Modern History of Washington Township
The Ohio General Assembly gave townships the authority to establish zoning in 1953. That November, Washington Township trustees Howard Orr, Russell Cramer and M. G. Myers adopted a resolution declaring their intent to proceed with township zoning for unincorporated area precinct A under sections 519.02 to 519.25 of the Ohio Revised Code, having received petitions containing signatures of a sufficient number of qualified voters. Thus, the board set in motion a mechanism to begin the first successful effort to establish township zoning in Franklin County.
Trustees adopted a second resolution adopting the zoning code on Jan. 30, 1954, to be effective after ratification by the electorate. Voters approved the code in Precinct A, one of the two precincts that made up the township. The “Zoning Board of Appeals” for precinct A met on May 25, 1954, to organize with trustee chairman Cramer presiding. Members were: John C. Lehman Jr., James Richards, Ivan Wade, Dr. Waldo Walker, and Oscar Willing. Also present: Cramer, Myers and Orr of the trustees; and George Crawford, Sam Frantz, Harold Herring, B. I. Sheridan and William Shriver of the Precinct A Zoning Commission. H.A. Termeer Jr., clerk of the board of trustees, provided zoning services in the early years as secretary of the board of zoning appeals and zoning inspector.
United in Service
Today, Washington Township provides fire and EMS to the entire City of Dublin. Previously, Dublin had its own fire department. The then-Village of Dublin built its first firehouse in 1944. The building, at 37 Bridge St., was shared by Washington and Perry townships prior to Perry Township building a new station on Sawmill Road.
In the early 1990s, the City of Dublin was served by four different township fire departments in three counties – Delaware, Franklin and Union. To consolidate service, Dublin transferred city land in Concord, Jerome and Perry townships to Washington Township.
Washington Township also provides services to unincorporated areas of Franklin County located between the Scioto River and Madison County, including the town of Amlin, and parcels along Cosgray, Hayden Run and Dublin roads.
Today, the population of Washington Township makes it among the top 20 largest townships in Ohio.