The township is named after the
town of
Brimfield, Massachusetts, and is the only Brimfield Township in Ohio. It was formed from
survey township Town 2, Range 9 of the
Connecticut Western Reserve. The original proprietors were Israel Thorndike of
Boston and John Wyles of
Hartford, Connecticut, both of whom came to the area in 1816 to view their land and divide it. While neither settled in Brimfield, Thorndike sent his nephew Henry Thorndike to act as his agent and settle in the township. Brimfield was known by a succession of different names during the first few years, mostly in reference the swampy land within its borders. It was first known as "Swamptown", followed by "Beartown", "Greenbriar", and "Wylestown", before town leaders agreed to name it "Thorndike" at the establishment of the township government in 1818 after Thorndike had agreed to donate land for a town square. Thorndike never followed through on his agreement, so residents petitioned to have the name changed to "Brimfield" in honor of John Wyles, Jr., who had inherited his father's land interests and at the time resided in Brimfield, Massachusetts. A post office called Brimfield was established in 1834 and remained in operation until 1907. ==Government==