Upper Township

For many years now, the Upper Township History of Lawrence County has been largely that of the city of Ironton. However, the city does not entirely cover the township either geographically or historically speaking, and, of course, in days gone by, the distinction was even greater. So we shall devote this sketch chiefly to that portion of the history of Upper Township least identified with that of the city.
Upper Township is the southernmost one of Range Eighteen, although it is not a full-sized township according to public land standards. The Ohio river cuts away much of what otherwise might have been its southern portion. At the same time, two and a fraction section of the range on the west belongs to Hamilton Township, and four and a fraction section on the east side of the range belongs to Perry Township.
Upper Township is well-drained by Storms Creek, Ice Creek, and John’s Creek.
The first important industrial settlement in the upper township was at Hecla Furnace.
Petersburg, Coal Grove, Newton, and Etna became communities about furnaces up the river from Ironton, and later Sedgwick was established below that place. Most outlying villages have long since become an art of Ironton, so today, Upper Township contains two municipalities -Ironton and Coal Grove with a few outlying villages.