Bethlehem Township, Stark County, Ohio

Bethlehem Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,520 people in the township.

Bethlehem Township
Civil township
township meeting house and garage
Location of Bethlehem Township in Stark County
Coordinates: 40°42′44″N 81°30′14″W
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Stark
Area
• Total	33.4 sq mi (86.6 km2)
• Land	33.3 sq mi (86.4 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation [1]	1,020 ft (311 m)
Population  (2020)[2]
• Total	5,520
• Density	165.8/sq mi (63.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
FIPS code	39-06180[3]
GNIS feature ID	1086973[1]

Geography

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

• Perry Township - north
• Canton Township - northeast corner
• Pike Township - east
• Lawrence Township, Tuscarawas County - southeast
• Franklin Township, Tuscarawas County - southwest
• Sugar Creek Township - west
• Tuscarawas Township - northwest corner

Most of the village of Navarre is located in northwestern Bethlehem Township. A very small portion of the city of Massillon also lies within the northwest portion of the township. The township also contains the unincorporated community of Smoketown within its east central portion.

Name and history

Statewide, the only other Bethlehem Township is located in Coshocton County.^[4]

Bethlehem Township was described in 1833 as having two stores and two sawmills.^[5]

Government

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1820	489		—
1830	886		81.2%
1840	1,019		15.0%
1850	2,398		135.3%
1860	2,401		0.1%
1870	2,148		−10.5%
1880	2,304		7.3%
1890	2,290		−0.6%
1900	2,236		−2.4%
1910	2,495		11.6%
1920	2,393		−4.1%
1930	2,929		22.4%
1940	3,227		10.2%
1950	3,568		10.6%
1960	4,277		19.9%
1970	4,528		5.9%
1990	5,803		—
2000	5,650		−2.6%
2010	5,347		−5.4%
2020	5,520		3.2%
[6]

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,^[7] 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

1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
2. "Bethlehem township, Stark County, Ohio - Census Bureau Profile". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
3. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. "Detailed map of Ohio" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. 2000. Retrieved February 16, 2007.
5. Kilbourn, John (1833). The Ohio Gazetteer, Or a Topographical Dictionary. Scott and Wright. pp. 95. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
6. census data: 1820 : 1820 page 137, 1830 : Kilbourn, John (1831). The Ohio gazetteer: or, Topographical dictionary: describing the several ... in the State of Ohio. self. p. 332., 1840, 1880 : Howe, Henry (1907). Historical Collections of Ohio, The Ohio Centennial Edition. The State of Ohio. p. 285., 1850, 1860, 1870 : 1870 page 35, 1890, 1900 : Hunt, William C. (1901). Population of the United States by states and territories, counties, and minor Civil Divisions, as returned at the Twelfth Census: 1900. United States Census Printing Office. p. 318., 1910, 1920, 1930 : 1930 page 56, 1940, 1950 : 1950 page 21, 1960, 1970 : 1970 page 135, 1990 : 1990, 2000 : 2000, 2010 and 2020 : 2010 and 2020
7. §503.24, §505.01, and §507.01 of the Ohio Revised Code. Accessed 4/30/2009.

External links

• County website Archived March 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine