ETCGT- #9 - Historic Bristolville Letterbox Hybrid

Bristol Township was originally surveyed by Alfred Wolcott of Bristol, Connecticut in the early 1800's. He is credited with naming the township, which is listed as Township Six in the Fourth Range of the Western Reserve. Abraham Baughman was the first white settler in 1804, and with the coming of the William Sager family 1805, permanent settlement of the township began. Other early families from Shenandoah County, Virginia included pioneers with the names of Barbe, Fansler, Hammon, Kagy and Norton. Many of their descendants still populate the area.

The village settlement at the center of the township is dominated by a town square reminiscent of New England village greens. The "Center" as it is often referred to, is named Bristolville. Several memorials dedicated to township citizens are located in the town park. The Civil War Monument is the centerpiece of the park: it was the first Civil War memorial in the state of Ohio, having been erected in 1863. Near the site of the early grist mill operations north of the center, a small trading center named North Bristol emerged. When the railroad passed through the township in the 1870's, two railroad stations were established. The North Bristol station was later named Oakfield and the station east of the center became Spokane.