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

Swanders, Ohio

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1913 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Franklin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 45365. The Survey maps it on the Sidney quadrangle.

Swanders within Shelby County

Then and now

1913 to 1986

The same ground, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Swanders, surveyed 1986

Topographic sheet of Swanders, surveyed 1913

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 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

14,095 words on this township

History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883 names this settlement in its chapter on Franklin Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Franklin Township occupies a position in the second tier of townships from the north, and is crossed by the Greenville Treaty Line, leaving six full sections and six fractional sections on the north, and twelve full and four fractional sections on the south of said line. It is bounded on the north by Dinsmore Township; on the east by Jackson and Salem townships; on the south by Salem, Clinton, and Turtle Creek townships; and on the west by Turtle Creek and Van Burcn townships. It is drained by Plum Creek and its numerous branches and the eastern branches of Turtle Creek. The surface is generally level or slightly undulating. The soil of the township is very fertile and productive, composed principally of a black loam, but in certain localities large quantities of sand and gravel are found near the surface. The timber is generally good, and embraces nearly all of the best Ohio varieties. The Dayton and Michigan Railroad runs through the township from north to south, which has a station at Swander's Crossing, from which a considerable amount of shipping is done.

Passage source: History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883.

This society was organized in September, 1832, by Rev. John Pence, at the house of Jacob Schlosser,*with Jacob Schlosser and wife, James Swander and wife, David Swander and wife, Philip Swandcr and wife, Henry Swander and wife, Peter Hartman and wife, Jacob Woodring and wife, Joseph Carmany and wife, members of the organization. They held their meetings at the houses of the different members about two years, or until 1834, when, by the help of the Lutheran Soeietr - , which was organized in the neighborhood in 1832, a union building was erected near where the old brick church now stands in Franklin Township, on the Wapakoneta Pike, two and a half miles south of Anna. It was a hewed log structure, 25 by 30 feet. In this building the two societies met alternately, and held their meetings for a number of years, or until 1845, when the Reformed Society sold their interest in the building to the Lutheran Society; and during the fall and winter of 1846-7 the Reformed Church erected their present building, in which they have since met and worshipped. It is located in Franklin Township, on the Wapakoneta Pike, a short distance south of where the old log church stood.

Passage source: History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883.

It is a frame structure, 40 by 30 feet, erected at a cost of six hundred dollars, and was dedicated in the spring of 1847 by the Rev. Frederick Stump, assisted by Rev. David Winters. The officers at this time are, Jacob Forrar and Samuel Cashner, trustees ; James Swander and Christopher Shearer, elders; Janies M. Swander and John C. Fey, deacons; Dennis Critton, secretary; Hiram Killian, treasurer.

Passage source: History of Shelby County, Ohio, published 1883.

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 Franklin Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 252 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 252 specimens collected within 10 miles of Swanders between 1897 and 1970: 216 Animalia, 19 Fungi, 16 Plantae, 1 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. R. Gaufin, A.R. Gaufin, A.R. Gaufin, H.H. Ross 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
Sorghum Moench	1897	Kellerman, W.A.	Shelby Co., Ohio.
Diphasiastrum digitatum (Dill. ex A.Braun) Holub	1902	Grover, F.O.	Opens woods, N. Amherst, near F & D Quarry
Fusconaia flava (Rafinesque, 1820)	1939	not recorded	Miami River
unnamed	1897	WA Kellerman	Shelby County
Carex shortiana Dewey & Torr.	1897	Wetzstein, A.
Sorosporium reilianum (J.G.Kühn) McAlpine	1897	W. A. Kellerman
Sphacelotheca reiliana (J.G.Kühn) G.P.Clinton	1897	Kellerman W. A.	Shelby Co.
Ustilago reiliana J.G.Kühn	1897	Kellerman, W.A.	Shelby County, Ohio.
Accipiter cooperii (Bonaparte, 1828)	1904	Henninger, W. F. (Walther Frederick)	New Bremen, Shelby, Ohio, USA
Campostoma anomalum pullum (Agassiz, 1854)	1905	Clark, C. F. (Clarence F.)	Muddy Creek, section 27 Washington Township, estimated 3 miles N of Kettlersville OH, Washington Township
Catostomus commersonii (Lacepède, 1803)	1905	Clark, C. F. (Clarence F.)	Muddy Creek, section 27 Washington Township, estimated 3 miles N of Kettlersville OH, Washington Township
Ericymba buccata Cope, 1865	1905	Clark, C. F. (Clarence F.)	Muddy Creek, section 27 Washington Township, estimated 3 miles N of Kettlersville OH, Washington Township

All 252 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Swanders: 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Port Jefferon Quarry	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
	Staley Farm Quarry	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown

Every working recorded in Shelby County

Storms near this place

12 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Swanders in 12 storm reports between 2013 and 2026: 7 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 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
March 2026	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$5,000	Power poles and power lines were downed across a roadway.
August 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$2,000	A power pole was downed at the intersection of State Route 29 and East Mason Road.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$2,000	Two trees were downed.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$1,000	A tree was downed.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$1,000	A tree was downed onto a road.
July 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$1,000	A tree was downed onto a road.
May 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Swanders	$1,000	Two large trees were downed near the intersection of Mason Road and State Route 29.
September 2020	Flood	Swanders	-	High water was reported in the 9000 block of Kuther Road.
February 2017	Hail	Swanders	-	The dime size hail fell between Sidney and Anna.
May 2014	Hail	Swanders	-	no account filed
May 2014	Hail	Swanders	-	no account filed
April 2013	Hail	Swanders	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Shelby 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
Anna	2.3 miles	15
Lakeside Village	4.6 miles	15
Port Jefferson	4.7 miles	15
Buckeye Terrace	4.8 miles	15
McCartyville	5.0 miles	15
Uno	5.0 miles	14
Rumley	5.2 miles	15
Sidney	5.4 miles	15

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1061666. 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.

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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.