Wayne Township is one of the fourteen townships of Clermont County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census reported 4,885 people living in the township, 4,493 of whom were in the unincorporated portions of the township.
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,[5] 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.
Wayne Township has a rich history!
A thoroughfare once used by buffalo and Indians, hunters, early settlers, and surveyors, the Bullskin Trail was used by the Army troops during the War of 1812. Also referred to as the Xenia State Road and Xenia Trace, the road carried the footsteps of Simon Kenton, Cornelius Washburn, Daniel Boone, Tecumseh, Blue Jacket and slaves seeking freedom. In 1920 the State of Ohio designated it as State Route 133. A marker, build of stones collected by residents I 1927, still stands north of Edenton.
Read more on the history of this trail at the Blanchester Historical Society and the Clermont County Historical Society.
Photos courtesy of Blanchester Historical Society/Steve and Cliff Riley
Edenton Cemetery History
I’m thankful for the opportunity to tell you some local history of my hometown of Edenton, located in Wayne Township Clermont County, Ohio. For the people who reside there along with our history we are a collective story.
As I look into the old quiet cemetery that is situated on the north side of Stonelick Lake State Park, I see this history come to life before my eyes.
In the year 1806, Edenton had its first resident Jacob Style. Edenton was then laid out August 12, 1837 by Silas V. Jordan. In the years ahead Edenton flourished and grew rapidly. At one time Edenton had a highly successful Odd Fellows Lodge. It is noted that the Edenton Lodge was one of the wealthiest in the state of Ohio. In the year 1858, this Lodge purchased 4 acres of land from John Fuller, a local farmer, to be reserved for a cemetery.
This cemetery was given by these founding fathers of Edenton with a 1000 lots for future families of the area. As of 2021 this graveyard is almost full, 974 Souls are laid to rest in this peaceful place. The bygone times represented by these past residents are of great significance.
There are great Heroes who are entombed here. They represented bravely not only Wayne Township, Ohio but by their Country as well. In my research I found veterans from every war or American conflict since and including the Revolutionary war. This includes a Private serving in World War II named Mr. Andrew Long, whose body was brought back to Edenton in the year 1942. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, perishing in service to this Nation in the War.
Hannah Ann Quinby chose this sacred ground to be buried. When she was a young woman she fought to have the right to vote in this Country and went on to be one of the first women to run for office in the House of Representatives in the year 1922. Alongside her rest Joseph Layman’s son, the very first trustee in Wayne Township elected in 1820.
When the residents of Edenton and surrounding communities chose this cemetery to be buried some of them included the original Odd Fellow members who helped to preserve this land so many years ago.
This revered ground includes the well-known names which are still a part of our day to day life in our small farming community. Representing the rural roads we drive past. Names of past families who also called this place home, including Weaver, Spurling, and Roudebush.
Edenton at one time in years’ past was a thriving community that had a Chair Factory, a Doctor’s office, 4 grocery stores, 2 gas stations, a restaurant, a very active school, a Masonic Temple, an Order of the Eastern Star, an Odd Fellows lodge, a Methodist and Baptist Church, a small family owned Motel, a Post Office, and a Historical sight of the Xenia Trace. The old faithful Cemetery embodies all of this rich history including some well-known families, as Martin, Long, South, Barr, Conover, Cramer, Hill, Grosnickle, Little, Hamm, Jordan, Lyttle, Jones, Osborn, Fahey, Sexton, Whitaker and so many more too numerous to mention.
The people who lie in rest at Edenton Cemetery lived lives of significance in value not only to this community but to their families, though they faced many hardships and triumphs. It is entrusted to us and future generations to maintain our cemeteries to clearly define a space for them to rest in peace. We owe Margaret Cannava a debt of gratitude for her kindness bestowed on our hometown in donating a beautiful fence for this purpose of maintaining the past and future history of this Cemetery, along with the trustees of Wayne Township who worked hard to see it through to a finished project installed in April 2021. Thank you for preserving the Edenton Cemetery.
“Wherever a beautiful soul has been there is a trail of beautiful memories.”- President Ronald Reagan
Submitted by: Valerie (Fahey) Figart