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History · Benton Ridge

Benton Ridge’s post office opened in 1837, and 62% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1960 on and the census since 1880.

1837first post office
0on the National Register
62%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Nyttend · Public domain
Quick answers

How Benton Ridge began

When was Benton Ridge founded?

1837

The Benton Ridge post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 179 in 18802020 census: 272189 years
Founding year: the first Benton Ridge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Benton Ridge’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 Benton Ridge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Benton Ridge’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Benton Ridge.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Benton Ridge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benton Ridge’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
The story

How Benton Ridge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benton Ridge.

Read it all →

Benton Ridge was originally called Benton, and under the latter name was laid out in 1835 and named for Thomas Hart Benton (1782–1858), a U.S. Senator from Missouri. Some of the earliest settlers of Benton Ridge are buried in Swartz Cemetery, which also has a Veteran's Memorial. A post office called Benton Ridge has been in operation since 1837. The village was incorporated in 1875.

In 1994, the Benton Ridge postmaster Fairy Parkins was named Postmaster of the Year for the state of Ohio.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Benton Ridge, 1837 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Benton Ridge post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1931Born hereFred Hissong is born here
  5. 1960On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Benton Ridge, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Calvary Church of2015Calvary Church ofBenton Ridge Good Shepherd UMC2015Benton Ridge Good Shepherd UMCMap of Hancock County Ohio Highlighting Benton Ridge Village2015Map of Hancock County Ohio Highlighting Benton Ridge …MapOHMap-doton-Benton Ridge2004OHMap-doton-Benton Ridge
On the map

Benton Ridge on the map, 1960 to 1973

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

Benton Ridge on the 1960 USGS mapBenton Ridge on the 1973 USGS map1960Mc Comb sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Benton Ridge.

People over time

Benton Ridge, census by census

010020030040018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 359

Between 179 and 359 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Questions about Benton Ridge’s history

What year was Benton Ridge founded?

The Benton Ridge post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 (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.