Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Nyttend · Public domainMore historic than 66% of U.S. towns · #475 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1850.
The Cardington Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1836.
More historic than 66% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cardington Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #475 of 993 in Ohio. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
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 Cardington 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.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cardington Township’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cardington Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cardington Township.
From Wikipedia’s history of Cardington Township.
A post office called Cardington was established in 1827. Cardington was named for the first industrial tool the town had, the carding machine. The village itself was founded in 1836.
A series of tornadoes on June 11 and 13, 1981, each killing four people, destroyed a significant portion of the village.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Cardington Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
long, embracing several hundred acres, was taken from its northeast corner and added to Cardington Township. It is bounded on the north by Marion County and Cardington Township; on the east, by Lincoln and Peru Townships; on the south by Delaware County, and on the west by Delaware and Marion Counties, and is located in the southwestern part, and extends the farthest
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.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Cardington Township’s page.
Retake this view · +15Grew from 292 people in 1850 to 2,079 in 2020, 7 times over.
18 censuses, 1850–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cardington Township’s Wikipedia page.
Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Cardington Township post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1836.
Cardington Township is more historic than 66% of U.S. towns, #475 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.
25% of Cardington Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.2 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1974.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.
1906
1906
2022
2022
2022
2022
2015
2015
2015
2014