Most of Aberdeen was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1952 on, and the census since 1820.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1825.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Aberdeen’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Aberdeen is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Aberdeen’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Aberdeen’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (23% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1795.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Aberdeen’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Aberdeen was founded by James Edwards in 1795 and platted by Nathan Ellis in 1816. It was incorporated on July 5, 1816. It was part of Zane's Trace, a frontier road through the Northwest Territory completed in 1797. Aberdeen is connected to Maysville, Kentucky by the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge and the William H. Harsha Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge completed in 2001.
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.
In 1795, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Aberdeen’s post office opened in 1825, and the census of 1820 counted 87 people here.
How does Aberdeen rank for history?
Aberdeen is more historic than 37% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Aberdeen?
4% of Aberdeen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1978.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), 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.
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2013
2013
2012
2012
2004
