[4] This township is included in the region known as the Firelands and was originally a part of adjacent Huron County.

It is named for Almon Ruggles, a surveyor retained by the Connecticut Land Company in 1808 and the first county recorder of Huron County.

Ruggles Township was added to Ashland County when it was formed on February 24, 1846 from portions of Huron, Lorain, Richland, and Wayne counties.

[9] Ruggles Township is home to Crittenden Farmhouse, a historic farmstead listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[10] 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.