Milton Township is one of the sixteen Wayne County, Ohio townships, United States. The 2000 census found 9,254 people in the township, 3,053 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.  In 2011, the City of Rittman withdrew from Milton Township to become Rittman Township.   

 

         Elevation: 1,079′ (329 m)        Approximate Area: 31 sq. miles

 

Milton Township was organized by order of the Wayne County Commissioners on October 5, 1818.  Jacob Kiefer, one of the earliest pioneers of the township, traveled to Wooster to inquire about having the township named “Center Swamp Township”, for there was a large swamp in the center of it.  Commissioner George Bair objected to the name because it would bring shame to the township.  At the suggestion of Bair, it was named “Milton Township”.  Before the official naming, it was known as Township 18 of Range 12.

 

Early settlers’ names like; “Decourcey”, “Fritz”, “Doyle”, “Lance”, “Knupp”, “Johnson” and “Cotton” are still recognized in the area today.  Small towns like Johnson’s Corners (aka “Amwell”), Russell, Milton Station, and Shrinersburg (New Prospect) were all within the boundaries of Milton Township.