Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio


Delhi Township is one of the twelve townships of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census found 29,510 people in the township. It is the only Delhi Township statewide.

History

The area of modern-day Delhi Township was first settled by Americans in 1789, with the founding of the village of South Bend. Delhi was then incorporated as a township in 1816.
The name is pronounced "DEL-high", rather than "dell-hee", which is how its namesake in India's pronounced as Dell-Hee.

Sedam Springhouse

The Sedam Springhouse, which may date back to the 1790s, is one of the oldest buildings in the township. Now known as the Delhi Springhouse, the structure stands on land near the stone house Colonel Cornelius Ryker Sedam built in 1796. The house no longer exists, but the springhouse has been restored. The structure protected a natural spring, which supplied water as late as 1937. The springhouse was also used to provide storage for perishable foods.

Geography

Located in the southwestern part of the county along the Ohio River, it has the following borders:
Much of what was once part of Delhi Township, including its entire shoreline along the Ohio River, is now part of the city of Cincinnati, the county seat of Hamilton County. Unincorporated communities in the township include Delhi Hills, Delshire, and Mount Saint Joseph. The Cincinnati communities of Price Hill, Sayler Park, Sedamsville and Riverside were part of Delhi Township until they were annexed by Cincinnati at the turn of the 20th century.
with the hills of Delhi in the background
The township has an area of. Because the township covers the slopes leading down to the floodplain of the Ohio River, the township contains many hills, and its landscape is cut by a number of ravines caused by streams that make the descent.

Climate

Delhi Township is located within a climatic transition zone at the extreme northern limit of the humid subtropical climate. Being located within the northern periphery of the Upland South and also within the Bluegrass region of southern Ohio and Kentucky, the local climate is a basically a blend of the subtropics to the south and the humid continental climate to the north.
Delhi Township's average annual rainfall is, received over an average of 82 days, along with of snow. Temperatures range from an average July high of 88 °F to an average January low of 15 °F.
are very common in Delhi|thumb

Demographics

The median age of males in the township is 36.7 years of age, and the median age of females in the township is 38.4 years of age.
The median income for households in the township was $64,504 in 2008. In 1999, the median income for households in the township was $55,052.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

Infrastructure

Fire department

Three fire stations serve the township. Fire Station #33 serves as the fire department's headquarters. The other stations are Station #30 and Station #36.

Culture and recreation

Delhi Skirt Game

Delhi has various annual celebrations, including the Delhi Skirt Game. The Delhi Skirt Game is a Chicago-style softball game between officers of the Delhi Township Police Department and the firefighters of the Delhi Township Fire Department; the teams consist of male officers dressed in drag. The game is played in Delhi Park on the first Friday of August, with festivities surrounding the game including live music, games of chance, concessions, auctions and fireworks. The Skirt Game benefits needy families of Delhi Township.

"Floral Paradise"

Following an 1850s grape blight which destroyed most of the township's vineyards, many growers turned to vegetable farming. On the heels of a successful transition to vegetable farming, growers began to construct greenhouses in order to extend the growing season. At some point in the 1920–1930s, nearly all of the Delhi greenhouse operators began to realize the greater profit potential of growing flowers, and subsequently converted their greenhouses from vegetable-centric operations to growing cut flowers full-time.
The peak of local hothouse agriculture was reached during the late pre-WWII years, when as many as 55 family-run greenhouses operated in the township. Notably, Delhi Township-based greenhouses produced a significant percentage of carnations supplied throughout the United States by this time. In the local region, Delhi Township became known as the "Floral Paradise of Ohio", a trademark phrase that is still featured on modern, official Delhi Township signage.
The importance of greenhouses in Delhi Township was even reflected in the equipment of the Delhi Township Fire Department; as late as 1986, small-diameter fire attack lines were equipped with iron pipe couplings in order to be compatible with the fittings in use on most greenhouse irrigation standpipes of the time. This arrangement permitted firefighters to connect their hoses to the source of water closest to an interior greenhouse fire, eliminating the need to drag hundreds of feet of heavy, charged hose connected at the fire apparatus's pump panel outside. In this arrangement, water pressure in the involved greenhouse was boosted by a connection from the pumper to a standpipe connection on the outside of the structure. The requirement to carry a large variety of thread adapters, along with the rapid, penultimate decline of hothouse agriculture in Delhi Township led to the complete standardization to National Standard-threaded couplings within the department by the late 1980s.
Today, only a few family-run greenhouses remain—the combined results of a decline in business due to foreign flower imports, as well as the lucrative conversion of greenhouse properties to land made available for residential and commercial development in the post-World War II suburbanization boom.

Parks

The township operates over of park property. Parks operated by the township include Delhi Park, Five-Points Park, and Story Woods Park. Delhi Park, which opened in 1954, is the oldest park in the township. It has nine ball fields, including baseball courts, football fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, and sand volleyball courts. Delhi Park also has the Glen Carder Lodge, four picnic shelters and the "Spray Park." Five-Points Park, a park, has a gazebo and the firefighter's memorial. Story Woods Park, a park, has a playground facility, a picnic shelter, toilet facilities, and of walking trails. The township also has the Delhi Springhouse, which opened to protect the springs. The springhouse was also used as a source of drinking water and as cold storage for perishable foods. The Great Parks of Hamilton County operates Embshoff Woods, a park which opened in 1982 and consists of of protected natural areas.
In November 2007, the township dedicated Veterans Memorial Park in honor of the township's military veterans. Located within the park are the Wall of Honor Monument and the Killed-in-Action Memorial.

Newspaper

The Delhi Press serves the areas of Delhi and Sayler Park, Cincinnati. It is distributed once a week on Wednesdays. An average Delhi Press contains a main article, other articles about the area, school articles, athletic articles, recipes, a response article, and an obituary.

Education

Colleges and universities

is located in Delhi Township. It has approximately 2,200 students and offers liberal arts and professional education programs. Other nearby universities include Cincinnati Christian University, the University of Cincinnati, Xavier University, and Northern Kentucky University.

Primary and secondary schools

operates public schools in Delhi Township. Public schools within the township include Delshire Elementary School, C.O. Harrison Elementary School, Delhi Middle School, and Rapid Run Middle School. Oak Hills High School, outside of the township, serves as the area high school.
Private schools in the township include Our Lady of Victory School and St. Dominic School. Other area schools include Elder High School and Seton High School.

Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church

is the third oldest Catholic Church in Hamilton County, Ohio, established in 1842. OLV has a church, school and athletics. They are known as "Vipers". A notable alumnus of the school is news anchor Bill Hemmer. OLV is the site of the Greater Cincinnati Kansas City Barbeque Society barbeque competition, hosted in August.

Public libraries

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County operates the Delhi Township Branch. The township first received a library in 1949 when a collection of books opened in Delhi Public School. A permanent library facility was dedicated in January 1968. In 1999, an addition added of space to the building, increased the size of the collection, expanded the children's area, added a glass reading room, and altered the landscaping. The branch was renamed to the Delhi Township Branch Library during its reopening and rededication.