Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns · #939 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Bainbridge was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1906 on, and old-book passages.
More historic than 16% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bainbridge is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #939 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Bainbridge’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: 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 →
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 Bainbridge’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bainbridge. 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 Bainbridge.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bainbridge yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bainbridge Township is one of the sixteen townships of Geauga County, Ohio, United States and is a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census the population was 12,893.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,267 to 9,242 (+183%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Passages that mention Bainbridge, cut from the printed page as they were published.
commenced the settlement of that township in 1804. In 1807 Stephen Pomeroy commenced the settlement of Huntsburg. Newbury was first settled in 1808, by Samuel Punderson. The following townships were first settled in 1811: Bainbridge by David McConnoughey, Troy by Jacob Webb, and Claridon by Asa Cowles. It is claimed by some that, in the year 1808, Stephen Higby built a primitive grist-mill, and settled just inside of the north line of the latter township, but about this there is dispute. Norman Canfield made the first permanent settlement of Chardon in 1812, although a man by the name of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The next season his father built a house for Dexter Pease, in Bainbridge. While at work on this house both he and his brother Charles hired to teach school for the winter. Rufus taught in the district west of Bainbridge center.
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.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Born hereGeorge A. Loud is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
Born hereJoe Schmidt is born hereNo then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bainbridge’s page.
Retake this view · +15Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Bainbridge is more historic than 16% of U.S. towns, #939 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.
4% of Bainbridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1978.
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 the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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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