Harrison Township

 

Harrison Township was formed from parts of neighboring Blue Rock, Brush Creek and Salt Creek Townships. In a petition to the county commissioners, residents of the area claimed, as had residents of Adams Township 13 years earlier, that they were disadvantaged by the distance they had to travel to conduct business or participate in elections. The commissioners granted the petition, and the first township election was held December 20, 1839. The new township was named for General (not yet President) William Henry Harrison.

William Henry Harrison

According to The Biographical and Historical Memoirs, the "Bean Family" established their home in the area that would become Harrison Township in 1798. However, no other information is given about the family believed to be the first white settlers. The surnames of other early settlers include: Ayers, McBride, Hammond, Hemmett, Ballou, Winn, Neff, Dutro, and Baker. 

James Taylor, a man of considerable means, built a dam across the Muskingum River (which forms the eastern boundary of the township) at Duncan Falls in 1829. He built a grist mill and a sawmill downstream from the dam, also maintained a ferry service, and manufactured salt. In 1830, he built the township's first frame house, and in 1833 he founded Taylorsville, the township's first village. In 1851, with the establishment of its first post office, the village was renamed Philo, after an early settler, Philo Buckingham.

Map of Taylorsville's dam and lock

A one-mile long canal, The Taylorsville Canal, was constructed in 1840 as part of the State's efforts to
improve navigation on the Muskingum. In 1874, the county constructed an 800 foot-long bridge across the river, at the considerable cost of $28,000---the equivalent of $811,000 today. The bridge linked Philo and Duncan Falls, a village laid out by James Taylor in 1841.

From 1836-2001, Taylorsville/Philo was a mission of  the Roman Catholic Church in Zanesville. In 1836, a Catholic parish known as St. Anna's was established. It no longer operates, and no Catholic parish has been formed in the township to replace it. As in almost all of Muskingum County's townships, Methodism and Lutheranism became the dominant Christian denominations in Harrison.