Norton S. Townshend, M.D. (1815-1895)

A progressive farmer, physician, and legislator, Norton S. Townshend lived in Avon from 1830 until his death. His introduction of field drainage tile significantly increased the productivity of Avon farmland. A well-educated country doctor, he served this district as a U.S. congressman (1851-1853) and later as an Ohio state senator. As a legislator Townshend, a member of the antislavery “Free Soil” Party, espoused civil rights for women and free blacks. Later he was instrumental in the founding of the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College in Columbus, serving on the first board and as its first professor of agriculture. In 1878, this land-grant college became Ohio State University, where Townshend Hall stands in honor of his founding role. He is interred in Avon’s mound cemetery.

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