Most of Bristol Township was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2002. Below: maps from 1910 on and old-book passages.
The Bristol Township post office opened in 1834, the earliest record of the town by name. Six smaller post offices, Meigs Creek (1830), Bristol (1834) and Rowland (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 182192 years
Founding year: the first Bristol Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
What stands out about Bristol Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Six other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Meigs Creek
1830–1894
Bristol
1834–1915
Rowland
1871–1909
Cloud
1884–1910
Meigs
1894–1914
Brill
1900–1908
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AiringtonBrillBristolCabinvilleCloudMeigsRowland
Gone or out of use
Brill Post Officepost officeBristol Post Officepost officeCabin Vale SchoolschoolCloud Post Officepost officeElection SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolMeigs Post Officepost officePleasant Hill SchoolschoolRowland Post Officepost officeSand Hill SchoolschoolValley SchoolschoolWilson SchoolschoolZion Churchchurch
10cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bristol Township
BarrBristolKnoxLebanonMeigs Church of ChristMount CarmelMount ZionOak GroveRobinsonWatson
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start Bristol Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bristol Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bristol Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1910Mc Connelsville 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 Bristol Township.
The story so far
Bristol Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bristol Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Bristol is an unincorporated community in southern Pike Township, Perry County, Ohio, United States. It lies along State Route 93 at its intersection with Marietta Road and Township Road 223. It is located 4 miles (6 kilometers) south of New Lexington, the county seat of Perry County. Bristol was originally called Burlington, and under the latter name was laid out in 1816.
Its first post office opened in 1834. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 191 to 182 (-5%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Bristol Township in 1886
Passages that mention Bristol Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Morgan County, Ohio1886 · page 484Read the page →
Read the text
T1IK VILLAGE OF BRISTOL.* Bristol Township, with all its enterprise, energy and wealth, so prominently manifested in its whole history, has failed to build up a village of any considerable importance within its borders. The only place of note to be found in the township is the village of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Morgan County, Ohio1886 · page 476Read the page →
Read the text
In 1884 George Henderson moved with his family from Washington County, Pa., to Bristol Township, settling on a farm which he had purchased of Alexander Martin, where he resided the rest of his life. lie was a successful fanner and a prominent citizen. He held several township offices and served
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Morgan County, Ohio, with portraits and biographical sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men1886 · page 476Read the page →
Read the text
In 1834 George Henderson moved with his family from Washington County, Pa., to Bristol Township, settling on a farm which lie had purchased of Alexander Martin, where he resided the rest of his life. He was a successful farmer and a prominent citizen. He held several township offices and served
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.
Timeline
Bristol Township, 1830 to 1915
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 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.
