1858 Morgan Township House / Copperheadism in Butler County

1858 Morgan Township House, also, Copperheadism in Butler County. . , Side A: , 1858 Morgan Township House , On April 20, 1857, the trustees of Morgan Township met in Okeana to obtain a lot for the township house. From a quarter mill tax levy, $850 was budgeted for a house and lot. Money expended on the project included $50 for the lot, $650 for the construction of the building, $41 for fencing, $12.60 for twelve chairs, and $10.25 for a table. Since its completion in 1858, this meeting house has been used for trustee meetings, a voting precinct, village singing schools and concerts, public school, bank, and township garage. The trustees moved to a new building across the street in 1972 and into their Chapel Road complex in 2000., Side B: , Copperheadism in Butler County , By the early summer of 1863, many Ohioans had become dissatisfied with what seemed a protracted Civil War. They opposed the administration of President Abraham Lincoln and the policy of a national military draft and were alarmed by what they saw as an invasion of their civil liberties. This was in part fueled by the arrest of Clement Vallandigham, future Democratic candidate for Governor, for publicly criticizing the war. He was convicted of sedition by a military commission and exiled by the President. On July 17, 1863, those unfriendly to the Civil War (Copperheads) from Morgan, Ross, Reily, and Hanover townships met at the Morgan Township House to organize the Butler County Mutual Protection Company. Copperheads from Franklin County, Indiana, joined the company to protest the draft and the president's handling of the war. The company was short-lived, however, as similar antiwar organizations flourished in the region.