Where Washington Township is
Washington Township is on Stark County’s eastern edge. Lexington Township is to the north, the City of Alliance to the northeast, Columbiana County’s Knox and West townships to the east, Paris Township to the south, Nimishillen Township to the west and Marlboro to the northwest. Part of Alliance lies inside the township’s northern end; the rest is unincorporated. The 2020 census counted 4,443 people over about 30.8 square miles, all of it land.
There are lots of townships named Washington in Ohio, so when you search your parcel, make sure you are looking at the Stark County one.
Two crossroads villages from 1842
The Rodman Public Library’s history credits Ezekiel Marsh as one of the first known residents, probably before 1810; his cabin doubled as one of the first schools. The township was organized in 1821 from part of Lexington Township, and the county planning commission says four towns were platted here, of which two survive.
- Mount Union came first, in 1833, at the crossing of the Canton-Salem and Lexington-Carrollton roads. Its southern half was in Washington Township, and it later became part of Alliance.
- Freeburg was founded early in 1842 by Isidore Carrillon on the Thomas Road, an old Indian trail farmers used to haul grain toward the Ohio Canal at Massillon.
- Maximo was recorded in August 1842 by Gregory Gross and Jacob Sardier as Strasburgh. Its post office took the name Maximo to avoid confusion with Strasburg in Tuscarawas County, and by 1896 the village used it too.
Housing: almost entirely single-family
Washington Township is about as single-family as a place gets. Census estimates for 2020-2024:
| Measure | Washington Township |
|---|---|
| Housing units | About 1,886 |
| Single-family detached | About 98% |
| Mobile homes | About 0% |
| Owner-occupied | About 87% |
| Median year built | 1958 |
| Built 1939 or earlier | About 25% |
| Vacant | About 5% |
| Median home value (owner estimate) | About $197,300 |
The median home here is older than in the other two Marlington townships, Marlboro (1971) and Lexington (1967), and a quarter of homes date from before 1940. A sound house on a country lot sells well on the open market, and if yours is ready we’d point you toward a listing. A direct sale makes more sense when the house needs a new roof, well pump or septic, or when you’re settling an estate; see selling an inherited house.
Septic, sewer and well paperwork
Stark County requires a septic inspection before any house on a household sewage system changes hands. Two parts of the rule matter here:
- Near Alliance: if a sanitary sewer is available, usually shown by a lateral already run to the property, the house has to be connected and the septic properly abandoned.
- Wells: the health department keeps a separate water well system evaluation form, and if a buyer’s lender wants lead and nitrate samples, that can add days to the inspection.
If a failed system or a bad water test is holding your sale up, read selling a house with septic problems.
Marlington schools
Washington Township is part of Marlington Local Schools, whose name blends Marlboro and Lexington (some say Washington). Each of the three townships has an elementary school, so this one has Washington Elementary. The middle and high schools sit just outside Alliance’s city limits, with Marlington High School on Moulin Avenue NE in Lexington Township.
For the city, see our Alliance page, and the Stark County page for county rules. To get a number on your house, request an offer.