How Richmond Township began, and where its name came from
When was Richmond Township founded?
1870
The Richmond Township post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Berea (1863), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 50 in 18802020 census: 829156 years
How did Richmond Township get its name?
Richmond Township was named for John C. Richmond, a local farmer who donated forty acres of land to the railroad for a station location.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Richmond Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1885Garnett sheet · 1:125,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Richmond Township.
Richmond was founded in 1870. It was named for John C. Richmond, a local farmer who donated forty acres of land to the railroad for a station location.
The first post office in Richmond was established in April 1870.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.