Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bluffton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bluffton is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #675 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bluffton’s overall grade.
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 Bluffton’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1831.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.3 points).
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 Bluffton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The village was founded in 1831 by Swiss Mennonites, German Reformists and Irish Catholics. It was originally named 'Crogan's Corners' after the postmaster. When the citizens chose to incorporate as a village, the Irish suggested the name 'Shannon' because of the green fields around the area. As there was already a village named Shannon in the state, the town was renamed Bluffton for the hilly terrain of the town site.
Bank robber John Dillinger robbed the Bluffton Bank (now known as Citizens National Bank of Bluffton) of $6,000 on August 14, 1933.
In 2011, Bluffton celebrated its 150th birthday with a series of town-wide events.
The village of Bluffton, platted in 1837 under the name Shannon, by Joseph Deford, is located on Sections 1 and 12, Richland Township, on the line of the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. The name Shannon was changed to Bluffton in 1872-738, although long prior to this the latter name was bestowed upon it. The original village comprised the four blocks bounded by Jackson and Monroe, Jefferson and Riley, extending
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Allen county, Ohio1921 · page 312Read the page →
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Bluffton College — The history of Bluffton College begins with its organization, June 19, 1900, the cornerstone of the building being laid October 31st, and the institution is supported by the Middle District Conference of the Mennonites of North America. The Bluffton College Bulletin of June, 1920, contains the code of regulations and bylaws as revised at the annual meeting of the board of trustees, and the statement that the college is not conducted for profit. The name shall be Bluffton College. It had been called Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary.
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A standard history of Allen county, Ohio1921 · page 388Read the page →
Read the text
In his 1920 report of the commercial department of the Lima service, H. E. Simonton says there are 11,239 phones in use in Lima, and it is understood that the Delphos Home Telephone Company serves 1,100 patrons in the three counties; Allen, Putnam and Van Wert. Bluffton has two telephone companies : The Bluffton and the Bluffton Mutual — the latter organized as a Farmers' Mutual with headquarters in Bluffton.
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.
By decade
Bluffton, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Bluffton’s post office has been open since 1861. Another post office, Croghan, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Croghan
1837–1861
Bluffton
1861–today
18301930today
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bluffton
Maple GroveShannon
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Bluffton’s history
What year was Bluffton founded?
In 1831, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bluffton’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1870 counted 489 people here.
How does Bluffton rank for history?
Bluffton is more historic than 48% of U.S. towns, #675 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.
How old are the homes in Bluffton?
23% of Bluffton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.3 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (7), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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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