The Bridgewater Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Bridgewater (1846) and Ainger (1880), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 1,434180 years
How historic is Bridgewater Township?
B+
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bridgewater Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Bridgewater Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bridgewater Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. 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 Bridgewater Township’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 Bridgewater 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.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±13.0 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Bridgewater Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Joint SchoolschoolSchool Number 10schoolSchool Number 2schoolSchool Number 4schoolSchool Number 6schoolSchool Number 7schoolSchool Number 8schoolSchool Number 9school
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bridgewater Township
CogswellEagle CreekGardnerHeritagePease
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Bridgewater Township, 1846 to 1903
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bridgewater Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bridgewater Township is one of the twelve townships of Williams County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 1,434 people in the township.
Its first post office opened in 1846. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,474 to 1,434 (-3%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Bridgewater Township in 1920
Passages that mention Bridgewater Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Williams County, Ohio1920 · page 357Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. and Mrs. Whaley have two daughters, namely: Mary, who is the wife of Earl T. Boyer, a farmer of Bridgewater Township; and Ethel B,. who is the wife of Scott Waterson of Bridgewater Township. Interested in co-operation among the farmers Mr. Whaley joined the Northwest Grange No. 413 of which he is past master.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Williams County, Ohio1920 · page 357Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. and Mrs. Whaley have two daughters, namely : Mary, who is the wife of Earl T. Boyer, a farmer of Bridgewater Township; and Ethel B,. who is the wife of Scott Waterson of Bridgewater Township. Interested in co-operation among the farmers Mr. Whaley joined the Northwest Grange No. 413 of which he is past master.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Williams County, Ohio1920 · page 95Read the page →
Read the text
taining the county's old prestige. One of these, who is a foremost citizen of Bridgewater Township, is Charles L. Bowen, a prosperous farmer and stockman, who owns the old Bowen homestead, situated three miles north of Montpelier.
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
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Bridgewater Township post office opened in 1846, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Bridgewater Township rank for history?
Bridgewater Township is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns. 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 Bridgewater Township?
28% of Bridgewater Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±13.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1977.
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 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.
