Cambridge dates to 1798, and 32% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 95% of U.S. towns · #56 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 67 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1807.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cambridge’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cambridge is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #56 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cambridge’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 Cambridge’s 73.6 sits above most of its state (91% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 74 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.7 points). Two sources give 1798.
Founding year: Wikidata (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 Cambridge’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Cambridge, building by building, 1886–1923
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.
In 1796, Col. Ebenezer Zane received funds to blaze a road suitable for travel by horse through the Ohio wilderness from a point on the Ohio River opposite Wheeling, Virginia (now Wheeling, West Virginia) to another point opposite Maysville, Kentucky. Where this road, known as Zane's Trace, crossed Wills Creek, a ferry was established in 1798. This was followed by the first bridge authorized by the legislature of the Northwest Territory, built in 1803. The land on which part of Cambridge stands was granted to Zaccheus Biggs and Zaccheus Beatty by the government in 1801. A settlement grew up at the creek crossing. The town of Cambridge was platted there in 1806. Both Cambridge, Maryland and Cambridge, Massachusetts have been speculated by historians as having inspired the naming of the town. Also in 1806, another group of early settlers from the Isle of Guernsey in the English Channel pi…
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.
In 1798, according to Wikidata. Cambridge’s post office opened in 1807, and the census of 1840 counted 766 people here.
How does Cambridge rank for history?
Cambridge is more historic than 95% of U.S. towns, #56 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.
What is on the National Register in Cambridge?
8 listings: 7 buildings, among them the McCracken-Scott House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Wheeling Avenue Historic District, with 67 contributing buildings. 74 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Cambridge?
32% of Cambridge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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 and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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