The story
Read it all →How Ashley came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Ashley.
Ashley was laid out in 1849. The village takes its name from L. W. Ashley, one of the original owners of the village site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A+History
History · Ashley
37% of Ashley’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: old-book passages.
4on the National Register
37%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Quick answers
About Ashley’s history
How historic is Ashley?
A+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 95% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Ashley’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashley is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashley’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194037.4% of homes (±9.1) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 25.1 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 95%
NewerOlder
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 Ashley’s 25.1 sits above most of its state (83% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.1 points).
Founding year: our sources. 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 Ashley’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 Ashley’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ashley’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 National Register
4 historic places in Ashley
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Building at 101 North Franklin Street
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Porterfield, Toddy4
Building at 101 North Franklin StreetPorterfield, Toddy
Building at 223 West High StreetPorterfield, Toddy
Building at 500 East High StreetPorterfield, Toddy
All 4 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Ashley, 1880–1908
Passages that mention Ashley, cut from the printed page as they were published.
history of delaware county and ohio1880 · page 788Read the page →
Read the text
goods business, which they continued till 1856 ; he traveled for a Philadelphia house during the years of 1857-59. Mr. Coomer was one of the incorporators of the village of Ashley; has served a number of terms as Mayor, and held the office of Township Clerk and Assessor; was the second Postmaster of Ashley, serving under three different commissions a term of fourteen years, and was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Delaware County and Ohio. Containing a brief history of the State of Ohio ... biographical sketches ... etc1880 · page 788Read the page →
Read the text
goods business, which they continued till 1856 ; he traveled for a Philadelphia house during the years of 1857-59. Mr. Coomer was one of the incorporators of the village of Ashley ; has served a number of terms as Mayor, and held the office of Township Clerk and Assessor ; was the second Postmaster of Ashley, serving, under three different commissions a term of fourteen years, and was
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
20th century history of Delaware County, Ohio1908 · page 477Read the page →
Read the text
The village of Ashley is the most populous municipality outside of the city of Delaware in the county. Its original name was Oxford, but was changed to Ashley in honor of L. W. Ashley, one of the proprietors of the ground upon which the village was built. The other owner was J. C. Avery. County Surveyor Charles Neil platted the village on June
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Delaware County and Ohio. Containing a brief history of the State of Ohio ... biographical sketches ... etc1880 · page 540Read the page →
Read the text
On the 3d day of March, 1855, a petition, signed by some fifty residents of the village, was filed with the Auditor of Delaware County, praying for the incorporation of the village of Ashley. At their June session, in 1855, the Board of Commissioners heard and granted the petition, and on the 30th day of the following August, 1855, the first election for officers was held at the school-
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
Ashley, 1819 to 1886
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
By decade
Ashley, decade by decade
2015
2015
2014
2014
2014
2004Famous people
See all →3 famous people were born in Ashley
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices
Another post office, Oxford, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Oxford
Ashlet
18101920today
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Ashley’s history
How does Ashley rank for history?
Ashley is more historic than 95% 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.
What is on the National Register in Ashley?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Building at 101 North Franklin Street (listed 1980, the first).
How old are the homes in Ashley?
37% of Ashley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.1 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1960.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.