Elijah Boardman, founder of Boardman Township, was born Mar. 7, 1760 in New Milford, Conn., the son of Sherman and Sarah (Botswick) Boardman.
      In 1797, Elijah and Thomas Canfield purchased a large tract of land from the Connecticut Land Co. Mr. Boardman and Mr. Canfield traveled to the ‘Western Reserve’ in 1798 and located their land in adjoining townships that were named for them and at the time were located in Trumbull County, Oh.
      It was not until 1806 that Boardman organized its own township government.
      The first election was held Apr. 7, 1806 when Eli Baldwin was elected clerk and Henry Brainard, George Stillson and Adam Simon were elected as trustees.
      Baldwin also served as Boardman’s first Justice of the Peace and served as postmaster and captain of the militia.
      When first settled, Boardman was described as a dense forest and early inhabitants were “much troubled” with bears and wolves.
      There was also an abundance of deer, turkeys and pheasants.