The story
Read it all →How Highland came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Highland.
The Brown–Ellis House and Anthony Yelverton House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Highland
Highland’s post office opened in 1865, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940
3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 2000.
1865first post office
3on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
How Highland began
When was Highland founded?
1865
The Highland post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 5,060 in 20002020 census: 6,385161 years
Founding year: the first Highland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Highland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Highland’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Highland’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Highland on the map, 1893 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Highland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1893Poughkeepsie sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Highland.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Highland in 1902
Passages that mention Highland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The County of Highland1902 · page 326Read the page →
Read the text
Jacob M. Grim, a civil war veteran with the rank of first lieutenant, and a substantial farmer, belongs to a family which has been prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Highland county since 1820. In that year his father, Peter Grim, came from Rockbridge county, Virginia, and settled in Highland county, where he became a popular and influential citizen. He married Mary, daughter of John Walker, an Irishman by birth who also came to Ohio from Virginia and was one of the first settlers of Highland
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The County of Highland1902 · page 180Read the page →
Read the text
ent township of Madison. From this beginning a church was organized which took the name of Rocky Spring, in memory, says one, of Rocky Spring in Pennsylvania, from which John Wilson came who named it. This was the first Presbyterian church in Highland county and embraced at first all the Greenfield and Fall Creek settlements. The first pastor of this church was Rev. ^N'ichols Pittinger, who came from Pennsylvania on a visit to the county with a view to a permanent settlement, in 1809, and in 1810 moved into
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Highland, 1866 to 1985
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1866
Born hereHarcourt J. Pratt is born here - 1893
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1985
Born hereKarley Sciortino is born here
By decade
Highland, decade by decade
2018
2018
2017
2011
2010
2007On the National Register
3 historic places in Highland
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Highland, census by census
Between 5,060 and 6,385 people in every census since 2000.
3 censuses, 2000–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Highland’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Highland
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Highland’s history
What year was Highland founded?
The Highland post office opened in 1865, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.