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History · Beaverdam

Beaverdam’s post office opened in 1850, and 51% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper.

1850first post office
0on the National Register
51%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Beaverdam’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Beaverdam began

When was Beaverdam founded?

1850

The Beaverdam post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1853.

2020 census: 319176 years
Founding year: the first Beaverdam post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1853.The full story ↓

What stands out about Beaverdam’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Beaverdam’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Beaverdam’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewBeaverdam-ohio-downtown: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Beaverdam came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Beaverdam.

Read it all →

Beaverdam was laid out in 1853. The village was so named on account of there being beaver dams near the original town site. A post office called Beaver Dam was established in 1850, the name was changed to Beaverdam in 1895, and the post office closed in 2006. The village was incorporated in 1878.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Beaverdam, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Beaverdam-ohio-downtownDate?Beaverdam-ohio-downtown
Today5 recent
Beaverdam village hall2015Beaverdam village hallBeaverdam Church of Christ2015Beaverdam Church of ChristMap of Allen County Ohio Highlighting Beaverdam Village2015Map of Allen County Ohio Highlighting Beaverdam Villa…MapInterstate crossover P52200332009Interstate crossover P5220033OHMap-doton-Beaverdam2004OHMap-doton-Beaverdam
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.

Beaverdam-ohio-downtown
Retake this viewBeaverdam-ohio-downtown

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Beaverdam’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Beaverdam had its own post office from 1850 to 1960.

Beaverdam
1850–1960
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beaver Dam Station
1cemetery inside Beaverdam
Beaverdam

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

Questions about Beaverdam’s history

What year was Beaverdam founded?

The Beaverdam post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1853.

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.