Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Amesville

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Amesville

Amesville dates to 1837, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1880.

1837founded
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Amesville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Amesville began

When was Amesville founded?

1837

Amesville dates its founding to 1837 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 159 in 18802020 census: 171189 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1820.The full story ↓

What stands out about Amesville’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Amesville’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 298 in 1930; 171 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 2002. Watch Amesville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Amesville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Amesville’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 view1940 Census Enumeration District Descri…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Amesville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Amesville.

Read it all →

Amesville was laid out in 1837. The village derives its name from Fisher Ames who was instrumental in gaining federal support for the Ohio Company of Associates which managed much of the settlement in the area.

ChaptersMayor Alonzo WeedJune 1998 Flood21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Amesville, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 298

Peaked at 298 in 1930; 171 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Timeline

Amesville, 1820 to 1940

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1820Post officeThe Amesvilll post office opens
  3. 1837
    FoundingAmesville is established
  4. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-1, ED 5-2, ED…
  5. 1875In the archiveAtlas of Athens county, Ohio, to which is added a township map of the state of Ohio, also…
  6. 20th century
  7. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 298
  9. 1940In the archiveTownship maps of Athens County, Ohio, circa 1940 - DPLA - e7e21162aac7601e425d0ae14503b43…
By decade

Amesville, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1870s3 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-1, ED 5-2, ED 5-3, ED 5-4, ED 5-518501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio …Atlas of Athens county, Ohio, to which is added a township map of the state of Ohio, also an outline and railroad map o…1875Atlas of Athens county, Ohio, to which is added a tow…MapAtlas of Athens county, Ohio, to which is added a township map of the state of Ohio, also an outline and railroad map o…1875Atlas of Athens county, Ohio, to which is added a tow…Map
1940s1 item
Township maps of Athens County, Ohio, circa 1940 - DPLA - e7e21162aac7601e425d0ae14503b432 (page 8)1940Township maps of Athens County, Ohio, circa 1940 - DP…
1950s–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
State at Main2018State at MainAmesville post office 457112018Amesville post office 45711Amesville former Methodist church2018Amesville former Methodist churchMap of Athens County Ohio Highlighting Amesville Village2015Map of Athens County Ohio Highlighting Amesville Vill…MapCoonskin Library2010Coonskin LibraryOHMap-doton-Amesville2004OHMap-doton-Amesville
On the map

Amesville on the map, 1904 to 2002

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

Amesville on the 1904 USGS mapAmesville on the 1960 USGS mapAmesville on the 1975 USGS mapAmesville on the 1994 USGS mapAmesville on the 2002 USGS map1904Chesterhill 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 Amesville.

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.

1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-1, ED 5-2, ED 5-3, ED 5-4, ED 5-5
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-1, ED 5-2, ED 5-3, ED 5-4, ED 5-5, 1850

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Amesville’s history

What year was Amesville founded?

In 1837, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Amesville’s post office opened in 1820, and the census of 1880 counted 159 people here.

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 (10), 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.