Celina dates to 1834, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 86% of U.S. towns · #220 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 41 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Celina’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Celina is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #220 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Celina’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 Celina’s 44.0 sits above most of its state (87% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 48 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points). Two sources give 1834.
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 Celina’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
James Watson Riley established Celina in 1834. The settlement was named after Salina, New York.
By the 1880s, the town had grown significantly, primarily due to the discovery of deposits of oil and natural gas nearby.
The town was hit by a deadly EF3 tornado on May 27, 2019. Numerous homes, building, trees, and power lines and poles were damaged or destroyed. One person was killed and eight others were injured.
In tlie past 20 years natural gas has been a source of revenue as well as a great convenience to the citizens of nearly every town in the county, and to a great many farmers who use it for fuel and light. The first gas-wells were drilled on town lots in Celina about 1888, and not long after this a great gas field was opened in Franklin township. A gas company was formed by a syndicate of Celina citizens, known as the Celina Gas Company, who installed a gas plant in Celina and furnished the town with fuel and light for a number of years. Later a second plant was formed by home people and gas piped
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
If they could but see the town of Celina and Jefferson township of to-day and then compare it with what it was when they first came here, their hearts would he filled with astonishment and admiration. The history of this township is but the history of the entire county — the forests in other parts of the county were being cleared, houses were being built, farms were being drained, and better schools and larger and better schoolhouses and churches were being erected, for wherever good schools and churches are found, there we find a happy and prosperous people.
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
Celina, 1834 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 1834, according to Wikidata. Celina’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1850 counted 222 people here.
How does Celina rank for history?
Celina is more historic than 86% of U.S. towns, #220 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 Celina?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Calvin E. Riley House (listed 1978, the first), and 1 historic district, the Celina Main Street Commercial Historic District, with 41 contributing buildings. 48 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Celina?
15% of Celina’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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