Northampton was one of the 16 original townships in Summit County, Ohio. It was in the middle of Summit County, bordering Akron and Cuyahoga Falls. No incorporated areas were formed within the township but Akron and Cuyahoga Falls expanded into Northampton via annexation. In 1986, Northampton Township merged with Cuyahoga Falls, the first time a township and city merged in Ohio. When created it occupied survey Town 3, Range 11 in the Western Reserve and was about 25 square miles (65 km2) in area. Its first settler, Simeon Prior named the township for the Hampshire County, Massachusetts village of Northampton.