Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1905 on, and the census since 1880.
Arlington dates its founding to 1844 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.
More historic than 73% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arlington is more historic than 73% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Arlington’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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Arlington’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Arlington. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Arlington.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archivePhotograph of President William Jefferson Clinton - DPLA - b4e81c56a945007765698ca0f9ac0c…From Wikipedia’s history of Arlington.
The first log cabin built on what would become Arlington was built in 1834 by sons of Robert Hurd. The town was laid out in 1844 by Robert Hurd. The village was named after Arlington, Virginia. A post office has been in operation at Arlington since 1846.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Arlington, cut from the printed page as they were published.
In November. 1854, Robert Hurd, Esq., laid out the town of Arlington, on the south-west part of section 6, and the south-east part of section 1. The town originally contained seventeen lots, but since its first platting, successive additions have been made, until now it is quite a village.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Twinsbnrg township, as agent for the brothers, Aaron and Moses Willcox — twins — from whom the township derived its name. Mr. Hurd made extensive entries of lands in and about the site of the present town of Arlington, in 1834,
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Grew from 136 people in 1880 to 1,492 in 2020, more than tenfold.
14 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arlington’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Arlington itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Arlington’s post office has been open since 1846. Another post office, Martinstown, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1844, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Arlington’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 136 people here.
Arlington is more historic than 73% 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.
36% of Arlington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.5 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1959.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
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