After the
Revolutionary War, the area that later became Olmsted Township was part of the
Western Reserve, a strip of northeastern Ohio land stretching 120 miles west from the Pennsylvania border, that was claimed by
Connecticut. In 1795, Connecticut sold most of that land to the
Connecticut Land Company, which then divided it into townships and sold it by auction. Several bidders won the right to purchase what then was known as Township 6, Range 15, with the largest share of almost half going to Aaron Olmsted, a sea captain from
East Hartford, Connecticut. However, it took years for the sales to be consummated. Olmsted died in 1806, so when the sale of his land was completed in 1807, it went to his widow and three sons, who sold parts of the land to settlers. Although James Geer, who then lived in
Columbia Township to the south, planted a crop of corn across the border in 1814, it was 1815 when he and his family moved into a small log house in Township 6, Range 15, to become the township’s first settlers. The township had several informal names, including Kingston, until 1823, when it was organized as a civil township called Lenox. However, because of confusion with another
Lenox Township in
Ashtabula County, one resident suggested renaming it Olmsted Township in honor of Aaron Olmsted. Olmsted’s son, Charles Hyde Olmsted, not only agreed to the request but was so pleased that he offered to send the community about 500 books from Connecticut by oxcart. Those books became known as the
Oxcart Library. On April 7, 1856,
Olmsted Falls was incorporated as a village from a portion of east-central Olmsted Township. In 1857, the village doubled in size when it annexed Plum Creek, the unincorporated hamlet to the north. Olmsted Falls subsequently annexed other parts of Olmsted Township over the years. In 1909, the northern part of Olmsted Township and part of southern
Dover Township incorporated as
North Olmsted. In 1927,
Westview (also known as West View) was incorporated as a village from the southeastern portion of Olmsted Township. In 1971, Olmsted Falls and Westview merged under the name Olmsted Falls. Over the years,
Berea,
Brook Park and
North Olmsted also have annexed portions of Olmsted Township land. Railroad tracks, originally built in 1853 and now owned by
Norfolk Southern, cut east-west through the township. Olmsted Township is part of the
Olmsted Falls City School District, which also includes Olmsted Falls and parts of Berea and Columbia Township.
Vitamix has its world headquarters in Olmsted Township right on the border with Olmsted Falls. ==Government==