Directory The Village of Millersport
Located 30 minutes east of Columbus and 20 minutes from Lancaster and Newark, the village of Millersport was founded in 1825 by Mathias Miller as a port of trade on the Ohio Erie Canal. A well-preserved portion of the canal cuts through the center of town, enhancing the colorful, picturesque community. Millersport is also the site of the annual Sweet Corn Festival, which first started in 1946. Through the years, millions of people have come to enjoy the music, parades, rides, and food, along with square dancing, talent shows, and games each year on Labor Day weekend.
Businesses in this rural village provide tourists with restaurants, a coffee shop, an art studio, bait stores, park offices, service stations, grocery stores, and a very popular old-fashioned homemade ice cream parlor, Weldon’s Ice Cream Factory.
The mayor, village council, board of public affairs, volunteer fire department, and police department continually seek to maintain a community rich in history, patriotism, culture, and environmental beauty. They also endeavor to enhance the opportunities of the citizens, local churches, civic organizations, businesses, and the public school system.
Walnut Township – Fairfield County was organized on December 9, 1800. It was part of the Northwest Territory until March 1803 when Ohio became a state. By 1807 or 1808, Walnut Township was created from the northern part of Pleasant Township. Its name came from Walnut Creek.
Walnut Township is a part of the Refugee Tract, set apart by Congress in 1798 for certain persons who left the provinces of Canada and Nova Scotia to aid in the Revolutionary War.
New Salem, located halfway between Lancaster and Newark, was laid out on December 12, 1832, by Abraham Hashbarger /Harshbarger and David Swazey/Swayze. It may have been named after the town of Salem, Massachusetts.
The Village of Thurston, originally called Hitedale (1849) was laid out as Bush City in 1881 by George Bush, and a year later became Hadley Junction. In 1913 the village officially became Thurston, named for a well-liked Methodist minister.
With the construction of The Ohio and Erie Canal (1825-1833), the “Buffalo Swamp” became the Licking Reservoir, which served as a feeder for the canal. In 1894, the name was changed to Buckeye Lake.
Mathias Miller laid out the town of Millersport, a port on the Ohio-Erie canal, on February 12, 1827, near the southwest shore of the Licking Reservoir.
The Village of Monticello was settled around 1803 by a small group of Virginia Pioneers. When Millersport was laid out, Monticello was already thriving about a mile south along the bank of “Deep Cut.” It had grown as a community for those working on the construction of the canal and had a Post Office from 1827 to 1833. Now nothing remains of Monticello, only the “Deep Cut.”
Today’s visitors will find that Walnut Township includes over a third of the shoreline of Buckeye Lake, including sections of the north, west, and south shores. Visitors are welcomed by several restaurants and clubs, along with marinas, islands, and businesses. Learn more about what Walnut Township has to offer at WalnutTownship.com
