Our History


Set in the gently rolling countryside of northwest Fairfield County, Violet Township is one of the most desirable and fastest growing suburban areas in Ohio. Violet Township is in the northwestern part of Fairfield County, is bounded on the north by Licking county, on the east by Liberty township, on the south by Bloom township, and on the west by Franklin county. 

Our Pilgrim forefathers brought the Township form of government to the Americas in 1620. This form of government spread as far west as the Rocky Mountains and today, 22 states have the town or township form of local government. Townships in Ohio were established by the Virginia Military Lands and laid out in five (5) or six (6) square mile tracts.

Violet Township was set off and incorporated in 1808, and from the variety and abundance of its wild flowers growing wild in the area, painting the landscape a soft purple color lending to the logical name of Violet. Its surface is slightly undulating, slopes southward, and is drained by Black Lick, Sycamore and Walnut Creeks. The first man to take up his residence here was an old Revolutionary soldier by the name of George Kirke, who entered the eighty acres on which the village of Pickerington now stands, on which he built himself a very ordinary log hut, which served as a stopping place for shelter from wild beasts and storms, but in a few years a purchaser came in the person of Abraham Pickering, who bought the tenth section of land including Kirke's claim, and in 1815, laid off a few lots, giving them the name of first Jacksonville, after Andrew Jackson, then later, Pickerington.

The northern twelve sections of Violet Township belonged to the Refugee lands and was noted in early times for its numerous flocks of wild turkeys and pigeons. Turkey was an ordinary dish for the farmer, and during the fall and winter months, many of them were dressed and sent to market. Shooting pigeons formed the farmer-boys' holiday pleasure and frequently his day's work, to keep them from destroying the crops. They lit in such numbers on trees as to break the branches.

Homesteads were scattered throughout the rich farmland, with proximity to springs and waterways. Our founders arrived in many ways, some coming in advance of their families, and others arriving with their entire family to take their chances in the forests. Violet Township thrived, with the main community hub forming in what is now Olde Downtown Pickerington (originally called Jacksonville).

To this day, Violet Township prides itself on maintaining its rural character while providing quality development, making it a truly desirable place to live, play, work, and raise a family.

Some partial passages from the above history are taken from “History of Fairfield and Perry Counties, Their Past and Present” compiled by A. A. Graham, courtesy of the Perry Co. Historical Society and transcriber, Timothy E. Fisher.