Bronson Township History
Our township was named for Isaac Bronson, one of the original and largest landowners. The first house erected in the township was a log cabin, built by John Welch, in the Peru area during the Summer of 1815. He had come from Pennsylvania and his family soon followed.
The first wedding in the township was between Lott Hetrick and Lola Sutliff in 1818. The first recorded death was that of Benjamin Newcomb, an early settler whose horse had kicked him in the stomach, resulting in his death.
The township opened a school house in a barn owned by Martin Kellogg in the summer of 1818, with Lola Sutliff as the first school teacher. Ms. Sutliff was paid seventy-five cents per week, with her wages being paid by the parents in proportion to the number of children sent to school. During 1819, the first actual school house was built. Martin Kellogg was the first male school teacher and earned fifteen dollars per month.
Rattlesnakes were very plentiful in the early settlements. A nest of rattlesnakes was discovered by Ephraim Herrick on the bank of a creek. With the help of others, over 120 snakes were killed.
1915
Findlay Hester
E.W. Butler
S.S. Cole
A.E. Ward - Clerk
1937-1942
Paul Knight
G.E. Leak
W.C. Collier
J.K. Hackett - Clerk
1970-1979
Harold Hammersmith
David Hester
Howard Chapin
Wayne Leslie - Clerk
2006-2015
David Berry
Larry Reilly
Steve Rospert
Lee Ann Wetzel - FO
1916-1917
E.W. Butler
S.S. Cole
Harry W. Snyder
D.M. Mead - Clerk
1943-1949
Paul Knight
W.C. Collier
C.P. Geiger
J.K. Hackett - Clerk
1980-1981
Harold Hammersmith
Howard Chapin
David Hester
Karen Berry - Clerk
2016-2018
David Berry
Steve Rospert
Dave Barman
Lee Ann Wetzel - FO
1918-1923
Harry W. Snyder
Fred Salabank
Eben Lawrence
D.M. Mead - Clerk
1950-1960
Paul Knight
C.P. Geiger
Victor Wolfe
G.E. Leak - Clerk
1982-1985
Harold Hammersmith
David Hester
Jim Stevenson
Karen Berry - Clerk
2018-2021
David Berry
Steve Rospert
Ron Lortcher
Lee Ann Wetzel - FO
1924-1926
Eben Lawrence
Wm. Riggs
Wm. Ward
G. McLaughlin - Clerk
1961-1965
Paul Knight
Victor Wolfe
Alfred Kluding
G.E. Leak - Clerk
1986-1989
Harold Hammersmith
David Hester
Gorden Beck
Karen Berry - Clerk
2021-2022
Scott Riley
Steve Rospert
Ron Lortcher
Lee Ann Wetzel - FO
1927-1931
Eben Lawrence
Wm. Ward
Roy Sutliff
Hildred Brouhard - Clerk
1966-1967
Victor Wolfe
Alfred Kluding
Harold Hammersmith
G.E. Leak - Clerk
1990-1991
David Hester
Donald Knight
David Berry
Karen Berry - Clerk
2022-Present
Steve Scheel
Steve Rospert
Ron Lortcher
Lee Ann Wetzel - FO
1932-1935
C.L. Willis
C.F. Furniss
Ed Kluding
J.K. Hackett - Clerk
1968
Alfred Kluding
Harold Hammersmith
David Hester
Carl Heyman - Clerk
1992-1995
Donald Knight
David Berry
Gorden Beck
Karen Berry - Clerk
1936
C.F. Furniss
Paul Knight
G.E. Leak
J.K. Hackett - Clerk
1969
Alfred Kluding
Harold Hammersmith
David Hester
Wayne Leslie - Clerk
1996-2005
Donald Knight
David Berry
Larry Reilly
Lee Ann Wetzel - FO