Union Township

According to Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Muskingum County, the area that became Union Township was originally home to people of the Shawnee nation. The authors claim that White Eyes Creek in the southern part of the township is named for a Shawnee chief. In fact, it's named for Koquethagechton (nicknamed George White Eyes), chief sachem of the Lenape (Delaware) people. Koquethagechton successfully negotiated with the Continental Congress to secure land for his people  in return for their alliance with the Americans during the Revolution. 

The first known white settlers, Henry Hardesty, Peter Monroe, Henry Hardy, William Newland, and "Mr." Mullen, arrived in the area between 1803-1806. These early settlers "squatted" in the southeast quarter of the township on School Lands. These were public lands set aside in each township by the Northwest Ordinance (1785) for the establishment of public schools. They were a great draw for settlers who couldn't afford to buy land, and their settlement was, of course, illegal. Eventually, they were forced to move on.

The northeast part of Union Township, where Zane's Trace came through, was settled primarily by families from Pennsylvania. The first inn along this part of the route was established by Pennsylvanian Thomas Warren in 1804. The village of New Concord began about this time, and with the establishment of the National Road, was officially platted as a town by Judge David Findley on March 24, 1828. The town became a stage station, where, according to the Biographical and Historical Memoirs, "The six stage horses driven at full speed from Zanesville...were exchanged for fresh horses." One of the National Road's four "s-bridges" is preserved just outside of New Concord.

As New Concord grew, so did the demands of its prominent citizens for a college to be established.Efforts to establish an academy to offer classical and scientific courses of study began in 1835. In March 1837, Muskingum College was granted a charter by the state legislature. In 2009, the college achieved university status. Its most famous graduate is local resident John Glenn, NASA astronaut and U.S. Senator.