Richland Township, Steuben County, Indiana

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Richland Township
settlement_type = Township
nickname =
motto =

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map_caption = Location in Steuben County


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Indiana
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Steuben
government_footnotes =
government_type = Indiana township
leader_title =
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area_footnotes =
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 40.4
area_land_km2 = 40.4
area_water_km2 = 0
area_total_sq_mi = 15.6
area_land_sq_mi = 15.6
area_water_sq_mi = 0
area_water_percent = 0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 538
population_density_km2 = 13.3
population_density_sq_mi = 34.5

elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 282
elevation_ft = 925
latd = 41
latm = 34
lats = 15
latNS = N
longd = 84
longm = 49
longs = 55
longEW = W

timezone =
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postal_code_type =
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blank_name = GNIS feature ID
blank_info = [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:0453800 0453800]
website =
footnotes =

Richland Township is one of twelve townships in Steuben County, Indiana, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 538, [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-CONTEXT=dt&-tree_id=4001&-all_geo_types=N&-geo_id=06000US1815164224&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en United States Census Bureau American FactFinder] ] making it the smallest township in the county.

Geography

Richland Township covers an area of 15.6 square miles (40.4 square kilometers), second smallest after Clear Lake township.

Extinct towns

* Alvarado

Adjacent townships

* York Township (north)
* Troy Township, DeKalb County (south)
* Franklin Township, DeKalb County (southwest)
* Otsego Township (west)

Cemeteries

The township contains five cemeteries: Alvarado, Amish, Metz, Mount Pleasant, and Bethel. ["Steuben County Cemeteries"]

Major highways

*

History

The first land registration was made by John Douglas on October 11, 1835 but Robert Jackman and family were the first to settle in the township, in 1836. [Imhof, p. 83.] The 1840 census shows only 16 families, including those of Douglas and Jackman. [1840 U.S. Census.]

Much of this early community was centered on what came to be the village of Richland Center, where a log cabin schoolhouse as well as a Methodist church were built in 1850. [Kelly (log cabin schoolhouse), and Imhof, p. 83.] When this village, which was never incorporated, organized a U. S. post office, there was already an Indiana post office named "Richland Center", so this post office was named "Alvardo", which eventually became the name for the village. [Alvarado United Methodist Church, which says: "How the name Alvarado originated or came about is not known."] Like the rest of Richland township, Alvarado slowly lost population during the 20th century and, in the 21st century, is a small collection of dwellings, farm buildings, and the Alvarado United Methodist Church.

Notes and References

* Alvarado United Methodist Church, " [http://alvaradoumc.org/church-history History of the Alvarado United Methodist Church] ", accessed August 7, 2008.
* Imhof, Oscar (1956) "Richland Township", Harvey Morley, editor, "The 1955 History, Complete County Atlas, pictorial and Biographical Album of Steuben County, Indiana", Angola, Indiana.
* Kelly, Niki (1996) "Our Towns: Alvarado", "Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette", June 9, 1996.
*" [http://www.ingenweb.org/insteuben/cem/index.html Steuben County Cemeteries] ", Steuben County, Indiana, INGenWeb Site, accessed August 12, 2008.
* [http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/ U.S. Board on Geographic Names (GNIS)]
* [http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/ United States Census Bureau cartographic boundary files]

External links

* [http://www.indianatownshipassoc.org/counties/Steuben.htm Indiana Township Association page for Steuben County]