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History · Brinkhaven

Brinkhaven’s post office opened in 1891

Below: maps from 1913 on and the census since 1880.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
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Photo: Roseohioresident · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Brinkhaven began

When was Brinkhaven founded?

1891

The Brinkhaven post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Nonpareil (1844) and Gann (1872), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 153 in 1880135 years
Founding year: the first Brinkhaven post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Brinkhaven’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 Brinkhaven are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 342 in 1920; 114 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Brinkhaven.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Brinkhaven’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Brinkhaven’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
People over time

Brinkhaven, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 342

Peaked at 342 in 1920; 114 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Brinkhaven’s post office has been open since 1891. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Nonpareil
1844–1872
Gann
1872–1891
Brinkhaven
1891–today
18401930today

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

The story

How Brinkhaven came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Brinkhaven.

Read it all →

Brinkhaven was formerly known as Nonpareil, Mount Holly, and Gann.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Brinkhaven, 1844 to 1920

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844Post officeThe Nonpareil post office opens
  3. 1872Post officeThe Nonpareil post office closes
  4. 1872Post officeThe Gann post office opens
  5. 1891Post officeThe Gann post office closes
  6. 1891Post officeThe Brinkhaven post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 342
By decade

Brinkhaven, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Brinkhaven, Ohio Post Office2016Brinkhaven, Ohio Post OfficeMap of Knox County Ohio Highlighting Gann Village2015Map of Knox County Ohio Highlighting Gann VillageMapOHMap-doton-Brinkhaven2004OHMap-doton-Brinkhaven
On the map

Brinkhaven on the map, 1913 to 1961

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

Brinkhaven on the 1913 USGS mapBrinkhaven on the 1961 USGS map1913Brinkhaven sheet · 1:62,500

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Union TownshipIts storyBJefferson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Brinkhaven’s history

What year was Brinkhaven founded?

The Brinkhaven post office opened in 1891, 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 →
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 (3), Wikipedia, 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.