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CHistory
History · Amelia

Amelia’s post office opened in 1836

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #815 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

Most of Amelia was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 1880.

1836first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Aesopposea · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Amelia began

When was Amelia founded?

1836

The Amelia post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1900.

First census: 185 in 18802020 census: 12,575190 years

How historic is Amelia?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Amelia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1900.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Amelia’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Amelia is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #815 of 993 in Ohio. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Amelia’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.4% of homes (±1.5) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical OH town 2.9 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 18%

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 Amelia’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 D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1900.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Amelia’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Amelia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 19166 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1996. Watch Amelia change.Deep rootsA post office since 1836: 190 years of Amelia.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Amelia’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Amelia, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00018801900192019401960198020002020658 in 1920Low: 427

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

On the map

Amelia on the map, 1916 to 1996

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

Amelia on the 1916 USGS mapAmelia on the 1953 USGS mapAmelia on the 1965 USGS mapAmelia on the 1974 USGS mapAmelia on the 1982 USGS mapAmelia on the 1996 USGS map1916Batavia 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 Amelia.

The story

How Amelia came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amelia.

Read it all →

Amelia was not officially platted. The area was originally called Milltown, later shortened to Milton. However, when a post office was established in 1836, there was already a Milton Post Office in the state. Various accounts state that the post office was named Amelia after Amelia Bowdoin, a well known and popular tollkeeper on the Ohio Turnpike (present-day State Route 125). Her home is now known as the Amelia Bowdoin House and stands at 94 West Main Street, across the street from its original location. However, there is no census record of an Amelia Bowdoin; Amelia may have been a corruption of the name of Armilla Bodin, the wife of a tollkeeper. Amelia was incorporated as a village on December 20, 1900.

ChaptersDissolution

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Amelia, 1841 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1841Born hereJohn H. Wageman is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1986Born hereDominic Randolph is born here
  6. 21st century
  7. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 12,575
By decade

Amelia, decade by decade

Today10 recent
Map of Clermont County Ohio Highlighting Amelia Village2015Map of Clermont County Ohio Highlighting Amelia Villa…MapAmeliaOhioHS2013AmeliaOhioHSAmeliaOH32013AmeliaOH3AmeliaOH22013AmeliaOH2AmeliaOH12013AmeliaOH1AmeliaOH1 (cropped)2013AmeliaOH1 (cropped)Amelia, Ohio2012Amelia, OhioAmelia High School2012Amelia High SchoolAmelia Bowdoin House2012Amelia Bowdoin HouseOHMap-doton-Amelia2004OHMap-doton-Amelia
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Amelia

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
D
Dominic RandolphAmerican football player · b. 1986
J
John H. Wagemanb. 1841
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Pierce Township2 historic placesC+Ohio Township2 historic placesB−

Questions about Amelia’s history

What year was Amelia founded?

The Amelia post office opened in 1836, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1900.

How does Amelia rank for history?

Amelia is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #815 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Amelia?

2% of Amelia’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1995.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.