Anderson Township's earliest settlement came in 1788, when pioneer Benjamin Stites settled near the mouth of the Little Miami River. The treaty of Easton forbade entering Ohio. but because England had been run out in the Revolutionary War, the local natives did not know treaty was void. The township was organized in 1793 as part of the Virginia Military District and was bounded by the Ohio and Little Miami Rivers, and the mouth of the Eight Mile Creek to the east. The township was important during its early days as the site of Flinn's Ford, the southernmost crossing of the Little Miami River. Anderson Township remained mainly undeveloped forest and agricultural land until post-World War II suburbanization brought new infrastructure to the community. The population grew by an average of 1,000 persons per year from the 1950s through the early 1990s bringing massive residential and commercial developments to the area. Anderson Township is named for Richard Clough Anderson Sr., Virginia's chief surveyor when the township was created.
Geography
Located in the southeastern corner of the county along the Ohio River, Anderson Township has the following borders:
Columbia Township - north
Union Township, Clermont County - east
Pierce Township, Clermont County - southeast
Campbell County, Kentucky - south
Cincinnati - west/southwest
Anderson Township includes the following census-designated places:
Cherry Grove
Coldstream
Dry Run
Forestville
Fruit Hill
Salem Heights
Sherwood
Turpin Hills
The township is composed of of rolling hills with steep, wooded hillsides leading down to the Little Miami and Ohio rivers. As of 1990, 36% of Anderson Township had been developed into suburban communities for Cincinnati, 13% into farmland, and the remainder being left as woodland.
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 43,446 people in the township. The population density was 1,392.5 people per square mile. There were 16,684 housing units at an average density of 534.7/sq mile). The racial makeup of the township was 86.9% White, 7.1% African American, and 6.0% of all other races combined. In the township the population was spread out, with 29.9% under the age of 20, 12.4% from 20 to 34, 22.0% from 35 to 49, 22.1% from 50 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $88,008.
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. Anderson Township is also a member of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.
Anderson Township is served by the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority, which provides local and commuter bus service on various routes to and from the township. Uber and Lyft operate in the township.
Airports
provides private and limited amounts of commercial air service and is located immediately southwest of the township near the confluence of the Ohio and Little Miami Rivers. The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport provides most commercial air service to the area and is located approximately 20 miles southwest in nearby Hebron, Kentucky.
Rail
Rail service is provided by Norfolk Southern Railway in the northernmost portions of the township on a rail line between Cincinnati and Portsmouth.
Education
Schools
Nearly all of Anderson Township is located in the Forest Hills Local School District. The district boasts an "Excellent with Distinction" rating from Ohio Department of Education. Forest Hills Local School District serves an approximate student population of 7,655 in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district employs 422 full-time classroom teachers and the district's overall student/teacher ratio is 18.1:1, with an instructional expense of $4,048 per student. Schools within the district include:
In 2005, the Forest Hills School District was presented a banner from the Ohio Department of Education recognizing the achievement of receiving an "Excellent" rating on the State Report Card for five consecutive years. Only 47 of the state's 614 school districts have achieved an Excellent rating for five consecutive years putting the district in the top 8 percent of districts in the state. This was achieved with more than 7,000 students and by spending less per pupil than many of the other school districts that are rated excellent.
