Smithfield Township is one of the fourteen townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Jefferson County

Jefferson County, Ohio

Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Ohio. As of 2010, the population was 69,709. Its county seat is Steubenville and is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was at the time Vice President....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 3,578 people in the township, 1,804 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southwestern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Wayne Township
  Wayne Township, Jefferson County, Ohio
  Wayne Township is one of the fourteen townships of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,233 people in the township, 2,012 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Wells Township
  Wells Township, Jefferson County, Ohio
  Wells Township is one of the fourteen townships of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,130 people in the township, 3,128 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast
• Warren Township
  Warren Township, Jefferson County, Ohio
  Warren Township is one of the fourteen townships of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 4,499 people in the township, 2,044 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southeast
• Mount Pleasant Township
  Mount Pleasant Township, Jefferson County, Ohio
  Mount Pleasant Township is one of the fourteen townships of Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,588 people in the township, 1,503 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Short Creek Township, Harrison County
  Short Creek Township, Harrison County, Ohio
  Short Creek Township is one of the fifteen townships of Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,012 people in the township, 614 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest
• Green Township, Harrison County
  Green Township, Harrison County, Ohio
  Green Township is one of the fifteen townships of Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,898 people in the township, 914 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northwest

Several populated places are located in Smithfield Township:

• Part of the village of Adena
  Adena, Ohio
  Adena is a village in Harrison and Jefferson Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 815 at the 2000 census.The Jefferson County portion of Adena is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
  
  , in the southwest
• Part of the village of Dillonvale
  Dillonvale, Ohio
  Dillonvale is the name of some places in the U.S. state of Ohio:*Dillonvale, Hamilton County, Ohio*Dillonvale, Jefferson County, Ohio...
  
  , in the southeast
• The village of Smithfield
  Smithfield, Ohio
  Smithfield is a village in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. The population was 867 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area....
  
  , in the northeast
• The unincorporated community
  Unincorporated area
  In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
  
   of Greentown
  Greentown, Jefferson County, Ohio
  Greentown is an unincorporated community in eastern Smithfield Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. It lies approximately 2 miles south of Smithfield, on a small road. Part of the Dry Fork of Short Creek, a stream that meets the Ohio River at Rayland, flows past the community...
  
  , in the east
• The unincorporated community of Piney Fork
  Piney Fork, Ohio
  Piney Fork is an unincorporated community in central Smithfield Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, United States. Although it is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 43941...
  
  , in the center

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.