Berne Township, Ohio : Geography, Name and history, Government Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Berne Township, Ohio

39°38′58″N 82°33′10″W / 39.64944°N 82.55278°W / 39.64944; -82.55278CountryUnited StatesStateOhioCountyFairfieldArea

• Total44.4 sq mi (114.9 km²) • Land44.0 sq mi (114.0 km²) • Water0.3 sq mi (0.9 km²)Elevation

^[1]

781 ft (238 m)Population

(2020)^[2]

• Total5,057 • Density110/sq mi (44/km²)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)FIPS code39-05956^[3]GNIS feature ID1086073^[1]

Berne Township is one of the thirteen townships of Fairfield County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 5,057.

Geography

Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

Pleasant Township - north
Rush Creek Township - northeast
Marion Township, Hocking County - southeast
Good Hope Township, Hocking County - south
Madison Township - southwest
Hocking Township - west
Greenfield Township - northwest corner

Two municipalities are located in Berne Township: part of the city of Lancaster, the county seat of Fairfield County, in the northwest; and the village of Sugar Grove in the south.

Name and history

Berne Township was named after Bern (French: Berne), in Switzerland, the native home of a first settler.^[4] It is the only Berne Township statewide, although there is a Bern Township in Athens County.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer,^[5] who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

References

^ ^a ^b "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ "Berne township, Fairfield County, Ohio - Census Bureau Profile". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
^ Miller, Charles Christian (1912). History of Fairfield County, Ohio, and representative citizens. Chicago, Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. p. 128.
^ §503.24, §505.01, and §507.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009.