Ashtabula dates to 1803, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #40 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
9 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 65 buildings between them. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1884 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1806.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ashtabula’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ashtabula is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #40 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ashtabula’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 Ashtabula’s 39.2 sits above most of its state (87% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 70 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1803.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Ashtabula’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ashtibula
1806–today
Harbor
1874–1895
Sweden
1891–1893
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
East AshtabulaHarborHighland BeachMareddy EstatesParkwood VillageWillow ArmsWoodman Mobile Home Park
Gone or out of use
Ashtabula Harbor High SchoolschoolHarbor Post Officepost officeJackson Public SchoolschoolWest Avenue Public Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Ashtabula
Old Ashtabula
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Ashtabula, building by building, 1884–1924
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
This area had long been inhabited by indigenous peoples. After the American Revolutionary War, the United States mounted the Northwest Indian War to push Native American peoples out of what it then called the Northwest - the area of the Midwest south of the Great Lakes and west of the Appalachian Mountains. The success of this military effort resulted in more European Americans entering Ohio and nearby territories.
Passages that mention Ashtabula, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Ashtabula County, Ohio1878 · page 154Read the page →
Read the text
Ashtabula County is the northeast corner county of the State of Ohio, and Conneaut is the northeast corner township of Ashtabula County. It is bounded on the north by Lake Erie, on the south by the township of Monroe, on the east by a portion of the State of Pennsylvania, and on the west by the township of Kingsville and the lake. It is composed of township No. 13 of the first range (except an area of two miles in width from the southern portion thereof, which strip was cut off and annexed to the township of Monroe), and of No. 14 of the first range, being Conneaut gore. The township contains a surface of about
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Ashtabula County, Ohio1878 · page 47Read the page →
Read the text
There are eight findings in the jury’s verdict, which are as follows : First. That at about 7.30 o’clock in the evening of Friday, December 29, 1876, the iron bridge in the railroad of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern railway company, spanning Ashtabula creek near Ashtabula station, on said railroad, gave way under the two locomotives and express-car, forming the forward portion of the west-bound passenger train on said railroad known as No. 5, and fell as the leading locomotive passed on to the west abutment, leaving a chasm about sixty feet in depth between the abutments of said bridge, into which the baggageand
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Biographical history of northeastern Ohio, embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumball and Mahoning. Containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with a biography of each, together with portraits and biographies of Joshua R. Giddings1893 · page 567Read the page →
Read the text
position as bill clerk for James Ward of Niles, where he remained until the financial failure of the latter. In 1873 he was employed as bookkeeper for the Ashtabula Rolling Mill Company, in Ashtabula, then was employed as bill clerk by the Ashtabula, Youngstown & Pittsburg Railroad at Ashtabula Harbor, and since 1876 has been en-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Biographical history of northeastern Ohio, embracing the counties of Ashtabula, Trumball and Mahoning. Containing portraits of all the presidents of the United States, with a biography of each, together with portraits and biographies of Joshua R. Giddings1893 · page 197Read the page →
Read the text
a number of years, his financial and executive ability aiding largely in the advancement of that institution. He was also one of the incorporators of the Pittsburg, Ashtabula and Youngstown Railroad Company, in which he acted for fourteen years as director, and in which capacity he did able service. In 1889, he received the nomination froin the Ke-
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
Ashtabula, 1803 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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 1803, according to Wikidata. Ashtabula’s post office opened in 1806, and the census of 1830 counted 229 people here.
How does Ashtabula rank for history?
Ashtabula is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #40 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.
What is on the National Register in Ashtabula?
9 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Col. William Hubbard House (listed 1973, the first), 2 historic districts, the Ashtabula Harbour Commercial District and the Ashtabula Main Avenue Historic District, with 65 contributing buildings, and 2 structures. 70 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ashtabula?
44% of Ashtabula’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1949.
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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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