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CHistory
History · Bay Village

Bay Village dates to 1903, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns · #805 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 1910.

1903founded
4on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Bay Village began

When was Bay Village founded?

1903

Bay Village dates its founding to 1903 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 450 in 19102020 census: 16,163123 years

How historic is Bay Village?

C

More historic than 35% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1828.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bay Village’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bay Village is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #805 of 993 in Ohio. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bay Village’s overall grade.
Founding era1903, from Wikipedia: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 194011.1% of homes (±2.3) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register4 listings, 2.5 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 35%
NewerOlder
Ohio towns of 2,500+ (993)Ahead of 19%

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 Bay Village’s 2.5 sits near the middle of its state (54% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±2.3 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1903.

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 →

What stands out about Bay Village’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bay Village are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bay Village, and 1 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19026 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1994. Watch Bay Village change.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bay Village’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bay Village’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Bay Village had its own post office from 1914 to 1960. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

North Dover
1828–1914
Eagle Cliff
1896–1906
Dover Bay
1898–1905
Bay Village
1914–1960
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eagle Cliff
Gone or out of use
Bay View HospitalhospitalBay Village Post Officepost officeEagle Cliff Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Bay Village
Lakeside

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

On the map

Bay Village on the map, 1902 to 1994

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

Bay Village on the 1902 USGS mapBay Village on the 1953 USGS mapBay Village on the 1963 USGS mapBay Village on the 1970 USGS mapBay Village on the 1985 USGS mapBay Village on the 1994 USGS map1902Berea 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 Bay Village.

The story

How Bay Village came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bay Village.

Read it all →

Before the first European-Americans arrived in the area around 1600, Erie Indians lived in Bay Village and the surrounding areas. The most important Indian trail in Ohio is present-day Lake Road, which is a main road in Bay Village. In that same century, what is now Bay Village, along with Avon Lake, Avon, and Westlake, was part of one territory. This territory was later called by the whites in a native language, Xeuma, a term roughly meaning "those who came before us".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bay Village, 1828 to 1991

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1828Post officeThe North Dover post office opens
  3. 1829BuiltAaron Aldrich House is built
  4. 1896Post officeThe Eagle Cliff post office opens
  5. 1898Post officeThe Dover Bay post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1903
    FoundingBay Village is established
  9. 1905Post officeThe Dover Bay post office closes
  10. 1906Post officeThe Eagle Cliff post office closes
  11. 1914Post officeThe North Dover post office closes
  12. 1955Born hereRichard Gibbs is born here
  13. 1958Born herePatricia Heaton is born here
  14. 1986Born hereKate Voegele is born here
  15. 1991Born hereKyle Hyland is born here
By decade

Bay Village, decade by decade

Today4 recent
GUan4cka8AIepvC2024GUan4cka8AIepvCDJI Bay Village Tornado2024DJI Bay Village TornadoBay High Tornado2024Bay High TornadoBay Village Ohio Police Ford Excursion2018Bay Village Ohio Police Ford Excursion
On the National Register

4 historic places in Bay Village

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
1974
Bay View Hospital
Bay View HospitalAaron Aldrich House, built 1829Huntington, John, Pumping TowerRose Hill and Community House
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Shingle Style1
Richardsonian Romanesque1
Federal1
Colonial Revival1
Bay View HospitalShingle Style
Aaron Aldrich HouseFederal · Built 1829
Huntington, John, Pumping TowerStructure
Rose Hill and Community HouseColonial Revival

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

People over time

Bay Village, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 18,163

Between 450 and 18,163 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Bay Village

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Patricia HeatonAmerican actress · b. 1958
Kate VoegeleAmerican singer, songwriter and actress · b. 1986
R
Richard GibbsAmerican film composer and music producer · b. 1955
K
Kyle HylandAmerican soccer player · b. 1991
S
Steve HauschildtAmerican musician · b. 1984
Dave ZastudilAmerican football punters · b. 1978
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Rocky RiverIts storyBAvon Lake1 historic placeBWestlake2 historic placesB−Avon5 historic placesB−

Questions about Bay Village’s history

What year was Bay Village founded?

In 1903, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bay Village’s post office opened in 1828, and the census of 1910 counted 450 people here.

How does Bay Village rank for history?

Bay Village is more historic than 35% of U.S. towns, #805 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 Bay Village?

4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Bay View Hospital (listed 1974, the first), and 1 structure.

How old are the homes in Bay Village?

11% of Bay Village’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.3 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.

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 (4), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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) 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.