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

Unity, Ohio

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Unity Township. It lies in ZIP code area 44413. The Survey maps it on the East Palestine quadrangle.

Unity within Columbiana County

Then and now

1907 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 87 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Unity, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Unity, surveyed 1907

Compare 1907 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

17 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

8,241 words on this township

History of Columbiana County, Ohio, published 1879 names this settlement in its chapter on Unity Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

This township forms the northeastern corner of the county, and is known in the government survey as township 8, in range 1. Its original proportions are yet preserved, Unity being six miles square, and bounded on the north by Springfield, in Mahoning County, on the east by Pennsylvania, on the south by the township of Middleton, and on the west by Fairfield township. The surface of the northern part of Unity is level, but is more broken in the parts near the southern boundary and along the streams in that part of the township where are high hills, marking the limits of small valleys. Nearly the entire surface is sufficiently undulated to afford natural drainage, the area of swampy lands being comparatively small. The greater part of the township has been denuded of the virgin forests which covered it, but enough timber of the common varieties remains for domestic use. The surface is underlaid with coal, which, in the southern part especially, is of an excellent quality. Potter's clay may be procured in the eastern part, and indications of iron-ore abound. The principal streams are Little Beaver Creek, in the northeast ; Lesslie's Run, south of the centre ; and Bull Creek, in the southwest, all having a general southeasterly course. Formerly these streams had greater volume than at present, there being now insufficient water to afford much power.

Passage source: History of Columbiana County, Ohio, published 1879.

The traditions of the early settlements are vaguely remembered ; and, no recorded history of that important period having been preserved to prompt the memory of the few remaining pioneers, the accounts they give are often so obscure as to render them unsatisfactory. It appears that the first to occupy the soil of Unity were a class of people called squatters, who came there in the belief that it was Pennsylvania territory, and that they could hold their lands by right of settlement. Having no means to purchase their lands, they gave way for another class of men, who had enough means to secure the land. It is said that a man named Beard was the first settler in the township, he having located on section 19 some time before 1800, or in that year. What became of him, or when he left, cannot be learned. Others came a little later, to remain identified with the township. Some of these are here briefly noticed :

Passage source: History of Columbiana County, Ohio, published 1879.

Richard Dildine came from Essex Co., N. J., in 1801, and entered the whole of section 20. He had at that time but one child, - John, who is yet living on this section, and is the oldest settler in the township. Seven daughters and two sons were born in Unity. One of the latter, Richard, now occupies the original homestead. Mr. Dildine experi-

Passage source: History of Columbiana County, Ohio, published 1879.

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 Unity Township - it names this place 9 more 9 times.

Fires near this place

6 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Unity between 2009 and 2014, burning about 15 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
Debris and open burning4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2

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

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
6 April 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 April 2014Debris and open burningunder an acreOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 March 2009Debris and open burning5.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 March 2009Debris and open burning5.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 November 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 November 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresOhio Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Columbiana County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 312 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 312 specimens collected within 10 miles of Unity between 1882 and 1975: 190 Plantae, 107 Animalia, 15 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Armbruster, D. C. (Daniel C.), Bright, J., Buker, W.E.; Henry, L.K. 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.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum (Willd.) G.LawsonAthyrium filix-femina var. angustum (Willd.) G.Lawson1885Shafer, J.A.Petersburg
Specimen of Hypochnicium analogum (Bourdot & Galzin) J.Erikss.Hypochnicium analogum (Bourdot & Galzin) J.Erikss.1963W. B. Cooke, V.G. Cookewoods near roadside park, SR-7, 3 mi. s. of Rogers.
Specimen of Peniophora aurantiaca (Bres.) Höhn. & Litsch.Peniophora aurantiaca (Bres.) Höhn. & Litsch.1963WB & VG Cooke3 mi. s. of Rogers
A photograph of the species Solanum dulcamara, not of this specimenSolanum dulcamara L.1882Shafer, J.A.near Petersburg
A photograph of the species Equisetum hyemale, not of this specimenEquisetum hyemale subsp. affine (A.Braun & Engelm.) A.A.Eaton1883Shafer, J.A.near Petersburg
A photograph of the species Levisticum officinale, not of this specimenLevisticum officinale W.D.J.Koch1883Shafer, J.A.Petersburg
A photograph of the species Apocynum androsaemifolium, not of this specimenApocynum androsaemifolium L.1884Shafer, J.A.Near Petersburg Cemetery
A photograph of the species Armoracia rusticana, not of this specimenArmoracia rusticana P.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.1884Shafer, J.A.Wm. Hills place near Petersburg
A photograph of the species Botrychium dissectum, not of this specimenBotrychium dissectum Spreng.1884Shafer, J.A.near Petersburg
A photograph of the species Carex lupulina, not of this specimenCarex lupulina Muhl. ex Willd.1884Shafer, J.A.near Petersburg
A photograph of the species Chelone glabra, not of this specimenChelone glabra L.1884Shafer, J.A.near Petersburg
A photograph of the species Clematis virginiana, not of this specimenClematis virginiana L.1884Shafer, J.A.Petersburg

All 312 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Unity: 3 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Honeycreek Limestone QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Thompson MineClayProducer
Coppock Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Coppock Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Columbiana County

Storms near this place

13 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Unity in 13 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 6 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2011FloodUnity$25,000Law enforcement reported SR 165 with flooded with standing water.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindUnity$5,000According to a social media user, a few large trees were blown down on Hillcrest Circle with structural damage to a home.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindUnity$5,000State official reports of large trees blown down.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindUnity$1,000At the intersection of Heck Road and Poland Road, a large tree was downed.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindUnity$1,000A tree was reported down along State Route 170.
May 2019HailUnity-Pea to quarter-sized hail was reported on social media.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindUnity-Large branches were downed by thunderstorm winds in Unity.
May 2017HailUnity-no account filed
July 2012HailUnity-no account filed
July 2012HailUnity-no account filed
July 1999HailUnity-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindUnity-no account filed
June 1994HailUnity-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Columbiana 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.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Clearwood Court2.1 miles17
East Palestine2.4 miles17
Wheat Hill Estates2.9 miles17
State Line (historical)2.9 miles17
New Waterford3.2 miles17
Jimtown3.3 miles17
Mill Rock4.9 miles17
East Fairfield5.0 miles15

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 UnityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q22338867The 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 1049261. 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.

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.