Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #722 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Most of Berkshire Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2013. Below: maps from 1955 on and old-book passages.
Berkshire Township dates its founding to 1804 (Wikipedia’s history). Its post office opened in 1810.
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berkshire Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #722 of 993 in Ohio. Its age 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 Berkshire Township’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: 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 →
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 Berkshire Township’s history is told.
Another post office, Berkshire, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyFrom Wikipedia’s history of Berkshire Township.
Berkshire was laid out in 1804. It is the oldest settlement in Berkshire Township, from which it takes its name. A post office called Berkshire was in operation from 1810 until 1902. An early variant name was Berkshire Corners.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Berkshire Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
for whiskey as it was the market which its manufacture made for corn that led to the establishment of numerous stills at such an early date. The first still in Berkshire Township was operated by Nicholas Manville in connection with his grist-mill, which was located near the present town of Sunbury. This liecame the property of Major Strong about
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The first settlers in Berkshire Township came from Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Colonel Moses Byxbe, a man of wealth and standing, kept hotel and conducted a general store in the town of Lenox, in that county,
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.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Berkshire Township. 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 Berkshire Township.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1804, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Berkshire Township’s post office opened in 1810.
Berkshire Township is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #722 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.
7% of Berkshire Township’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 2013.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System 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.
