The Norton S. Townshend Papers contain copies of the following: manuscripts, personal, business and political correspondence, legal documents, a typescript biography of Townshend by his grandson, H. Percy Boynton, correspondence from Townshend to his parents and other family members including Sarah Wood, and letters from relatives in England. It also contains copies of Townshend's correspondence with Salmon P. Chase regarding Ohio political issues, land records for property in Elyria, Ohio, and a microfilm copy of Townshend's Civil War medical officer's file. The collection also contains two copies of a final manuscript by Robert McCormick of a book about Norton Townshend.

Ohio State University, College of Agriculture and Home Economics, Office of the Dean Publications contain research bulletins, posters, schedules, circulars, and an issue of the Agri-Naturalist magazine. Publications on Farmer's Institutes and Ohio 4-H are also included in the collection.