Milford Township, Butler County, Ohio


Milford Township, one of thirteen townships in the county, is located in north-central Butler County, Ohio, United States, between Oxford and Middletown. The township had a population of 3,550 at the 2010 census, up from 3,254 in 2000. Excluding the now-defunct village of Somerville, 3,269 people lived in the unincorporated part of the township.
It comprises one entire survey township in the Congress Lands and has an area of. The township was named by Robert Lytle, the township justice of the peace and county judge who was the great-grandfather of a famous Milford Township native, Governor Andrew L. Harris. Statewide, other Milford Townships are located in Defiance and Knox counties.

History

The seventh township in order of creation, it was erected from St. Clair Township by the Butler County Commissioners on December 2, 1805, with these boundaries:
This area was diminished to the present territory when the western half, another full survey township commonly known as the "college township", was separated from Milford Township by the Butler County Commissioners on August 5, 1811, to form Oxford Township.

Historic population figures

Located in the northern part of the county, it borders the following townships:
Unincorporated places in the township are Darrtown, Collinsville, and Somerville.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Public services

The township is served by the Somerville and Collinsville post offices and is in the Talawanda City School District. Major highways include State Routes 73, 177, and 744, and U.S. Route 127. U.S. 127 was dedicated at the 2005 Milford Township Bicentennial as the Gov. Andrew L. Harris Bicentennial Roadway by an invited speaker, James Brodbelt Harris, the governor's relative and the president of the family reunion association, whose family owns an Ohio Century Farm in the township.
Milford Township operates a fire department, housed in three stations. A new fire headquarters was built to replace the former Collinsville Fire Department that was taken over when the village ceased to exist. Before its dissolution, Somerville also operated a small fire department that was absorbed back in the township.
All EMS services are provided by Oxford Fire Department in the northwest and Seven Mile Fire Department in the southeast.
Law enforcement is provided to the township by the Butler County Sheriff's office.