Copley Township is one of the nine

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

of Summit County,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, United States. The 2000 census found 13,641 people in the township.

Geography

Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities: * Bath Township - north * Fairlawn - northeast *

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

- east * Norton - south * Wadsworth Township, Medina County - southwest corner * Sharon Township, Medina County - west * Granger Township, Medina County - northwest corner Several populated places are located in Copley Township: *The

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

of Pigeon Creek, in the northwest *The

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

of Montrose, on the northern boundary with Bath Township Parts of the original Copley Township are now in Akron or Fairlawn. A formerly rural township located west of the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

, Copley Township has become increasingly

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

over the last few decades.

Name and history

It is the only Copley Township statewide. Copley was originally called Greenfield, after Gardiner Green (son-in-law of painter

John Singleton Copley John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...

), who owned a large portion of the township. Later on he changed the name to Copley, the maiden name of his wife. Fairlawn was founded as a hamlet in Copley in 1891 when the

Northern Ohio Railway Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

was built. As of 1908 it had a mill, general store, a blacksmith, and other businesses. On August 7, 2011, a series of shootings occurred in Copley Township which resulted in the deaths of 7 people, and the injury of another. The perpetrator, Michael E. Hance, was shot and killed by rifle by Copley Township police officer Ben Campbell, who received the call while off-duty.

Economy

Copley Township's economy is based on several

strip mall A strip mall, strip center or strip plaza is a type of shopping center common in North America where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front. ...

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., w ...

plants, and

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

businesses. The rest of the township is dotted with farms and subdivisions.

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, 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.

Notable natives and residents

* John F. Seiberling, U.S. Representative from Ohio *

Betty Sutton Betty Sue Sutton (born July 31, 1963) is an American politician who currently serves as a Judge of Ohio's 9th District Court of Appeals. She previously served as a U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Party ...

, U.S. Representative from Ohio * Carrie Coon, actress * Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State * Josh Williams, defender for the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

Education

The school system in the township is shared with Fairlawn and has a set of three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, Copley High School.

Superfund

In 1990, Copley Square Plaza was designated a superfund site after

tetrachloroethylene Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and many other names (and abbreviations such as "perc" or "PERC", and "PCE"), is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2 . It is a colorless li ...

and other contaminates from a dry cleaners were found in the soil.
PL Site Narrative for Copley Square Plaza, NPL, Superfund, US EPA:

References

External links

Township websiteCounty websiteSchool district website
{{authority control Townships in Summit County, Ohio Townships in Ohio