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History · Ohio

Ohio’s post office opened in 1854, and 53% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1880.

1854first post office
0on the National Register
53%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Wayne Wilkinson · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Ohio began

When was Ohio founded?

1854

The Ohio post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 385 in 18802020 census: 465172 years
Founding year: the first Ohio post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ohio’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Ohio’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 874 in 1920; 465 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ohio’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ohio’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEvery customer satisfied: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Ohio came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ohio.

Read it all →

Ohio was first incorporated as a village on January 22, 1877. A post office called Ohio has been in operation since 1854. The village was named after the state of Ohio.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Ohio, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 874

Peaked at 874 in 1920; 465 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ohio’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Ohio, 1854 to 1951

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Ohio post office opens
  3. 1891Born hereBill Anderson is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 874
  6. 1928In the archiveEvery customer satisfied
  7. 1951On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ohio, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s1 item
Every customer satisfied1928Every customer satisfied
1930s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
Illinois Route 922013Illinois Route 92Pipes Pub2012Pipes PubOriginal Hospital and Union Cemetery2012Original Hospital and Union CemeteryOld Marathon Filling Station, Ohio, Illinois 8-27-20122012Old Marathon Filling Station, Ohio, Illinois 8-27-2012Ohio Hatchery2012Ohio HatcheryUntitled photo2012Untitled photo
On the map

Ohio on the map, 1951 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ohio. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Ohio on the 1951 USGS mapOhio on the 1982 USGS map1951Amboy sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ohio.

Every building

Ohio, building by building, 1913

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Ohio fire insurance map, 1913, sheet 11913Sheet 1 of 2
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Every customer satisfied
Retake this viewEvery customer satisfied, 1928

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ohio’s page.

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Ohio’s history

What year was Ohio founded?

The Ohio post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.