Colerain Township was first settled in the spring of 1790 by a surveyor, John Dunlap, who named the settlement after his birthplace of Coleraine, Ireland. The settlement, Fort Coleraine, commonly called Dunlap’s Station, was located on the bend of the great Miami River several miles below the bridge to Ross, Ohio.
Only one year after it had been settled, Dunlap’s Station was temporarily abandoned following a brutal attack it sustained by Native Americans. John Dunlap and the 11 families living at the Fort moved down river to the settlement at North Bend.
In 1794, Coleraine was established as a Township. The “e” at the end of Coleraine was dropped sometime later, Americanizing the name Colerain. The villages of Barnesburg, Bevis, Dunlap and Groesbeck were established in the early 1800′s along Blue Rock and Colerain Roads, two of the oldest roads in the area. German immigrants farmed the southwestern portion between 1840 and 1870, heavily influencing the township’s cultural and architectural traditions.
Today, Colerain Township is the 2nd largest township in the state of Ohio encompassing 42.9 square miles while serving 58,499 residents. Colerain Township is located north of Cincinnati and is conveniently located off of two major interstates providing easy access to our residential and business communities.
Residents and businesses of Colerain Township receive the benefit of a full-service township providing a variety of services including Administration, Police, Fire & EMS, Planning & Zoning, Parks & Services, Public Works, and Senior & Community Center.