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History · Chesapeake

Chesapeake’s post office opened in 1908, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1901 on and the census since 1910.

1908first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5
Quick answers

How Chesapeake began

When was Chesapeake founded?

1908

The Chesapeake post office opened in 1908, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Symmes Run (1857), Frampton (1867) and Rockwood (1874), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 541 in 19102020 census: 765118 years
Founding year: the first Chesapeake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Chesapeake’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 Chesapeake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Chesapeake.On the map since 19013 editions of the USGS map, 1901 to 1985. Watch Chesapeake change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,396 in 1960; 765 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chesapeake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chesapeake’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Chesapeake’s post office has been open since 1908. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Symmes Run
1857–1867
Frampton
1867–1874
Rockwood
1874–1908
Chesapeake
1908–today
18501940today

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

On the map

Chesapeake on the map, 1901 to 1985

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

Chesapeake on the 1901 USGS mapChesapeake on the 1976 USGS mapChesapeake on the 1985 USGS map1901Guyandot 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 Chesapeake.

The story

How Chesapeake came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chesapeake.

Read it all →

Chesapeake is derived from the Algonquin name for "place where water is spread out".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chesapeake, 1857 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1857Post officeThe Symmes Run post office opens
  3. 1867Post officeThe Symmes Run post office closes
  4. 1867Post officeThe Frampton post office opens
  5. 1874Post officeThe Frampton post office closes
  6. 1874Post officeThe Rockwood post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1901On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1908Post officeThe Rockwood post office closes
  10. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,396
By decade

Chesapeake, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Welcome to Chesapeake (Sign)2025Welcome to Chesapeake (Sign)Chesapeake Rock in Memorial Park2025Chesapeake Rock in Memorial ParkChesapeake Memorial Park2025Chesapeake Memorial ParkChesapeake Flea Market2025Chesapeake Flea MarketChesapeake City Hall2025Chesapeake City HallChesapeake Village jail2016Chesapeake Village jailSymmes Creek bridge at2015Symmes Creek bridge atBurlington, Ohio; Chesapeake, Ohio; Westmoreland, West Virginia; Huntington, West Virginia; Ohio River at Ohio-West Vir…2014Burlington, Ohio; Chesapeake, Ohio; Westmoreland, Wes…Chesapeake ohio2013Chesapeake ohioSymmes Creek2007Symmes CreekRCByrdBridge-Huntington-WV2007RCByrdBridge-Huntington-WVChesapeake Bypass History2006Chesapeake Bypass History
Every building

Chesapeake, building by building, 1927

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 sheet.

Chesapeake fire insurance map, 1927, sheet 11927Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Chesapeake, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,400192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,396

Peaked at 1,396 in 1960; 765 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Union Township2 historic placesB

Questions about Chesapeake’s history

What year was Chesapeake founded?

The Chesapeake post office opened in 1908, 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 (12), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, 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.