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AHistory
History · Athens Township

Athens Township dates to 1797, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #114 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

15 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 15 buildings. Below: 22 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1810.

1797founded
15on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
22old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Athens Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Athens Township began

When was Athens Township founded?

1797

Athens Township dates its founding to 1797 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1810.

First census: 578 in 18102020 census: 30,163229 years

How historic is Athens Township?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Athens Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Athens Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #114 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Athens Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1797, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194021.0% of homes (±3.0) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register15 listings, 245 historic buildings, 82.7 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 89%

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 Athens Township’s 82.7 sits above most of its state (92% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 245 historic buildings outnumber those of 94% of U.S. towns.

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 (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1797.

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 Athens Township’s past

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

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Athens Township, and 14 old place names are still on the map.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew more than tenfold.A town in postcards22 old photos, postcards and papers, 1850–1911.Landmarks on the Register15 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Salina
1866–1894
Beaumont
1894–1908
The Plains
1908–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beachwood Lake EstatesBrookvilleClearviewElliottvilleFairway OaksGrosvenorHighland Park EstatesMarydalePine Grove HeightsRolling Hill AcresRolling HillsThe PlainsValley ViewWonder Hills
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Athens Township
GilhamHainesHigginHockingHunterLittlerThe RidgesUnionZion

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

People over time

Athens Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00018501900195020002,852 in 1860Low: 1,696

Lost a third of its people between 1860 and 1870, then grew more than tenfold.

22 censuses, 1810–2020.

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

By decade

Athens Township, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1850s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1850s–1900s13 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 …1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-11, ED 5-12, ED 5-13, ED 5-14, ED 5-15, ED …18501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio …1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-6, ED 5-7, ED 5-8, ED 5-9, ED 5-1018501940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio …O'Bleness family home, 76 West State Street, Athens, Ohio, 1877 - DPLA - 0f17fe7fc7e8d0fdb31dc0e7283a7772 (page 1)1877O'Bleness family home, 76 West State Street, Athens, …Ewing Hall, Ohio University1905Ewing Hall, Ohio UniversityNormal College, Ohio University1905Normal College, Ohio UniversitySoldiers Monument1905Soldiers MonumentThe Falls, State Insane Hospital1905The Falls, State Insane HospitalAdministration Building, State Insane Hospital1905Administration Building, State Insane HospitalSoldiers Monument1908Soldiers MonumentPostcardSoldiers Monument1908Soldiers MonumentPostcardAsylum Gate1909Asylum GatePostcardAsylum Gate1909Asylum GatePostcard
1910s9 items
Hospital Grounds1910Hospital GroundsPostcardHospital Grounds1910Hospital GroundsPostcardWomen's Hall1910Women's HallPostcardWomen's Hall1910Women's HallPostcardHotel Berry1911Hotel BerryPostcardHotel Berry1911Hotel BerryPostcardState Hospital1911State HospitalPostcardState Hospital1911State HospitalPostcardUniversity Terrace1911University TerracePostcard
1920s–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
The story

How Athens Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Athens Township.

Read it all →

The first permanent European settlers arrived in Athens in 1797, more than a decade after the United States victory in the American Revolutionary War. In 1800, the town site was first surveyed and plotted and incorporated as a village in 1811. Ohio had become a state in 1803. Ohio University was chartered in 1804, the first public institution of higher learning in the Northwest Territory. Previously part of Washington County, Ohio, Athens County was formed in 1805, named for the ancient center of learning, Athens, Greece.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Athens Township, 1797 to 2020

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1797
    FoundingAthens Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1850In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Ohio - Athens County - ED 5-1, ED 5-2, ED…
  5. 1866Post officeThe Salina post office opens
  6. 1877In the archiveO'Bleness family home, 76 West State Street, Athens, Ohio, 1877 - DPLA - 0f17fe7fc7e8d0fd…
  7. 1894Post officeThe Salina post office closes
  8. 1894Post officeThe Beaumont post office opens
  9. 20th century
  10. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. 1905In the archiveEwing Hall, Ohio University
  12. 1908Post officeThe Beaumont post office closes
  13. 1908Post officeThe The Plains post office opens
  14. 1910In the archiveHospital Grounds
  15. 21st century
  16. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 23,849
On the map

Athens Township on the map, 1903 to 1975

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

Athens Township on the 1903 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1961 USGS mapAthens Township on the 1975 USGS map1903Athens 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 Athens Township.

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 Athens Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

15 listings protect 245 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
15
National Historic Landmark
1
none yet
historic buildings protected
245
each building in a district counts
first listed
2007
Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic Distr…
Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District
Districts
All 1 listings
Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2007

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Finish Athens Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 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
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Dover Township5 historic placesAWaterloo TownshipIts storyC−Alexander TownshipIts storyDCanaan Township1 historic placeA−

Questions about Athens Township’s history

What year was Athens Township founded?

In 1797, according to Wikidata. Athens Township’s post office opened in 1802, and the census of 1810 counted 578 people here.

How does Athens Township rank for history?

Athens Township is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #114 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 Athens Township?

15 listings: 1 historic district, the Hocking Valley Coal Company Town Historic District, with 15 contributing buildings. 245 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Athens Township?

21% of Athens Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1974.

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 (17), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.