	2709
5 October 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	not named
4 October 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Ohio Department of Natural Resources	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Harrison County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 102 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 102 specimens collected within 10 miles of Freeport between 1929 and 1967: 53 Animalia, 42 Plantae, 7 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Adams J. M. R., Adams J. R. M., Buker, W.E. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Species	Year	Collected by	Where, as recorded
Chrosomus erythrogaster (Rafinesque, 1820)	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	Brushy Fork, within southwest Cadiz township, near Holloway, Cadiz township
Ericymba buccata Cope, 1865	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Walker, W. H. (W. Harrington)	Stillwater River, within Flusing township, near Piedmont, Flushing township
Etheostoma blennioides Rafinesque, 1819	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Walker, W. H. (W. Harrington)	Stillwater River, within Flusing township, near Piedmont, Flushing township
Etheostoma nigrum Rafinesque, 1820	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	Brushy Fork, within southwest Cadiz township, near Holloway, Cadiz township
Notropis atherinoides Rafinesque, 1818	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Foster, R. (Robert)	Stillwater River, within Washington township, near Stillwater, Washington township
Notropis rubellus (Agassiz, 1850)	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard)	Brushy Fork, within southwest Cadiz township, near Holloway, Cadiz township
Noturus miurus Jordan, 1877	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Walker, W. H. (W. Harrington)	Stillwater River, within Flusing township, near Piedmont, Flushing township
Percina caprodes (Rafinesque, 1818)	1929	MB Trautman & asst	Big Stillwater Creek, trib of the Tuscarawas River, Village of Stillwater, eastern Rush Twp
Percina maculata (Girard, 1859)	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Walker, W. H. (W. Harrington)	Stillwater River, within Flusing township, near Piedmont, Flushing township
Percopsis omiscomaycus (Walbaum, 1792)	1929	Trautman, M. B. (Milton Bernard) & Walker, W. H. (W. Harrington)	Stillwater River, within Flusing township, near Piedmont, Flushing township
Bufo americanus Holbrook, 1836	1930	Walker, C. F. (Charles F.)	Laurel Creek, Washington Twp., Harrison Co., Ohio
Desmognathus fuscus fuscus (Green, 1818)	1930	Walker, C. F. (Charles F.)	Laurel Creek, Washington Twp., Harrison Co., Ohio

All 102 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Storms near this place

15 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Freeport in 15 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$50,000	Multiple trees and utility poles were blown down in the Freeport area.
June 2011	Flash Flood	Freeport	$40,000	Emergency management reported Birmingham Road and West Muskingum Road closed due to flash flooding.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$10,000	Large trees and power lines down.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$5,000	Law enforcement reported trees and wires down.
May 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$5,000	Local law enforcement reported trees down on State Route 800.
June 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$5,000	The public reported trees down.
August 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$5,000	Trees and power lines blown down, especially near Freeport.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$5,000	Thunderstorm winds downed several large trees and power lines.
April 2025	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$3,000	Multiple trees were reported down.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$3,000	EMA reported power lines down in Freeport area.
June 2019	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$1,000	Trees were reported to be downed near Freeport.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	$500	Department of Hiways reported trees down.
April 2024	Flash Flood	Freeport	-	State Route 800 closed due to flooding.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	-	OHDOT reported State Route 800 closed due to trees down.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Freeport	-	EMA reports additional trees down in the Freeport area.

Every storm recorded in Harrison County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Smyrna	2.9 miles	14
East Piedmont	3.9 miles	14
Piedmont	4.0 miles	14
Clendening (historical)	4.0 miles	14
Tippecanoe	4.2 miles	14
Moorefield	5.1 miles	14
Nottingham (historical)	7.8 miles	13
Deersville	7.9 miles	14

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Freeport	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1953099	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1048760. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.